The British government has reduced its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by a further 1% to below 21%. This is in line with the decision to return the bank to a full private ownership. The government has brought in around 20 billion pounds into the bank to rescue it during the financial crisis of 2007-09, which gave thegovernment a 41% shareholding. It has already sold about half of that stake and plans to sell 9 billion pounds worth of the stock over the next year. The Conservative party said that would include a sale to private retail investors at a discount if it wins next month’s general election. In a notification to the London Stock Exchange on Friday, Britain’s finance ministry said its shareholding in the bank now stood at 20.95%.
