Lloyds Banking Group Plc., the largest mortgage lender in Great Britain, partially nationalized by the British Government, said it would keep its option open in view of opting out of the governmental asset backing programme.
The announcement was made after the Financial Times reported yesterday that the bank was planning to increase capital by 15 billion GBP (24 billion USD) by issuing new shares. The Financial Times quoted sources close to the deal as saying that the Financial Services Authority was reviewing the plan. The same source indicated that Lloyds was also planning to sell some of its assets.
The Financial Times described the prospected transaction as the biggest rights issue in British history.
Lloyds in June increased capital by 4.3 billion GBP by issuing new shares and used the proceeds to repay some 2.56 billion GBP to the British Government.