The European Central Bank has said the Bank of Italy acted legally in the way it dealt with two foreign bids for Italian banks this year and that its procedures "were based in a national legal framework that allows for a degree of discretion".

The statement comes six weeks after Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's prime minister, asked the ECB to seek the resignation of Antonio Fazio, the Bank of Italy's governor, who has been fiercely criticised over the way he handled the bids and still faces enquiries by prosecutors in Rome and Milan.