The Commission of Cardinals for the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), popularly known as the Vatican Bank, has appointed Mauricio Larrain (Chile) and Carlo Salvatori (Italy) as members of the IOR Board of Superintendence, according to a press release published by the Institute today.
On the occasion of the nomination Cardinal Santos Abril y Castello, President of the IOR’s Supervisory Commission of Cardinals, said: “The IOR is looking forward to working with these two new board members who will add significant financial experience and global perspective at a time when the role of IOR is being reinforced and confirmed to meet the objectives of the Holy Father.” With these appointments, the IOR Board of Superintendence is now complete. Besides Mauricio Larrain and Carlo Salvatori, it is composed of Mr. Jean-Baptiste de Franssu (France), President of the Board, Mr. Clemens Boersig (Germany), Prof. Mary Ann Glendon (USA) and Sir Michael Hintze (UK), who assumed office on 9 July 2014. In addition to these six lay members of the Board, Monsignor Alfred Xuereb, Secretary-General of the Secretariat for the Economy, serves as its non-voting Secretary.
As set out in the Institute’s revised Statute from 1990, the IOR Board of Superintendence defines strategy and ensures oversight of operations. The members of the Board of Superintendence are nominated in accordance with the new legal framework and for a period of five years. The nomination of a non-voting Secretary and a sixth member to the IOR Board of Superintendence as well as the nomination of a sixth member to the IOR Cardinals’ Commission will be formalised upon completion of the current review of the Institute’s Statute.
Mauricio Larrain is external director of Santander Bank Group Chile and general director of the ESE Business School from the Los Andes University of Chile. He served as the Santander Bank Group Chile’s Chairman and General Director from 1992 until 2014 and was president of Santander Chile Holding S.A. And Universita Chile S.A. from 2000 until 2014. During this period, Santander Bank Group Chile was chosen as the Best Bank in Latin America in six different years by the America Economia Magazine.
Carlo Salvatori has served as president of the investment bank Lazard Italy since June 2010 and of the insurance company Allianz SpA since May 2012. Furthermore, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the Sacred Heart Catholic University, of the Bambino Gesu Children’s Hospital, of Chiesi Pharmaceuticals and of the Riso Gallo Group and he also is President of the Christian Union of Business Executives’ Milanese section.
The Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR) was founded on 27 June, 1942, by papal decree to serve the Holy See and its customers in the Catholic Church all over the world. Its origins date back to the «Commissione ad Pias Causas» established in 1887 by Pope Leo XIII. The IOR’s purpose is set by its Statute, amended by Pope John Paul II in 1990, and related by-laws. It is “to provide for the custody and administration of goods transferred or entrusted to the Institute by physical or juridical persons, designated for religious works or charity. The Institute can accept deposits of assets from entities or persons of the Holy See and of the Vatican City State”.
The IOR says it strives to serve the global mission of the Catholic Church by protecting and increasing the patrimony of and providing worldwide payment services to the Holy See and related entities, religious orders, other Catholic institutions, clergy, employees of the Holy See and the accredited diplomatic corps.
As of 31 December 2013, the IOR was entrusted with customers’ assets (including deposits, assets held in custody and assets held under portfolio management agreements) totalling EUR 5.9bn, and shareholders’ equity of EUR 720m. The IOR is situated exclusively on the sovereign territory of the Vatican City State, and is supervised and regulated by the «Autorità di Informazione Finanziaria» (AIF), the financial supervisory body for the Vatican City State.
