There has been a Heavenly shakeup at the Vatican bank!! French businessman; Jean-Baptiste de Franssu will lead scandal-hit bank as Church says it plans to become a model of financial transparency”. The Vatican is turning to Wall Street players for help as it tries to leave its scandal-tainted banking past behind…………….Pope Francis has hired veterans of Invesco, Goldman Sachs (GS) and Deutsche Bank (DB) to complete an overhaul of the Vatican bank. The Vatican has said it would separate its banks investment business from its Church payments work to try to clean up the institution after years of scandal, and vowed to become a model of financial transparency…………………..The Church also plans to increase scrutiny on one of the two sections of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See (APSA) which has also been hit by recent scandals. The bank -- whose functions include providing financial advice and services to the Catholic Church -- has been hit by a criminal investigation, high-level resignations and international accusations that it wasnt doing enough to prevent money laundering……………………. A report in 2012 by European experts found that the threat of financial crime at the Vatican was low. But the banks global reach, high volume of cash transactions and a lack of information about some non-profit organizations could make it a target for money launderers………………..Under new management, the Institute for the Works of Religion -- as the bank is formally known -- spent the last year shedding hundreds of customers, dealing with investment losses from the past and improving transparency. Taking charge at the bank is Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, a former CEO of Invescos European business and founder of an M&A advisory firm. His predecessor, German lawyer Ernst von Freyberg, was unable to commit full time to the role.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 12:15:26 +0000
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