Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Vatican bank hopes to resume ties with Italian financial institutions

The Vatican bank is hoping to resume normal cooperative agreements with Italian financial institutions, after implementing a series of reforms to address concerns about money-laundering. 

Italian banking officials had cut off agreements with the Vatican bank, the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), in 2010 because of complaints about a lack of transparency and inadequate documentation of financial transfers. 

Since that time the IOR has undergone a change in leadership and a series of internal reforms. 

In December, European banking examiners praised the IOR for its progress toward transparency, while recommending further steps to ensure compliance with new banking standards. 

"The IOR looks forward to a resumption of full interaction with Italian financial institutions pending review by Italian regulatory authorities of the Holy See/Vatican City State's anti -money laundering provisions," the Vatican bank announced in a report to Italian banking officials.