Government books £900m profit as Lloyds returns to private ownership

Owned 43% of the company

Lloyds Banking Group has returned to private ownership after the government sold its final stake in the company, achieving £900m in nominal profit.

Following the global financial crisis, the government bailed out the bank for £20.3bn in 2009 by taking a 43% stake. It began selling off the shares in portions in September 2013 and has now sold off its final stake and made a nominal profit of £900m. However, that does not cover the cost of borrowing the money to fund the bailout. BlackRock becomes largest Lloyds shareholder Antonio Horta-Osorio, chief executive of Lloyds, said: "Six years ago we inherited a business that was in a very fragile financial condition. Thanks to the hard work of everyone at Lloyds, we have turned th...