State lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) cannot be a 'fix-it-all' for Italy's financial system and underperforming economy, its chief executive said on Saturday.

CDP owns stakes in several strategic Italian companies including 10% of phone operator Telecom Italia and 12.55% of energy service group Saipem , which shocked investors with a profit warning last week.

"CDP is not, cannot not be and must not be a sort of Swiss army knife for the Italian economic and financial system. We must intervene in a targeted manner where we are needed," Dario Scannapieco told the ASSIOM FOREX conference in Parma.

Scannapieco said CDP's mission was to support Italy's recovery and growth potential following more than two decades of underperformance relative to its European peers.

The allocation of funds that Europe has earmarked for Italy under its post-pandemic Recovery Fund could be a game changer, he said, noting that Italy was ranked bottom in 2020 for spending funds from Brussels.

"The EU Recovery fund should be an opportunity for Italy to break with the spending processes of the past," Scannapieco added.

CDP is on track to spend 4.3 billion euros from the EU Recovery Fund in projects ranging from digital innovation to green technologies.

The lender is also advising the Treasury and other government departments with the allocation of a further 3 billion euros in EU funds earmarked for health, schools, public transport and other projects.

(Reporting by Francesca Landini; Editing by Christina Fincher)