Clean-up erodes Vatican bank’s profit
Print Edition
THE Vatican bank, dogged by scandal and allegations of money laundering, has paid a colossal price for cleaning up its accounts, its 2013 financial statement showed yesterday.
The bank said it had blocked the accounts of more than 2,000 clients and shut down hundreds of others in a vast operation that cut profit to 2.9 million euros (US$3.9 million) from 86.6 million euros in 2012.
The ending of 396 “customer relationships” not eligible for accounts with the bank led to an outflow of 44 million euros in funds by itself, it said.
Bank president Ernst von Freyberg, who took over at the helm last year, said in a statement that he had established a policy of “zero tolerance for any suspicious activity.”
“This often painful but very necessary process has opened the door to a new, unburdened future of the IOR,” he added.
The Institute for Works of Religion, also known as IOR under its Italian acronym, said that while the reforms had been costly, results for the first half of 2014 showed a net profit of 57.4 million euros.
The IOR does not lend money, but handles funds for Vatican departments, Catholic charities and congregations as well as priests and nuns living and working around the world.
The Vatican bank, which has a reputation for secrecy and intrigue, also has a troubled history.
It was the main shareholder of the Banco Ambrosiano, which collapsed in 1982 amid accusations of laundering money for the Sicilian mafia.
The chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, Roberto Calvi — dubbed “God’s Banker” in the media — was found hanging from Blackfriars Bridge in London that year in a suspected murder by mobsters.
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