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Government announces plans to sell off £2bn Lloyds shares

The government has unveiled plans to fully exit from its Lloyds shareholding in the coming months, as at least £2bn shares are set to be sold to retail investors

HM Treasury has announced that a retail sale of Lloyds Banking Group shares will be launched next spring, following the disposal of £500m shares in September of this year.

So far, the government has raised £12bn in the privatisation of Lloyds and has used this money towards paying off the national debt.

In a statement on the London Stock Exchange, HMRC said: “Members of the public will be offered a discount of 5% of the market price, with a bonus share for every 10 shares for those who hold their investment for more than a year. The value of the bonus share incentive will be capped at £200 per investor. People applying for investments of less than £1,000 will be prioritised.

“All proceeds from share sales are used to pay down the national debt.”

In 2008, Lloyds needed £20.8bn of taypayers’ money to avoid folding in the peak of the financial crisis. Following the major buy-out, the government owned 43% of the bank. The taxpayers also held a 80% stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .