Amendments of Rules 300.1.1 and 300.1.3 of the Account Opening Rules

Saudi Central Bank

Circular

Reference No.: 42053614
Date: 1442/08/02
Attachments: 2

To the Esteemed,

Peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you,

Subject: Amendments to the requirements of Rule No. (300-1-1) and Rule No. (300-1-3) of the Account Opening Rules.

Reference is made to Rule No. (300-1-1) concerning licensed institutions, establishments, and shops, and Rule No. (300-1-3) concerning resident companies, both included in the Account Opening Rules, communicated via Saudi Central Bank Circular No. (65681/67) dated 1440/11/01H.

You are hereby informed of the amendments to the aforementioned two rules to align with the attached versions, aiming to clarify the requirements that must be fulfilled when opening bank accounts for institutions or companies where the owner of the institution or one/all partners are associations or non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

For your information and action, please ensure compliance with the same regarding accounts classified similarly to the purposes mentioned above as sub-accounts under the main account of the association or NGO.

Yours sincerely,

Fahd bin Ibrahim Al-Shathri
Acting Governor for Supervision

Distribution Scope:

• Banks operating within the Kingdom.

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Amendments to the requirements of Rule No. (300-1-1) concerning licensed institutions, establishments, and shops, and Rule No. (300-1-3) concerning resident companies

300-1-1 / Licensed Institutions, Establishments, and Shops: Bank accounts are opened for them upon obtaining the required documents from each, as follows:

1. A copy of the commercial registration for the institution or shop, or a copy of the activity license if required for the establishment's activity alone without needing a commercial registration.
2. Identification and verification of the owners' identities according to the name stated in the commercial registration or license, and confirmation of identity details and validity.
3. Copies of the identities of persons authorized to manage and operate the accounts.

• In the event that the owner of the institution or shop is a waqf (endowment) or an association/NGO, or a cooperative society, as stated in the memorandum of association, the bank must fulfill the following in addition to the above requirements:

1. A valid copy of the waqf registration certificate issued by the General Authority for Waqf, containing at minimum: the name of the waqf, the waqf deed number and date, names of the trustees (nazir) and their identity numbers, (for waqfs), or a copy of the license issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development and the board of directors' resolution (meeting minutes) approving the establishment of the institution or shop and authorizing the designated persons to sign bank accounts (for associations/NGOs or cooperative societies).
2. Copies of the identities of the trustees named in the registration certificate (for waqfs).
3. Accounts are classified as high-risk accounts.

300-1-3 / Resident Companies:
Bank accounts for resident companies in the Kingdom are opened upon fulfilling the following documents:

1. A copy of the commercial registration.
2. A copy of the memorandum of association and its appendices.
3. A copy of the responsible manager's identity.
4. Identification and verification of the board members' identities.
5. A power of attorney issued by a notary public or certified authenticator, or an authorization prepared within the bank from the person (or persons) who, according to the memorandum of association or partners' resolution or board resolution, has the authority to authorize natural persons to sign and operate accounts.
6. Copies of the identities of persons authorized to sign and operate accounts.
7. Identification and verification of the identities of the company owners named in the memorandum of association according to its latest amendments, except for listed joint-stock companies.

• In the event that all or one of the company owners are waqfs, associations/NGOs, or cooperative societies, as stated in the memorandum of association, the bank must fulfill the following requirements in addition to the above:

1. A valid copy of the waqf registration certificate issued by the General Authority for Waqf, containing at minimum: the name of the waqf, the waqf deed number and date, names of the trustees and their identity numbers (for waqfs), or a copy of the license issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development and the board of directors' resolution (meeting minutes) approving the establishment of the company (for associations/NGOs or cooperative societies).
2. Copies of the identities of the trustees named in each waqf's registration certificate (for waqfs).
3. Accounts are classified as high-risk accounts if the ownership of waqfs, associations/NGOs, or cooperative societies exceeds 50% of the company's share capital.