VATICAN CITY
IPE
2 JUNE 2015BY GAIL MOSS
Pope Francis has issued new statutes for the Vatican pension fund which provide for the fund’s president to be appointed directly by the Pontiff himself, and for the inclusion of laity on the board of directors.
The pension fund had net assets of €477.7m as at end-December 2014, with its portfolio estimated to be worth €504m at the end of 2015.
The changes have been introduced by a motu proprio, a document issued by the Pope on his own initiative.
They form part of an ongoing shake-up in Vatican finances prompted by the Pope since his election in 2013.
The latest move means that the pension fund’s president will be chosen by the Pope from among three candidates nominated by the Council for the Economy – which sets policy guidelines for the Vatican’s economic activities – and who could include members of the laity.
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