UK government's stake in Lloyds falls below 24 percent

LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - State-backed Lloyds Banking Group said on Monday that the British government had reduced its stake in the bank to 23.9 percent from 24.9 percent previously.

UK Financial Investments (UKFI), which manages the government's stakes in bailed out banks, hired Morgan Stanley (Xetra: 885836 - news) in December to sell shares in Lloyds on the stock market through a "pre-arranged trading plan".

The sale moves Lloyds another step towards a full return to private ownership after Britain pumped 20 billion pounds ($31 billion) into the bank during the financial crisis of 2007 to 2009, leaving it with a 41 percent shareholding. UKFI had already raised 7.4 billion pounds through two separate sales to financial institutions. ($1 = 0.6503 pounds) (Reporting by Matt Scuffham, editing by Sinead Cruise)