2017-06-09
Added · Updated
The Central Bank of Jordan issued Instructions No. 56/2012, effective 180 days after publication, imposing transparency and fair dealing obligations on all banks operating in the Kingdom. The regulations mandate clear disclosure of the Effective Annual Percentage Rate (APR), restrict credit card interest to a maximum of 1.75% monthly, and cap foreign currency cash dealing commissions at 0.5% generally and 2% at border locations. Banks are required to adhere to strict debt burden ratios, limit retail credit maturities to eight years, and transition to EMV chip technology for payment cards within one year.
1 CENTRAL BANK OF JORDAN Reference: 10/2/4/11541 Date: 15/12/1433 AH Corresponding to: 31/10/2012 Instructions on Dealing with Customers Fairly and Transparently No. (56/2012) Issued pursuant to the provisions of Article No. 44 and Article (99/B) of the Banking Law No. 28 of 2000 and amendments thereto, and the provisions of Article ( 43) of the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) Law No. 23 of 1971 Article 1: These Instructions shall be called "Instructions on Dealing with Customers Fairly and Transparently". The provisions of these Instructions shall apply to all banks operating in the Kingdom after (180) days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette. Article 2: Definitions: A- The words and expressions mentioned in these Instructions which are defined in Article No. 2 of the Banking Law in force shall have the same meanings assigned thereto in such Article. B- The following words and expressions shall have the meanings assigned thereto hereunder wherever mentioned in these Instructions unless the context indicates otherwise: Banking Product : A credit offer or a program that has certain characteristics and conditions which distinguish it from any other offer or program. Retail Portfolio : Each credit granted by the bank to an individual or a group of related clients or a small enterprise (as defined in the Instructions on capital adequacy based on the Basel II standard No. 39/2008, dated ( 24/3/2008). Such credit includes personal and auto loans, credit cards, educational and consumer loans granted to finance the purchase of commodities or services, commercial real estate loans granted to small enterprises, residential loans secured by real-estate mortgages, lease-to-own homes (Ijara Muntaheya bil tamalluk), property maintenance loans, and any other credit that is similar in characteristics to the aforementioned products. Credit Card : A card that enables the client to withdraw an amount of money or purchase a commodity or a service without having an
2 available balance on his/her account whether the client should repay the whole balance used on the maturity date or a percentage of this balance, which will be defined in the agreement. Interest shall be calculated on the remaining balance Costs : Include commissions and/or the expenses and/or the fees and/or any other amounts charged by the bank, other than the interest/return for Islamic Banks which shall be paid by the client by virtue of the agreement. Return for Islamic Banks : Includes ratios of Murabaha on futures, lease-to-own rents and percentages of profits for Mudaraba and Musharaka. Direct Announcement : The offer made for an individual or individuals in a face to face communication or through the phone or any other form of direct conversation. Indirect Announcement : : The offer that is published in printing, on line, through audio/ video media means, in written advertisements, through SMS, or published in the bank head quarters, branches and offices. Regular Income : The net monthly salary of the client in the bank and any other income of the client from a known and specified source/ sources. Effective Annual Percentage Rate (APR) : A single percentage that represents the actual annual costs of credit throughout the credit period. This includes the nominal interest plus all the specified costs by virtue of the agreement except the fees owed by the client as a result of his/ her failure to fulfill the contractual obligations. Such percentage shall be calculated by assuming that the credit agreement will remain valid for the agreed-upon period and that both of the bank and the client will fulfill the obligations thereof by virtue of the agreed-upon terms and conditions and in pursuance of the equation mentioned in the appendix Article 3: A- In the direct and / or indirect announcement of any banking product or award, the information, the terms and conditions of such product or award shall be clear, comprehensive and expressive of the actual facts and shall not include promises, or unperceivable expressions and exaggerations and shall be written in an easy, understandable formal Arabic language. B- All expressions used in the indirect announcement particularly the SMS as well as audio/ video advertisements could be brief, provided that the bank provides all details on its website or at its branches in accordance with provisions of paragraph (A) of this Article.
