The Pope has rejected a proposal that the Vatican Bank has a variable share capital investment fund based in Luxembourg.
The proposal had the approval of the Institute for the Works of Religion’s board and was put forward by its president.
Having this type of investment fund would have helped IOR managers manage a portion of the Institute’s deposits.
Pope Francis’s Council of Cardinals referred to the proposal to the pontiff for a decision.
But setting up an investment fund in Luxembourg may have made the controls and checks process for the IOR more complex.
Francis has, since the start of his pontificate, opposed suggestions the IOR behave like an investment bank.