Lloyds Bank planned to sell 39% stake, which is a step towards its privatisation. However, talks of boycott among investors could have a negative effect on how the sale proceeds.

According to a fund manager of an GBP80-billion UK investment house, "Decisions to blacklist are on people's agenda. This goes right to the heart of whether we have trust in the markets in which we operate."

Investors were cautious of buying stocks from Lloyds and other companies. A clarification about the rules on bypassing lock-up agreements would be much appreciated by investors, according to some fund managers.

"It is very important the authorities do what they can to shore up investor confidence before the likes of Lloyds and RBS come to market. They will be some of the biggest partial stake sales seen for a long time," said an investor of a GBP50 billion fund management firm.

The shareholders and investors mentioned in this article declined to be named due to issues of topic sensivity.