Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed that he hopes that the sale of government 's shares in banks will be completed ' within the year ' . This follows the government 's decision to reduce its stake in the bank to below 13 % stake , having been gradually reducing its stake over several months . However , his task of selling Lloyds off quickly could be complicated by a sharp fall in the bank 's shares amid a global stock market sell - off , which prompted the Treasury to temporarily suspend selling its stake immediately after they dropped below the price where taxpayers sought out the lender .
Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed that he hopes that the sale of government's shares in Lloyds will be completed 'within the year'. This follows the government's decision to reduce its stake in the bank to below 13% yesterday, having been gradually reducing its stake over several months. However, his task of selling Lloyds off quickly could be complicated by a sharp fall in the bank's shares amid a global stock market sell-off, which forced the Treasury to temporarily suspend selling its stake yesterday after they dropped below the price where taxpayers bailed out the lender.