VATICAN CITY – The Vatican Bank, officially known as the Institute for Religious Works, has announced a 20-fold increase in profits for 2014. This comes as positive news, following a plan implemented by Pope Francis to increase transparency at the Vatican’s historically shady financial institution.

 The bank revealed that it made a profit of 69.3 million euros during 2014, when figures were released on Monday. This marks a notable increase from the 2.9 million euro profit, which was registered in 2013. Several global issues such as a reduction in gold prices had negatively impacted on Vatican finances during 2013, however in addition; profits were harmed by the decision by the pontiff to employ a team of accounting experts to examine all areas of the Vatican Bank.

 A major part of reforms introduced by Francis revolve around the screening of accounts in an attempt to reduce money laundering. The Pope announced in 2013 that 4,500 accounts had been closed and although many of these closures resulted from dormancy, 554 arrangements were ended because the clients did not meet necessary Vatican requirements under new regulations.

 The priority going forward, according to the bank’s president, Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, is to improve client experience for 15,000 account holders while increasing growth during a tricky period for European governments and financial institutions.

 “The main focus is on fundamentally improving our overall client service standards and further professionalising our asset management services,” said the president in a statement.

 Officially the only persons allowed to hold an account with the Institute for Religious Works are employees of the Vatican City and diplomats accredited to the State along with catholic institutions, priests and religious orders around the world. In the past however, this has come under scrutiny, as large sums of money are known to have passed through accounts, which may have been used by outsiders for laundering money.

 Under Francis’ papacy, the Vatican Bank plans to continue reforms, which aim to illuminate the state’s dark financial recesses. Certainly, transparency is the order of the day, not only in the Vatican City but also across Europe as a whole. A new initiative introduced by the global Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) aims to encourage countries to work together to reduce money laundering and tax evasion.

 At an OECD summit in Berlin last year, 51 countries including the United Kingdom signed a declaration, which registered their commitment to sharing fiscal information by 2017. Under the new initiative, financial institutions in participating countries will be required to communicate information to their governments, which will in turn enable authorities to pinpoint individuals and companies who aim to avoid tax. 

 It is not yet clear whether the Vatican City will engage in this initiative over the coming years, however last month state officials signed a hugely symbolic agreement, pledging full co-operation and transparency with Italy regarding financial matters. The deal is the state’s first with another foreign country and underlines the way in which Francis wants the Vatican Bank’s finances to operate.