* No final decision yet, regulators moving closer to "yes"
* Lloyds plan includes 11 bln pound plus rights issue
* Around 5 to 7 bln pound in contingent capital
* Decision expected this week or next
(Adds detail on contingent capital, timing)
By Douwe Miedema and Clara Ferreira-Marques
LONDON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Britain's financial regulators are moving closer to approving a plan by Lloyds Banking Group to escape a costly government scheme for bad debts, three sources close to the situation said on Wednesday.
A decision on the plan, which includes a more than 11 billion pound ($18.07 billion) rights issue, was expected as early as this week or the next, though the exact timing of an announcement was unclear, the sources said.
Lloyds, which is 43-percent government owned, also aims to raise around 5 billion to 7 billion pounds in contingent capital -- "top up" capital that can be converted into equity if the bank hits trouble -- two other sources said.
It would raise the contingent capital -- a key means for it to pass regulatory tests without relying on the asset protection scheme (APS) to which it signed up in March -- through a debt exchange, the two sources said.
Lloyds declined to comment.
Britain's biggest retail bank is eager to escape further government control after last year's emergency bail-out, as participating in the scheme could trigger even harsher antitrust measures from the European Union.
ASSET SALES
The rights issue and the bond exchange are the two main pillars of an ambitious effort by the bank to plug a more than 20 billion pound capital gap.
Lloyds may also announce a series of asset sales in tandem with the fund-raising plans to satisfy the European Union over state aid, one of the sources said.
But these are not likely to satisfy UK regulators' concerns over capital as the sales are unlikely to have been completed.
The Bank of England (BoE), the Treasury and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) were "definitely" moving closer to approving the Lloyds plan, said one of the three sources close to the situation.
Lloyds bought beleaguered mortgage bank HBOS in a government-brokered deal last year, to then be bailed out with the help of taxpayer money.
In March, it put in 260 billion pounds worth of assets into the APS to ringfence toxic assets on its balance sheet, but the scheme has not yet actually come into force.
Regardless of whether Lloyds joins the APS, Brussels is expected to impose a package of sanctions because the bank received billions in state aid.
Representatives from the three regulators have been weighing up the fate of Britain's biggest retail bank in a series of meetings last weekend and this week.
One of the sources who is close to the situation said a decision could come as early as this week, but others cautioned not to expect a final agreement before next week. Another of the sources said it could be stalled even longer.
A government source said that no announcement was expected this week, adding that the Treasury remained opposed to any agreement with Lloyds that would see the taxpayer in a worse position compared to agreements reached in March.
The FSA, the BOE and the Treasury all declined comment.
Lloyds has lined up a group of underwriters for the rights issue. They are UBS, Citi, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, HSBC, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. ($1=.6088 Pound) (Additional reporting by Victoria Howley, Alex Chambers and Matt Falloon; editing by Sitaraman Shankar, John Stonestreet and Karen Foster)