Over the coming weeks the government is expected to sell-off the last of its position in Lloyds Banking Group. Following the 2008 financial crisis, the then Labour government intervened with an unprecedented bailout where – at its peak – 43% of the tradeable shares of the company were owned by UK taxpayers, having been purchased for an average price of 73.6p.
With the shares recently trading at around 64p, Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, said last month that the government had finally broken even on its stake in Lloyds, by recouping more than £20.3bn in share sales and dividends.
The government stake is now down to 0.89%, Lloyds said last week – and the sale of the final remaining shares is likely to take place over the coming fortnight, marking a milestone for the UK’s post-crisis banking sector.