Government asks advisers to help with bank stake sales

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain on Friday asked investment banks to submit proposals to assist it with the sale of its stakes in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group.

UK Financial Investments, the body managing Britain's holdings in banks, said on Friday it was not currently planning any specific transactions, but when it does it will choose from among pre-qualified banks.

Credit Suisse and Citigroup have been the main advisers to the UK government on its bank rescue plans.

UKFI said on Monday it will need several years to sell stakes in RBS and Lloyds but refused to set a precise timescale on an exit.

The government plans to offload the shares through a protracted series of sales into markets. Its loss on its 70 percent stake in RBS and a 43 percent holding in Lloyds stood at 10.9 billion pounds, UKFI estimated.

(Reporting by Steve Slater)