Government reduces Lloyds stake to below 20%

Last month, Cameron announced plans to sell up to £4bn worth of Lloyds Bank shares, and the latest sale has reduced government stake in the bank from 40% in 2009 to below 20%.

Cameron said that the sale would "help us recover billions more to pay down the national debt".

The total amount of money raised through the trading plan launched in December 2014 now stands at around £10bn. Lloyds received £20bn during the financial crisis.

A Lloyds Banking Group spokesperson said that "today’s announcement shows the further progress made in returning Lloyds Banking Group to full private ownership and enabling the taxpayer to get their money back."

In a statement today, Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne said:

"I’m delighted that we’ve now raised over £10 billion from selling our shares in Lloyds Bank. This means we have recovered over half of the taxpayers’ money put into Lloyds, and now own less than 20% of the bank.

"These sales have only been made possible by our long term economic plan, and we are determined to build on this success, and to continue to return Lloyds to the private sector and reduce our national debt."