'Impossible to launder money' at Vatican bank, says chairman

New recruits of the Vatican's elite Swiss Guard march in front of the tower of the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR) during the swearing-in ceremony at the Vatican May 6, 2014. REUTERS/Tony Gentile/File photo

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A drive to tighten financial governance at the Vatican bank after years of alleged wrongdoing has made it "impossible to launder money" there, its chairman said on Thursday.

The bank, which is called the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), has toughened its rules and closed thousands of accounts since 2012 to break from the murky management of the past.