VATICAN CITY
The Local
After months of reform the Vatican bank has opened the door to a “transparent” and “unburdened future”, the institution’s chief said on Tuesday as he announced a steep fall in profits.
The Vatican bank said on Monday that net profits plummeted from €86.6 million in 2012 to €2.9 million last year, attributed to factors such as “extraordinary expenses”. Without such burdens the bank, officially the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), would have registered profits of around €70 million in 2013.
Ernst von Freyberg, president of the board of superintendence, said the new figures followed “painful” reforms to see the bank meet international standards.
“It is fair to say that over the past months this often painful but very necessary process has opened the door to a new, unburdened future of the IOR,” he said in a statement.
A review in recent months has seen around 3,000 customer accounts closed, the majority of them dormant but including 396 accounts which held a total of €44 million. An additional 359 accounts which did not meet new criteria are due to be closed, prompting the outflow of a further €183 million.
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