3 Chapter One: Transparency, Principles and Conditions of Retail Portfolio Article 4: A- All the forms and agreements used by the bank shall be written in a formal Arabic language understandable by layman and shall be printed in a clear legible font. The articles of the agreement shall be clear and shall not be interpreted in several meanings. B- Each bank shall prepare a bulletin / bulletins with respect to all types of products offered thereby (including deposit related products), stating therein the most important details and conditions of each product, so as to inform the public in a proper way that suitable for bank.. Article 5: The bank shall, before signing the agreement with the client, give the client sufficient time to accurately revise all the agreement clauses. Article 6: A- The credit policy of the bank shall include an evidence of granting the client the right to choose whether the interest rate on the planned credit is fixed or variable (in case there is a product bearing the previously mentioned types of interest). In such case the difference between both rates shall be explained to the client. B- In case the client chooses the fixed interest rate, the bank may not solely change such interest rate throughout the period of the agreement. C- In case the client chooses a fixed interest rate product by virtue of an agreement that authorizes the bank to modify the interest rate after the expiration of a certain period of the agreement, Paragraph 'D' of this Article shall be applied to the period in which the bank may change the interest rate. D- In case the client choose the variable interest rate, such rate shall be linked to a monetary policy tools announced by the CBJ, on treasury bills interest rate, or on JODIBOR, along with defining the adopted tools and its alternatives in case it is not available for calculating a change in the interest rate with clarifying the added margin as well as the periodical modification of the interest rate. E- No change shall be introduced to any item of the costs related to the credit throughout the period of the agreement signed with the client. F- The bank shall explain to the client the difference between the discounted credit (whose total interest is paid in advance) and the other types of credit and shall explain the results arising from early paying of the loan.
4 Article 7: The effective Annual Percentage Rate (APR) shall reflect all the costs specified by the agreements in accordance with the direct or indirect announcement / announcements. The bank shall disclose transparently to the clients in all the branches and offices and through the website the APR for the bank products (in addition to giving an example of calculating same in line with the equation mentioned in the enclosed appendix hereof). The bank shall also provide the CBJ with the related link. Article 8: A- The bank shall, before granting the credit, obtain a declaration from the client and the guarantor of all the obligations of each of them and the burden of fulfilling such obligations and shall obtain all available information and data that enables the bank to evaluate the client’s ability to pay. B- The bank shall before signing the agreement with the client provide the client with a credit offer that is duly signed. Such agreement shall include the credit value, period and total value (principal value, interest and costs) which will be paid by the client throughout the credit period and the Effective ARP and the conditions of the bank especially those mentioned in Article No. 9 of these instructions along with defining the validity period of such offer. C- The bank shall include in its credit policy of the retail portfolio the maximum limits applicable therein with respect to the total deductions from the regular income of any client or guarantor for all the granted and / or the planned credit facilities including the credit card\cards limit (Debt Burden Ratio (DBR)) for each type of the retail portfolio facilities with clarifying the bank principles to calculate them clearly, provided that a large portion of the credit shall not be paid in lump sum at the end of the credit period (Balloon payment) unless a clear, specific and authenticated sources of payment are provided as per procedure to settle the aforementioned payment. Article 9: When the bank enters into agreement with the client, the bank shall: A- Draft an independent agreement to be signed with the client for each "banking product". The agreement shall not include any conditions that contradict the credit offer or any material conditions that were not stated in the offer and shall not include a reference to other agreements or documents that include any obligation on the client unless the client reviewed them and signed a declaration of the same. B- When entering into an agreement, the maximum limit of the total credit maturity granted within retail portfolio shall not exceed eight (8) years (Original maturity) (except the residential loans secured by real estate mortgages and lease-to-own homes (Ijara Muntaheya bil tamalluk)).
