Lloyds Chairman Doesn't Want Higher UK Government Stake In Bank
January 20 2009 - 2:50AM
Dow Jones News
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.LN) Chairman Victor Blank said he
doesn't want the government to take a bigger stake in the bank,
although he's happy to have them as a shareholder.
"I think we can probably conduct our business better than the
government can conduct it for us," Blank told Sky News late
Monday.
The U.K. government currently has a stake of 43% in Lloyds
Banking Group, which started trading Monday following the
successful merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS. The stake came after HBOS
was forced to make a government-backed rights issue as part of the
government's bailout of U.K. banks last year.
Blank said the government shouldn't have a higher stake, and he
believes it better for the bank's customers, "that we are more
secure, we are safer, that we can give them a greater range of
products."
"We believe in time it will be better for our shareholders," he
added.
-By Steve McGrath, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9284;
steve.mcgrath@dowjones.com
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