UK taxpayers have recouped all of the £20.3 billion invested in the bailout of Lloyds Banking Group during the 2008 financial crisis, British finance minister Philip Hammond said today.
The UK government has received £20.4 billion from share sales and dividends since it began selling its stake in 2013.
Philip Hammond made his comments in a speech delivered in Washington at the International Monetary Fund spring meeting.
Britain, which has been selling chunks of the shares every three or four weeks this year, plans to sell the rest of its shareholding of less than 2% "in the coming months".
It will have completely sold its stake by the end of May at the present rate, according to a Reuters calculation, marking a milestone.
This is a sharp contrast with Royal Bank of Scotland, where the UK government still owns 70% of its shares nine years on from its own bailout.
António Horta-Osório, chief executive of Lloyds, said the news was "a moment of huge pride" for the bank and its staff.
"As we look to the future, we remain absolutely focused on our commitment to help Britain prosper," he said in a statement.