5 C- The credit agreement shall include, at least, the following information and data:
6 8. A reference to an independent unit in the bank to address customers complaints. 9. The information and data to be obtained from the client or the guarantor within the framework of the contractual relationship shall be subject to the conditions of confidentiality as stipulated in the effective Banking Law. 10. A paragraph shall be written in a large and special font to show an acknowledgement by the client and guarantor of reading and understanding the clauses of the agreement so that the client and the guarantor sign this paragraph to prove the previously mentioned. D- Any change in the variable interest rate shall not violate the rates specified in the bank credit policy in accordance with the provisions of Article No. 8 of these instructions. Article 10: The bank shall, after signing the agreement with the client, provide the client with a photocopy of the agreement and any other documents and notifications that were signed. The bank shall obtain the signature of the client to prove receiving. In addition, the bank shall provide the client with a detailed table that shows the installment break- down (principal, interest and costs), the maturity dates and the grace period (if any). In case the interest rate is variable, the client shall be provided with the new interest rate, the effective APR, the related effect on the installments and/ or the period of the credit, at every time the said rate is changed. Article 11: A- In case the client delay in paying, the bank shall:
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8 G- Providing the client with a monthly statement to show the installment which shall be paid (payment), the maturity date, the interest rate and the period of objecting to any transaction in the statement, as well as explaining the mechanism of objection or notifying the bank of errors. H- In case the client objects to any transaction of which he/ she is informed or mentioned in the statement of account, the bank shall verify that promptly and without any delay and shall return the rejectable amounts in case the objection was proved to be true. The bank may fulfill any actual costs incurred thereby in the said respect in case the client objection was proved to be untrue and that applies to any similar transactions executed by the debit cards or Card transactions through the internet. I- The period through which the client can apply for not renewing the credit card without incurring any additional costs. Article 14: The bank shall comply with the conditions and rules of dealing with the information of payment cards in accordance with the standard of the security and protection of the card industry data (PCI DSS) and shall work on moving in the field of payment / credit cards (except the pre-paid cards & Internet Cards) to the EMV technology which means "using the electronic chip with the pin code" within a maximum period of one year from the date of publishing these instructions in the Official Gazette, and shall provide the CBJ within ninety (90) days from issuing these instructions in the Official Gazette of its plans to implement it. Article 15: The bank shall take the procedures required for preventing the pre-paid cards from being misused, hacked or used fraudulently. Such procedures include for example: Linking the card use to a pin code and / or hiding the number allocated for online shopping. Chapter Two: Commissions and Fees Article 16 *: A- The maximum limits of the fees and commissions which can be fulfilled by the bank in return for the banking accounts and services offered to retail clients shall be as shown in the table enclosed with these instructions. The bank may not impose any commission or fee that is not mentioned in the table. The CBJ will regularly review the maximum limits of the imposed fees and commissions after consulting with licensed banks. B- Banks could define commissions and fees of the credit and pre-paid cards, Safety Deposit Boxes, transfers, postal charges, bill payment fees, property evaluation fees, check book issuance fees, fees of correspondence keeping at
9 branch, commissions of depositing and recovering checks (Postdated Checks), the commissions and fees imposed by third party (such as using JONET fees) and fees related to indirect facilities. C- 1. If there is a need arising to amend/add on the commissions and fees mentioned in these instructions, the banks shall, through Association of banks, from the beginning of year 2014, collect the amendment requests and proposals on these commissions and fees with a statement of justification, and provide the CBJ with a summary about them no later than the end of the first month of each year. 2. The CBJ shall consider the mentioned requests and inform the Association of banks of the decision taken and publish it in the Official Gazette. D- The bank shall disclose transparently to clients and through all ways of disclosure that ensure getting information to the clients (including the bank website) the rates of commissions and fees obtained by the bank for all banking accounts and services as well as any other change that may occur thereto. The bank shall provide the CBJ with the related link. E- The maximum limit for cash dealing commissions (depositing or exchanging) in foreign currency for the clients is as follows:
10 Article 18 *: When all client accounts at the bank are deemed dormant, the bank shall: A- Make netting between dormant accounts and any other debit accounts or liabilities on part of its holders at the bank, with suspending the ATM cards, payment and credit cards related to the account. B- Define automatic control mechanisms that do not allow showing the account or signature forms, or any other procedures unless under tightened supervision and central monitoring. C- Transfer the files of dormant accounts and keep them at a place where the necessary security safety is available at high level monitoring than the level applied to the remaining files. In case the files are electronically archived, control mechanisms that do not allow showing the account, or any other procedures unless under tightened supervision and central monitoring shall be laid down. D- Continue calculating interest or profits on these accounts in accordance with the valid agreement on the date such account was deemed dormant. E- Continue sending statements of accounts and periodical notifications to account holders and attempt communicating with them or obtaining information about them, as well as documenting same.
