Italy said yesterday that it is “making progress” in protracted talks with Brussels over the best ways to inject much-needed money into its broken banks.

Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem rejected calls for banking union regulations to be loosened after weeks of falling bank shares, saying new European bail-in rules had caused investors to look “more critically” at risks borne by banks.

Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem urged Greece yesterday to hold elections as soon as possible to avoid delays in implementing a third bailout package.

Today is ‘D-Day’ for Greece as the eurogroup wait to receive and evaluate proposals from the Tsipras government for a third bailout programme.