Vatican bank profits soar

Associated Press

VATICAN CITY

The Vatican bank said Monday its profit soared by more than 20 times last year as it recovered from a trading loss and continued its reform process away from its scandal-marred past.

The bank, officially called the Institute for Religious Works, said it earned 69.3 million euros ($77.37 million) in 2014, up from 2.9 million euros the previous year.

Its net trading result jumped to 36.7 million euros from a loss of 16.5 million euros in 2013, when it lost money on investments and saw the value of its gold holdings drop.

Profits also were boosted by a drop in operating costs. In 2013, operating expenses jumped by some 8 million euros as it paid outside consultants to help review its client base and bring it into compliance with anti-money-laundering norms.

That review resulted in some 4,600 accounts being closed, either because they were dormant or because clients no longer fit the revised client base approved by the bank’s board, which includes religious orders, Catholic institutions, clerics, employees or former employees of the Vatican as well as embassies and diplomats accredited to the Holy See.