Lloyds sale could be delayed by Syria tensions

The Government's planned sale of its stake in Lloyds Banking Group could be delayed until later in the autumn of 2013 because of turbulent equity markets.The UK Treasury and its UK Financial Investments asset management arm are monitoring market reaction to the Syrian crisis. A sale of part of the government's 39% stake in Lloyds had been pencilled in for September but October and November are also options if tensions over Syria make underwriters and investors unreceptive, a source familiar with the matter said.Chancellor George Osborne has hired JPMorgan Chase to plan the reprivatisation of Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland and has lined up 11 banks to run share offerings. A sale of the Lloyds stake would take just a few days to complete and the government is understood to be ready to move at short notice if market conditions are right. The FTSE 100 lost 3.1% between the start of August and September 4th as the US and other governments edged closer to an attack on Syria.Markets have also been shaken by concerns over how fast the US Federal Reserve will "taper" its bond-buying programme, which has helped support the world's biggest economy.Lloyds' shares were up 2.7% at 2:50 in London - well above the government's 61p guide price for a stake sale. The FTSE 100 was also up 0.7%.The government bought big stakes in Lloyds and RBS when it rescued them in 2008 but Osborne wants to cash in the taxpayer's stakes and return the banks to private ownership.