The request would be not only for ailing Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena but also for other struggling banks in the country.

The scheme that would be applied would be similar to that used in Spain in 2012 to avert the meltdown of the banking sector, the report added.

In exchange for the funds, Italy would have to commit to tighten its budget and a government decree to make use of the fund would have to be approved by the end of the year, by the country's new government, it said.

(Reporting by Giulia Segreti)