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Home BUSINESSBritish PM pledges to sell Lloyds Bank's shares
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Mon, 20 Apr, 2015 12:00:23 AM
FTimes- Xinhua Report , Apr. 20
 
British Prime Minister David Cameron. Photo AFP-Lehtikuva
British Prime Minister David Cameron Sunday said the government would sell up to four billion pounds (or six U.S. dollars) worth of Lloyds Banking Group's shares to small investors at below-market prices if the Conservative Party wins the election in May.
     
Speaking in an interview with the BBC, Cameron confirmed that the further shareholding divesture would "help us recover billions more to pay down the national debt".
     
And shareholders who keep their Lloyds shares for a year will be rewarded with a loyalty bonus, including one additional free share for every 10 shares that they still hold, he highlighted.
     
British government announced a nine billion pounds sale of shares in the bailed-out bank in the Budget statement in March. The government sold 569 million pounds of shares in Lloyds in late March, cutting the stake of shareholding to 21.9 percent. Lloyds share closed at 0.7875 pounds per share on Friday, or April 17.
   
"The crucial point is it's more of clearing up the mess that Labour (Party) left us. The taxpayer put 20 billion pounds into these banks and I want to get the money back. We've already recovered billions and this will help us to recover billions more to pay down the national debt," the PM added.
     
Lloyds received a taxpayer bailout of more than 20 billion pounds during the financial crisis. The government has not started reduce its 80 percent stake in Royal Bank of Scotland Group, the other major state-owned British lender, yet.  
 
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