AFP - The Italian government has said it will support the head of the Bank of Italy as the next president of the European Central Bank and is denying reports of his role in financial deals that hid Greece's debt problems.

"When the question will arise, Italy has and will have an excellent candidate," Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti said during a visit to Brussels on Tuesday in reference to Mario Draghi, Italian newspapers reported on Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for the Bank of Italy also on Wednesday denied press reports that Draghi had participated in operations aimed at hiding the full extent of Greece's troubles when he worked at US investment banking giant Goldman Sachs.

Draghi "had nothing to do with operations concerning Greece," the spokeswoman said, adding: "The operation was carried out before Mario Draghi's arrival."

Goldman Sachs helped arrange a massive swaps transaction for Greece in 2002 that helped it meet its EU budget deficit limits, according to recent reports.

Draghi, 62, was named governor of the Bank of Italy in 2005 and has since restored the credibility of an institution that was badly damaged when his predecessor Antonio Fazio resigned over a banking scandal.

Draghi is also the president of the Financial Stability Forum, an international organisation whose role was reinforced during the global economic crisis and now has the task of reinforcing the stability of the global financial sector.