Government sells 1% stake in Lloyds as bank cuts 635 jobs due to restructuring
Lloyds continues its restructuring programme, which it outlined in October last year, with the announcement yesterday that it will cut 635 jobs across the company. &nbsp;Also, the government announced this morning that it has sold c. 691 million shares in Lloyds, shrinking its stake by 1% to 15.9%. &nbsp;This is in line with the Chancellor George Osborne's statement last month that he intends to sell the government's remaining &pound;11.5bn holding in the bank over the coming year.&nbsp;
Lloyds share price dips as government sells off more shares

Shares in Lloyds were trading flat this morning after the government announced it had hived off another load of shares in the state-backed bank.

The Treasury sold off around 691m shares, shrinking the government's stake by one per cent to 15.9 per cent.

The government has been whittling down its stake in the bailed-out bank since December – recouping billions for the Treasury's coffers.

Read more: Lloyds Banking Group share price dips as government slashes its stake

The latest sale comes after Chancellor George Osborne said during his Mansion House speech last month that he intended to sell the government's remaining £11.5bn holding in Lloyds over the coming year.

The Lloyds sale was announced alongside a wave of other sell-offs including a stake bailed-out bank RBS,

Read more: Chancellor George Osborne will start government RBS sell off as soon as possible

"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," Lloyds said.

"This reflects the hard work undertaken over the last four years to transform the Group into a simple, low-risk and customer-focused bank that is committed to helping Britain prosper."

The taxpayer initially threw Lloyds a £20bn lifeline during the depths of the global financial crisis, enabling the bank to stay afloat, and leaving the government with a 41 per cent stake.