BACK IN PRIVATE HANDS

LLOYDS will finally be back in private hands in a matter of weeks – almost a decade after its £20.3bn bailout during the financial crisis.

The Government was forced to step in and take a 43.4pc stake in the lender in October 2008 after its disastrous takeover of rival HBOS a month earlier. Ministers have been gradually selling off the stake in Lloyds since 2013 and have cut it to less than 2pc.

Insiders expect the final sale to be completed by early May.