[B]The U.K. government has begun to prepare to sell off its holdings in RBS and Lloyds Banking Group[/B][B],[/B] according to the Financial Times. The newspaper reports that the U.K. Financial Investments, the vehicle that manages the government’s banking assets, has begun to talk with sovereign wealth funds and other investors, to sound out interest for the part-nationalized banks, as risk appetite is returning to markets. According to the FT, U.K. Financial Investments could start the selling process within a year. The U.K. government holds 43.5% of Lloyds and 70% of RBS, while mortgage lenders Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley are fully nationalized.
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