Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Vatican Bank with significant profit growth

The Vatican Bank IOR reports a seven per cent jump in profits for the past year. 

As the bank announced on Wednesday, net profit at the end of the year totalled 32.8 million euros. 

In the previous year, it totalled 30.6 million euros, and 29.6 million euros the year before that. 

The assets of church institutions and individuals managed by the bank also grew: from 5.4 to 5.7 billion euros.

The bank, which has been managed by French financial expert Jean-Baptiste Douville de Franssu since 2014, paid a dividend of 13.8 million euros (previous year: 13.6 million euros) to the Pope. 

The press release also states that the IOOC is now one of the most solid financial institutions in the world in terms of liquidity and equity. 

It follows the ethical guidelines of the Catholic Church when making financial investments.

According to the press release, the IOOC's financial report was approved by the bank's Supervisory Board on 29 April 2025 and forwarded to the responsible Cardinal's Commission. 

This commission is chaired by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn (80) from Vienna. The bank, which does not grant loans, manages the assets of around 12,000 clients. 

Most of them are clergy, religious orders, dioceses and other ecclesiastical institutions as well as diplomats accredited to the Holy See. 

The annual dividend from the bank's profits is an important source of income for the Holy See.