LBG bank reveals sale of US mortgage-backed assets

Lloyds Banking Group has sold US mortgage-backed securities for £3.3 billion ($5.0 billion, 3.8 billion euros), boosting its capital funds in the process, the British state-rescued lender said on Friday. The sale is part of a programme to sell non-strategic assets and the proceeds will be used to strengthen its capital by £1.4 billion, LBG said. "Lloyds Banking Group plc announces today that it has agreed the sale of a portfolio of US RMBS (residential mortgage backed securities) to a number of different institutions for a cash consideration of £3.3 billion," LBG said in a statement. "The transaction is part of the Group's continued capital accretive non-core asset reduction," added the lender that is 39-percent owned by the British government after a state bailout in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis.