Britain begins talks on selling bank stakes

The British government has begun talks with sovereign wealth funds and other investors about selling its stakes in part-nationalised banks, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
UK Financial Investments, the government unit that manages taxpayers' 43.5 percent stake in Lloyds Banking Group and 70 percent stake in Royal Bank of Scotland, could begin selling off tranches in the banks within a year, it said.
The FT said the government wanted to tap into the revival of stock market confidence in the financial sector, although it said it would take several years for Britain to completely divest itself of its investments.