Lloyds still in exclusive talks with Co-Op

Lloyds, the UK banking giant, remains in talks with The Co-Op to sell 632 of its bank branches.The announcement follows a proposal from financial investment company NBNK. In a statement the company said: "The group acknowledges receipt of a letter outlining an indicative revised proposal from NBNK. However, we continue to negotiate solely with the Co-Operative Group and are continuing to prepare for a divestment through an initial public offering (IPO)." The company refused to comment further on the sale, which is known as Project Verde. Lloyds has previously said the talks with Co-Op, the bank's preferred buyer, are progressing slowly due to the "complex" natural of the deal. Speaking towards the end of March, the firm said the project was making good progress. When the bank chose Co-op as the preferred bidder back in December, it said that it aimed to agree on heads of terms by the end of the first quarter. However, the group admitted last month that "given that this is a substantial business and a highly complex transaction," a further update will not come until next quarter. Lloyds' share price rose 1.14% to 30.94p. NR