As the Holy See prepares to announce on Wednesday the Vatican Bank's new structure and leadership, the institution released its profits report for 2013. The IOR posted earnings of EUR 2.9 million ($3.9 million), far below the EUR 86 million ($117 billion) registered in 2012.
Overall, the Bank brought in about EUR 70 million ($95.1 million) in revenue. But huge write-downs from pre-reform investments, and large operational expenses ebbed away at profits.
Tellingly, for 2013, the Vatican Bank spent EUR 8.3 million ($11.3 million) in 'professional services,â? required for its 'reorganization and reform.â? It included contracts with auditing firms Deloitte and the Promontory Financial Group.
The summary income statements also showed that the Bank contributed EUR 54 million ($73.4 million) to the Vatican's budget.
The IOR listed the final results of Phase I of its reform process. As of June 30, 2014, the Bank had 15,495 customers, and managed EUR 6 billion ($8.15 billion) in assets.
During Phase I, they closed about 3,000 'customer relationships,â? 2600 of which were 'dormant,â? or unused for an extended period of time. The remaining 396 did not meet the Bank's new criteria, restricting account holders to Catholic organizations, clergy, Vatican employees, and diplomats accredited to the Holy See. The IOR also stated that it froze, and is in the process of closing, an additional 359 customer accounts.
On Wednesday, the Vatican's new Secretary of the Economy, Card. George Pell, will announce Phase II of the Vatican Bank's reform. The expected changes include a new bank president, as well as a scale down of services.
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