The search for a suite of investment banks to run the privatisations of Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland has formally kicked off.

UK Financial Investments, the body set up by the UK government to manage its UK's stakes in Lloyds and RBS, invited investment banks to begin pitching for places on the sell-downs. Robin Budenberg, the UKFI chairman, is leading the tender process, according to one person familiar with the matter.