La Stampa daily reported that the Bank of Italy favoured a "solution" for Carige in which Intesa would play a key role.

Carige must plug a capital shortfall of around 800 million euros after failing a Europe-wide health check of banks last year and the banking foundation that is Carige's top investor is ready to sell its 19 percent stake in the lender.

Asked whether Intesa could buy a stake in Carige, the chairman of Intesa's management board Gian Maria Gros-Pietro told reporters: "No."

(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro, writing by Silvia Aloisi)

Stocks treated in this article : Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, Banca Carige SpA