State to start shedding bank stakes after election - papers

The Government is understood to be considering plans to offload its stakes in Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland just weeks after the general election.

According to The Scotsman, UK Financial Investments, the quango that oversees the taxpayer stakes in the banks, is said to be looking at proposals to sell bonds that could eventually be swapped for shares in Lloyds and RBS. It is thought the "convertible gilts" could be exchanged for shares once certain price targets were met that would give the taxpayer a profit - and could be launched for sale in June. An update from UKFI released alongside the Budget last week showed that the state currently has a meagre paper profit on its shares in Lloyds, which is 41% owned by the state. Full s...