> Scianna then somehow connected with the bank's president, who reiterated that its policy requires in-person changes. The response was simple, McCarthy said.

> "Well, then the pope is going to move his account to a different bank."

> In the end, the bank made an exception.

Honestly, he should have moved his account anyway if the bank in Chicago has a strict in-person policy for some actions. That's never going to be practical for a person who lives in Vatican City. If he's going to be living in the Vatican until he dies he might as well use a local bank.

> That's never going to be practical for a person who lives in Vatican City. If he's going to be living in the Vatican until he dies he might as well use a local bank.

These may have been 'legacy' accounts, as he was a bishop in Peru for almost a decade:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Leo_XIV#Bishop_of_Chiclay...

So he was born and raised, and had early ministries in the area, but has been outside of Chicago for a number of recent years. It may have been easy enough for him to travel back home (?) when he was 'only' a bishop or cardinal, but has been more difficult more recently.

Dealing with / consolidating old accounts may not have been a priority for him.

> If he's going to be living in the Vatican until he dies he might as well use a local bank.

Like, say, the Vatican's own bank? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_for_the_Works_of_Rel...

Maybe he owns property in the US or has accounts here or something where it would be more of a hassle to use a foreign bank