LONDON (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Tuesday it had approved plans by Lloyds Banking Group to float hundreds of branches re-named TSB on the London Stock Exchange, paving the way for a flotation before the end of June.
The Commission said it had extended an original deadline of November 2013 for Lloyds to sell off the 631 branches. Lloyds had planned to sell the branches to the Co-operative Bank but that deal fell through last year when a 1.5 billion pound capital shortfall at the Co-op was exposed.
The European Commission has approved Lloyds new plan for an initial public offering (IPO) of TSB. Banking industry sources expect the IPO to be launched in the last week of May and the stock to be listed before the end of June.
(Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Steve Slater)