The European Central Bank has announced the appointment of temporary administrators and a “surveillance committee” at troubled Italian lender Banca Carige, as new data indicated the country is flirting with recession.

The majority of board members at Banca Carige, Italy’s 10th largest bank, resigned after the “early intervention” by the ECB, which comes two years after an accounting scandal at the lender came to light.

It was necessary to find “effective solutions for ensuring sustainable stability and compliance", the central bank added.

The ECB intervention follows a failure in December by the middle-weight Genoan bank to achieve shareholder support for a €400m (£360m) bond issue. This was part of an effort by the Italian banking industry to protect against the risk of future collapses.

Shares in Banca Carige were suspended for the day by the country's market watchdog Consob. Stocks in other major Italian lenders fell sharply in early trading with UBI Banca and BPER Banca among the hardest hit, each down by more than 4pc.

Italian banks are still exposed to a high proportion of bad loans on their balance sheets following the financial crisis. They are also closely tied to the course of national politics in the country as they are large holders of sovereign debt, risking a so-called 'doom loop' effect.