The U.K. Treasury could sell the final chunk of its remaining stake in Lloyds Banking Group Plc in a single share placement with institutional investors in the first quarter of 2017, "three people briefed on the matter" told the Financial Times.

The government has gradually cut its shareholding in Lloyds through a trading plan that allowed it to sell shares in the lender to the market. The Treasury holds a stake of just below 7% in Lloyds and could choose to continue with the trading plan to reduce its stake all the way to zero, according to the Dec. 19 report.

However, sources told the paper that the Treasury could also look into cutting the stake to about 5% and subsequently sell the remaining stake in a single transaction. Doing so would allow the government to officially mark its exit from Lloyds with a high-profile sale, the paper wrote.

The Treasury has not yet made a firm decision on the matter, the sources said.