Lloyds share sale: George Osborne delays retail sale amid 'turbulent markets'
George Osborne is to delay the sale of the taxpayer's remaining stake in Lloyds because of the ongoing turmoil gripping global financial markets.
The Chancellor said on Twitter that the Treasury, which holds the stake, would "only sell when turbulent markets have calmed down".
Global markets have had one of their worst ever starts to a year in 2016 after concerns over China's slowdown and slumping oil prices sparked widespread sell-offs.
The FTSE 100 lost as much as 7% in the first three weeks of the year, but has since begun to recover.
During last year's general election campaign the Conservatives pledged to make a final exit from Lloyds, which received a £20 billion bailout at the height of the financial crisis.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">We'll build a share owning democracy. So British people can buy Lloyds shares but we'll only sell when turbulent markets have calmed down — George Osborne (@George_Osborne) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/George_Osborne/status/692665593061859328" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3167201-https://twitter.com/George_Osborne/status/692665593061859328" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 28, 2016</a>
The Treasury has so far been gradually selling down the state's stake through sales to institutional investors. That tactic reduced the taxpayer's stake to around 10% of the bank.
The final sale was due to be offered to private investors in the spring and was expected to raise around £2 billion, making it one of the the largest privatisations since the 1980s.
