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| £260bn Lloyds asset deal agreed | £260bn Lloyds asset deal agreed |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Lloyds Banking Group has agreed a deal with the Treasury that will see the government insure £260bn of the bank's loans, the BBC has learned. | Lloyds Banking Group has agreed a deal with the Treasury that will see the government insure £260bn of the bank's loans, the BBC has learned. |
| Under the agreement, the government will increase its stake in Lloyds to around 60% from the current 43%. | Under the agreement, the government will increase its stake in Lloyds to around 60% from the current 43%. |
| The deal was agreed on Friday night, but there are some legal formalities to be concluded. It is understood it will be formally announced in the morning. | The deal was agreed on Friday night, but there are some legal formalities to be concluded. It is understood it will be formally announced in the morning. |
| Reports said Lloyds had been unhappy to give the government a majority stake. | Reports said Lloyds had been unhappy to give the government a majority stake. |
| HBOS problem | |
| Hugh Pym, BBC chief economics correspondent, said the deal would be "very awkward" for the Lloyds chief executive Eric Daniels and chairman Victor Blank. | |
| They have come increasingly under fire from shareholders for their decision to buy rival HBOS. | |
| It was the January takeover of HBOS - a move that was supported by the government - that has caused the problems at Lloyds. | |
| Lloyds was forced to announced last week that HBOS made a pre-tax loss of £10.8bn in 2008, which it has had to absorb. | |
| Restore confidence | |
| The £260bn insurance deal is part of the Treasury's taxpayer-backed Asset Protection Scheme to insure banks' riskiest assets against further losses. | |
| It was put forward by Chancellor Alistair Darling in a bid to restore confidence in the banking sector. | It was put forward by Chancellor Alistair Darling in a bid to restore confidence in the banking sector. |
| Royal Bank of Scotland was the first bank to sign up, announcing last month that it would ask the government to insure £325bn worth of so-called toxic assets, which are difficult to value and currently cannot be sold. |