VATICAN CITY
Financial Times

By Giulia Segreti in Rome

Profits at the Vatican bank plunged last year after thousands of accounts were closed as part of an overhaul of the scandal-ridden institution.

The losses include a €15m loan granted to a production company owned by a friend of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, a former senior prelate who retired last year from his position as secretary of state.

Since April 2013 almost 3,000 accounts have been closed and more than 2,000 have been blocked as a result of a screening process of all the accounts held in the troubled bank.

George Pell, the Australian cardinal heading the secretariat for the economy at the Vatican, said in a statement: “This is a time of major change in the Holy See . . . we are creating simpler, more efficient structures for those serving the mission of the Catholic Church.”

The Vatican bank, officially known as the…