Measures to support Italian banks during the current international credit squeeze may be adopted by the government at a cabinet meeting on Friday, sources at the premier's office said.
The situation in the financial sector was at the center of talks Premier Silvio Berlusconi had Wednesday with Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti and Industry Minister Claudio Scajola.
How to finance a future aid package for Italian financial institutions was later at the center of a meeting Tremonti hosted at his ministry with Scajola and the ministers for welfare, Maurizio Sacconi; civil service, Renato Brunetta; public works, Altero Matteoli; and simplification, Roberto Calderoli.
Earlier in the day Berlusconi told the Confcommercio retailers' association that his government would consider buying into Italian banks should such a request come from the financial institutions.
''Were banks to ask, the government would be ready to intervene but without imposing anything, without demanding measures which would punish management and other shareholders,'' the premier explained.
''Banks must enjoy total freedom. Should they feel the need to increase their liquidity and assets, the State is ready to intervene, but only in response to a specific request,'' Berlusconi stressed.
''And this could be done by buying common shares, savings shares or convertible bonds,'' he said.
''In any case, our banking system is solid,'' the premier added.
In regard to the current global financial crisis, Berlusconi said ''we need to keep our nerves steady and remain optimistic. The government will examine what it can do in regard to both supply and demand''.
The premier went on to observe that the situation on world stock markets was ''not realistic'' because listed companies ''are still making profits and paying dividends''.
He added that the press was in part to blame for the lack of confidence on markets because ''while I always try to inspire calm, every time I turn on the TV I see that our politicians, our economists and our journalists are spreading panic and pessimism''.
According to Berlusconi, the United States was wrong to allow the merchant bank Lehman Brothers to fail because with its rescue ''things would have been different''.
During next month's summit in Washington of the Group of 20 (G20) most powerful economies Berlusconi said ''we will decide on measures and new rules to ensure that what happened on stock markets will not happen again''.
