"Banca Carige denies the contents and related figures," it said in a statement, calling them "clamorously false". The bank added it had mandated its lawyers to defend its reputation and that of its customers.

Italy last month rushed to set up a 1.3 billion euro fund to support Carige after the European Central Bank put the bank under temporary administration on Jan. 2 following a failed attempt to raise new capital from investors.

(Reporting by Agnieszka Flak, editing by Silvia Aloisi)