The document cannot be handed to bidders until George Osborne, the Chancellor, formally decides to opt for a sale. That decision is expected within two weeks.  The news will be welcomed by a raft of bidders, including: JC Flowers, the private equity firm; Virgin Money; NBNK, the so-called "Lords" bank established by Lord Levene; and National Australia Bank. The majority of bidders are thought likely to bid for both assets.  There had been some thought that the Lloyds sale might be delayed by the Independent Commission on Banking process, after commission chairman Sir John Vickers said the final report would demand more branch sales. But new chief executive António Horta-Osório is understood to be keen to push on with the 620-branch sale, and is expected to fight any further sell-off.  As well as the branches, the unit, known internally as Verde, will include Intelligent Finance, inherited from the acquisition of HBOS, and the TSB brand.  The Lloyds information memorandum will, for the first time, detail exactly which branches are to be sold, finance details and the funding needed to run them.  Under the highly prescriptive EU diktat, Lloyds was told to select branches with average footfall and average location in order to reduce its dominant share of the current account market by 4.6pc.  The final deadline for a selected bidder is the end of the year, with the sale expected to be completed next year.  The Northern Rock memorandum is expected to contain what is on offer, and the way that the Treasury and UK Financial Investments (UKFI) – which owns the Government's stakes in the banking industry – will select the eventual winner.  Bidders must meet strict criteria, including value for money, as well as likely competition clearance and certainty of sale.  Spokesmen for HM Treasury, UKFI, and Lloyds all declined to comment.
The biggest shake up of high street banks to come out of the credit crisis is    set to begin with the sale of Northern Rock and 620 Lloyds Banking Group    branches.