Lloyds bank shares reach break-even point for UK government sale

LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in Britain's state-backed Lloyds Banking Group rose above the level the government paid for them for the first time in 5 months on Wednesday, raising speculation the state will sell off stock to repay taxpayers who funded a bailout eight years ago.Lloyds shares breached 73.6 pence apiece, the average the government paid for them, and were trading at that level as of 1423 GMT. The shares last traded above the threshold in December.Chancellor George Osborne is looking to sell the last remaining government-held shares in Lloyds over the next year after a discounted sale to the general public was postponed earlier this year due to turmoil in global financial markets.

(Reporting by Lawrence White; Editing by Mark Potter)