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By Anjuli Davies
LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - British taxpayers haverecovered 9 billion pounds ($13.42 billion) from their bailoutof Lloyds Banking Group, following a 500 million poundshare sale that has reduced public ownership of the bank to justunder 22 percent.
British taxpayers held a 40 percent stake in Lloydsfollowing its rescue in 2009 and that has fallen to 21.99percent, UK Financial Investments, the government agency incharge of managing the stake, said on Thursday.
"We have raised a further 500 million pounds ($745 million)through Lloyds share sales," British finance minister GeorgeOsborne said on Twitter. "Nine billion pounds now recovered andbeing used to pay down our national debt."
The government has said it aims to raise at least 9 billionpounds selling shares in the bank in the coming year as it looksto recover 66 billion pounds of taxpayers' money spent bailingout banks in the financial crisis.
"Today's announcement shows the further progress made inreturning Lloyds Banking Group to full private ownership andenabling the taxpayer to get their money back," a spokesman forLloyds said in an emailed statement.
Shares in Lloyds closed on Wednesday at 80.5 pence,comfortably above the government's 73.6 pence buy-in price.
On March 9, HM Treasury sold 500 million pounds ($745.25million) worth of shares in Lloyds bank, which left it with a22.98 percent stake.
($1 = 0.6709 pounds) (Reporting by Anjuli Davies; editing by Carolyn Cohn and JasonNeely)
