British Government Further Trims Lloyds Stake

LONDON--The British government has reduced its stake in Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LLOY.LN) by a further 1 percentage point to 19.93%, the latest in a series of small sales of shares in the bailed-out bank.

Lloyds said Tuesday that the government now own 14.22 billion shares, or 19.93% of the bank's voting rights. It previously held 14.96 billion shares.

No price was disclosed for the share sale, which was conducted on Monday.

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

After initially selling chunks of Lloyds direct to investors through accelerated placements, the government in December mandated Morgan Stanley to gradually sell stock up to the end of June.

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced at the time of his budget in March that the government would sharply reduce its stake in Lloyds in the next year to raise at least 9 billion pounds ($13.69 billion).

Mr. Osborne said Lloyds's return to profit and resumption of dividend payouts this year means "we can continue our exit from that bailout." He didn't give details on how the share sale would be carried out.

-Write to Ian Walker at [e-mail]

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires