Intesa Sanpaolo, one of Italy’s two biggest banks, may drop its request for €4bn ($5.7bn) in state aid in the latest sign that banks are desperate to cut ties with governments amid growing confidence in the sector.

Corrado Passera, Intesa’s chief executive, told the Financial Times the bank may get by without an investment of so-called “Tremonti bonds”, which Italian banks would issue to the government in return for injections of state cash.