If I could make just one forecast for 2016. it would be that the forthcoming retail sale of about 4 per cent of Lloyds Banking Group, a bit less than half the remaining government stake, will be a success. This is not going to be another Royal Mail — the shares rocketing ahead by almost 40 per cent on initial dealings because the advisors to the Treasury underpriced them — because there is already a market in Lloyds shares.
Instead, the share sale, worth at least £2 billion, is being sweetened for the retail investor. The shares are being sold at a 5 per cent discount. Small investors, putting in less than £1,000, will get priority. Hang on to them for a year and