MoneySaving Poll: Would you buy shares in a Lloyds Bank sell off?

happyinflorida

I am so disappointed that not many object to this.

If everyone refused to buy shares in these sell offs the government could not do it.

Look at how they sold off Royal Mail at a fraction of its true value - to a friend of one of the Conservative party serving in parliament.

It's a rip off and you are all allowing it to happen.

suroben

I'm appalled that the tories plan on selling shares to the public
who already own the bank because of the bail out. I'm even more surprised that anyone is considering buying them. We had shares in Lloyds that were worth enough for a trip of a lifetime to Australia. Unfortunately, over the last few years they have devalued so much they wouldn't even cover a taxi to the airport. I won't get caught again and I imagine the same applies to many who thought bank shares were a fairly safe option and found they weren't.

Nick_C

This plan is an appalling waste of our money.

Lloyds Bank shares are currently trading at around 79 pence per share. The (Labour) government bought the shares at 73.6 pence back in 2009. If shares are sold on the open market, there a small cash profit. Not a profit in real terms though as applying RPIx inflation to the 73.6p cost means we should be looking to sell at around 89 pence to break even after inflation.

The problem with this discount proposal is that for people who buy shares with a 5% discount and then get an additional 10% free in a year's time, the true discount is 13.6%, meaning we are selling for 68.3p per share, which is a loss, even ignoring inflation and the costs of acquisition and disposal.

David Cameron seems to be pulling all the stops out to lose this election. After - in my opinion - making a good job of managing the economy for the last 5 years, the Conservatives now appear to be financially incompetent. Promising unfunded spending on the NHS, selling Lloyds at a loss, cutting death duties, they are alienating people who should be their natural supporters.

We are not out of the woods yet. We cannot afford give-aways. Every spare penny should be used to reduce the deficit.

Apart from selling at a loss and giving money away, what is the point of this scheme? If people think Lloyds are a good investment, they will buy the shares at the current market price. Cameron says he wants the public to be able to buy shares in Lloyds - well the public can, if they want to! (Personally I bought at 25 p a share back in 2011)

Of course, one should also ask why Gordon Brown bought £20 bn of Lloyds shares at 74p when I bought my shares at 25p. But then the answer is that he forced Lloyds, a well run and secure bank, into near bankruptcy by leaning on them to acquire HBOS, and then felt morally obliged to bail them out. The Government should have let HBOS sink to rock bottom and then nationalised them when they were literally on the brink of bankruptcy, as they did with Bradford & Bingley.

Ectophile

suroben wrote: »

I'm appalled that the tories plan on selling shares to the public
who already own the bank because of the bail out. I'm even more surprised that anyone is considering buying them. We had shares in Lloyds that were worth enough for a trip of a lifetime to Australia. Unfortunately, over the last few years they have devalued so much they wouldn't even cover a taxi to the airport. I won't get caught again and I imagine the same applies to many who thought bank shares were a fairly safe option and found they weren't.

Most of the Lloyds isn't taxpayer-owned any more.

I've been a shareholder since it merged with the (old) TSB - I was a TSB shareholder before that.

Overall, I probably haven't lost any money on the shares, considering the TSB loyalty bonus, the bonus on the merger between TSB and Lloyds, and all the share dividends paid when they were still profitable.

I also bought more shares when the price of Lloyds was at rock-bottom, so I've made money on them as well.

If somebody offered me more shares in Lloyds for less than they were worth, I'd be a mug not to take them.

But, as I said earlier, in the current economic climate, the government shouldn't be selling off the remaining taxpayer-owned shares for less than they are worth.

chucknorris

I don't usually hold single company shares, I'm currently getting rid of the historical ones left in my portfolio, so I would need an incentive, I don't think 15% will be enough to get me into it. They said a 10% bonus if held for 12 months, plus an initial discount of at least 5%, and of course there will also be some dividend income. If the initial discount was nearer 10% than 5% I might invest.

skintpaul

don't we own most of them, already (via the bailout?)

Nick_C

skintpaul wrote: »

don't we own most of them, already (via the bailout?)

No. See post 15.

At one time, the Government stake was about 40%. It is now about 20%.

Edit: Unfortunately, we do own about 80% of RBS