By April 1916, the bank's confidence crisis worsened, and Benedict XV authorized Pacelli, who was deeply indebted to the bank, to hand over 425,000 shares to the bank (purchased for ₤42.5 million but worth less than ₤15 million at the time), which had been held by Pacelli on behalf of the Administration of the Assets of the Holy See (ABSS); Gasparri then authorized Pacelli to hand over another 90,000 shares in return for the proceeds from the sale of Pacelli's villa. Following these handovers, the Vatican no longer controlled any significant shares in the Banco di Roma, although it did still retain deposits.