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Lloyds Bank privatisation begins Lloyds Bank privatisation begins
(35 minutes later)
UK Treasury sale of Lloyds Banking Group begins with big investors being offered 6% of partly state-owned bank The government's sale of Lloyds Banking Group has begun with big investors being offered 6% of the bank.
The stake is valued at £3.3bn and after the sale the government will still own 32.7% of the bank. The stake is valued at £3.3bn and the deal will reduce the government's ownership of the bank to 32.7%.
Back in June the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne announced that the government was preparing to sell its stake.
He said that the government wanted to get a good deal for taxpayers, who bailed out Lloyds in 2008.
In a statement the Treasury said: "We want to get the best value for the taxpayer, maximise support for the economy and restore them to private ownership. The Government will only conclude a sale if these objectives are met."
Shares in Lloyds closed at 77.36p on Monday.
That is well above the price of 61p that Chancellor George Osborne regards as the break-even level.
During Lloyds' bailout the government bought shares at an average price of 73.6p .
The average market price at the time was 61p, so the government booked the difference as a loss and added it to the national debt.
BBC Business Editor, Robert Peston says that based on Monday's share price the taxpayer should "more-or-less" get its money back.
He also said: "During the eurozone banking crisis of 2011-12, getting our money back looked an impossibility."