11 approved by the bank or the authorized signatory of the account in case of an entity is present. Article 20 *: A- In case the client, or the representative by virtue of a notarized power of attorney or an authorization approved by the bank refers to the bank after the account was deemed dormant to reactivate the account or withdraw the balance, the bank shall re-activate this account or open a new account or dispose the outstanding balance after verifying the personality of the client or the representative and getting his/ her signature of the acknowledgement on the correct balance to date. B- If the client rejected providing acknowledgment on the correct balance, the bank can obtain a written objection and submit it to top management (the competent authority to activate the account) then the bank can activate the account thereafter. C- In case that the notarized power of attorney does not enable the representative to provide the correct balance acknowledgement or the representative refused to provide the mentioned acknowledgement, the bank can replace it with a written objection or provide the bank management with a photocopy of power of attorney marked by both the representative and the bank officer or by the Notary showing the revision date, then the bank can activate the account.
12 Chapter Four: General Provisions Article 24: The bank shall provide its clients with photocopies of the agreements signed therewith and with any notifications or data or statements related to their accounts at that bank even if there is a legal dispute between the bank and the client. Article 25: The bank shall verify the signature of the client on an acknowledgement of its valid address to ensure that the client obtains the statement of account and any other correspondence at the right time. The bank shall inform the client of the importance of notifying the bank of any change to their address. Article 26: The bank may not ask the client or guarantor to submit repeated credit documents for the same credit, for example: to make the client sign on credit contract in addition to signing promissory notes and /or checks for the same credit. Article 27: A- The credit agreement may not include an article / articles to prove that the bank has the right to amend any clause of the agreement at its sole discretion. B- It shall be excluded from the provisions of Article No. 27/A if the services provided for the client by virtue of the credit agreement are under a condition or conditions imposed by a third party, provided that the client is notified of same in writing. Article 28: The bank shall include in the agreements signed with the clients in a special font clauses that show any risks related to the nature of the account, for example: A- Including in the agreements of the current accounts the consequences arising from returning checks due to insufficient funds with respect to the relationship between the bank and the client. B- Term deposit agreements shall include the condition of breaking deposits and the related consequences. C- Agreements related to joint accounts shall include a statement of the risks related to these accounts.
13 Article 29: The bank shall continue calculating interest on the deposit in accordance with what was mentioned in the agreement signed with the client despite a decision issued on precautionary seizure by a specialized entity. Article 30: A- The bank shall provide the CBJ within a maximum period of seven days from the date these instructions become valid with what proves the following:
14 2. Define clear working procedures to deal with customer complaints for the unit, provided that this shall include the following as a minimum:
15 Article 33: Work according to the following instructions and circulars shall be cancelled: 1- Circular No. 10/2/2/1811, dated 17/2/2008. 2- Circular No. 10/2/4/1464, dated 27/1/2009. 3- Circular No. 10/2/4/14443, dated 23/11/2009. 4- Circular No. 10/2/4/7882, dated 30/06/2011. 5- Circular No. 10/2/4/9867, dated 22/08/2011. 6- Circular No. 10/2/4/3323, dated 31/3/2012. 7- Paragraph No. 4 of Clause (Sixth) of the Guidance Manual for Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing. Governor Dr. Ziyad Fariz
16 Appendix Enclosed with the instructions on dealing with customers in a fair and transparent manner Equation to calculate the Effective APR 1- The effective APR shall be calculated based on the following equation: Where: r = The effective Annual Percentage Rate (APR) T = The credit payment amount offered by the bank. T 1 = The number of the installment owed by the client. PMTT = The value of T payment fulfilled by the bank. PMT1 T 1 = The value of the T1 installment owed by the client. Ʃ = The total elements mentioned in the equation. n = The number of credit phases. n 1 = Total number of installments. 2- The PMT1 T 1 installment shall include the value of the repaid portion of the credit in addition to nominal interests and all the costs specified by virtue of the agreement.
17 Table Enclosed with the instructions on dealing with customers in a fair and transparent manner Maximum limits of commissions and fees on banking accounts and services for retail clients Type of Commission / Fee Maximum Limit Cash withdrawal over the counter
18 Type of Commission / Fee Maximum Limit Statements of account:
19 Type of Commission / Fee Maximum Limit Postponing the repayment of an installment 10 JD Application for amending the financing conditions or securities upon the request of the client 5 JD Early Settlement: