BlackRock's plan for Italy's Carige sees higher cash call of 700 million euros or more-reports

MILAN (Reuters) - A plan U.S. asset manager BlackRock has put forward to salvage troubled Italian lender Carige includes a cash call of 700 million euros (£606.8 million) or more, two Italian newspapers reported on Thursday.

The amount is higher than the 630 million euros the Genoa-based bank has said it needs after reporting a 2018 loss of 273 million euros.

Carige was placed under special administration at the start of the year after the Malacalza family, its top investor, blocked a planned capital raising, derailing an industry-financed rescue plan.

(Reporting by Maria Pia Quaglia; Editing by Kim Coghill)