Lloyds Bank Back in Private Hands After U.K. Government Sells Final Shares

Lloyds Banking Group PLC is back in private hands after the U.K. government sold its remaining shares in the bank it bailed out during the financial crisis.

The government sold its last 638.4 million shares, or 0.89% of Lloyds' issued share capital, on Tuesday for an undisclosed sum.

It is putting the money raised from the sale toward reducing the national debt.

Lloyds is the U.K.'s biggest retail bank and was bailed out by taxpayers in 2008, with the government taking a 39% stake. The government started selling its shares in late 2013.

Last October, Philip Hammond, the U.K. Treasury chief, said the government would begin to sell its remaining 9.1% stake in Lloyds in a piecemeal fashion, after withdrawing from a planned retail sale, attributing its decision to market volatility.

Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 17, 2017 02:38 ET (06:38 GMT)