The Institute for Religious Works (IOR) closed 2014 with a net profit of 69,3 million euros, after the 2013 restructuring that had reduced its profits to 2,9 million. The 2014 operating result was 104,520 million, against 55,173 in 2013. This was announced today by the Vatican Bank itself, which will allocate 55 million to the budget of the Holy See
According to the institute, the results were influenced by "the positive effect of financial market dynamics on the securities portfolio" and the reduction in "operating costs of an extraordinary nature".
The restructuring and "thinning" operation of the institute - which in recent decades has often come under the spotlight due to judicial investigations - has also reduced the accounts to 15.181, i.e. 4.614 fewer than in May 2013, of which 550 were closed because " do not correspond to the definition of accepted clientele”, therefore they could not even have been open. And all the cases of offenses discovered have been reported to the Vatican judicial authorities. Another 274 accounts are "in the process of closing".
The "new" IOR - which has been led by Jean-Baptiste de Franssu since July 2014 - reiterates that it has "worked hard" to adapt to the regulatory standards on financial transparency and that it has made "a great deal of effort in dealing with the offenses which in the past have concerned the Institute", who "have been reported to the relevant Vatican authorities".
In terms of figures, at the end of 2014 the IOR had assets of 695 million, against 720 a year earlier. However, the total value of the assets entrusted to the institution increased, reaching 6 billion, from 5,9 in 2013.
