Regulatory Alerts2023-03-29
Amendment of Rule 5 of the Account Opening Rules
The Saudi Central Bank, via Deputy Governor for Supervision Yazeed bin Ahmed Al-Sheikh, has issued a circular amending Rule 5 of the Bank Accounts Rules to redefine and update the classification, timelines, and operational requirements for dormant, active, and unclaimed banking transactions. The amendment updates the introductory definition to a sixty-calendar-month threshold, sets active and dormant account periods at twenty-four months each, and clarifies that unclaimed status applies after five years (including the dormant stage) once banks exhaust communication channels and cannot locate customers. Operating financial institutions in the Kingdom must implement these revised definitions, account categorizations, and asset preservation mandates effective immediately.