Lloyds may be fully privatised within year

Lloyds Banking Group could be fully returned to private hands within the next year, chairman Norman Blackwell said at the company’s annual meeting yesterday.

The British government has already sold nearly half of the 41% stake it took as a result of its £20bn (€27.7bn) rescue of the bank during the 2007-09 financial crisis, raising over £10bn for the UK taxpayer.

It is continuing to sell the shares to financial institutions, such as pension funds and insurers, and is also planning a sale to private retail investors later in the year.