UK Financial Investments, which manages the government’s stake in the bank, said today that it now owns around 4.998 per cent of the group. Shares in the bank dipped 1.4 per cent at the open, reports City AM.
Until a few weeks ago, the government was Lloyds’ largest shareholder.
The government bailed Lloyds out to the tune of £20.5bn in the wake of the financial crisis, leaving it with a 43 per cent stake in the bank.
“Since our decision to sell the government’s stake in Lloyds we have recovered over 90 per cent of the money taxpayers injected into the bank during the financial crisis,” said Simon Kirby, economic secretary to the Treasury.
“This represents real progress and I am delighted that we are on track to return Lloyds to private ownership.”
