2025-08-20

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Responses to Banks' Inquiries and Comments Regarding Banking Notification Instructions No. 12-2025

The Central Bank of Jordan clarifies operational requirements for Banking Notification Instructions No. 12-2025, specifying that prior written customer consent is not required in cases outlined in Article 74 of the Banking Law and Personal Data Protection Law. Banks are instructed to use registration numbers and legal status to identify legal entities, report foreign currency facilities in Jordanian Dinars, and declare all joint partners of dissolved companies as primary debtors regardless of account status. The Bank confirms that system modifications are minimal as most instructions reflect current practices, and extensions for submission deadlines may be granted at its discretion.

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Responses to Banks' Inquiries and Comments Regarding Banking Notification Instructions No. 12-2025

No. (12) dated 20/08/2025

1. Article (4/a): What are the cases that do not require the customer's prior written consent before inquiring about their banking notification to prevent ambiguity? Answer: The cases stipulated in Article (74) of the current Banking Law, the Personal Data Protection Law, and the decisions issued pursuant thereto.

2. Article (4/c): Clarification of the data required for a sole proprietorship for the purpose of assigning a banking transaction number in the owner's own name, as there is data specific to the institution such as a commercial registration number, trade name, and data specific to the institution's owner. Answer: The customer card display screen shows the data that must be filled in for the sole proprietorship, noting the possibility of using the notes field to fill in any other data specific to the sole proprietorship.

3. Article (4/d): When assigning a banking transaction number to a legal entity customer, reliance is placed on the name, national number, and registration number. The national numbers of companies within free zones differ from the national numbers of companies with the Companies Controller. Therefore, please clarify the mechanism that will be adopted to merge the two companies under a single banking transaction number, especially since they are separate legal entities and the partners in the two companies may differ. Answer: Reliance is placed on the registration number and legal status to identify any legal entity, noting that the national number field for the establishment is optional. We also emphasize that the current practice is to declare companies registered with the Companies Controller and having a branch within free zones as a single entity for banking notification purposes, with the necessity of indicating that they operate within free zones. In the case of differing partners in the two companies, they are declared separately.

4. Article (4/e): We suggest that the upload of the banking notification file be on the first working day after the tenth day of the following month if the tenth day is a holiday. Answer: The procedure currently taken by the Central Bank is that an extension may be granted to any bank if the Central Bank deems it appropriate.

5. Article (4/z): Will the debts of deceased customers be declared regardless of the debt amount? Answer: According to Article (4/z) of the Instructions, the declaration of banking notification data for a deceased customer is left to the bank according to its implemented policies and procedures.

6. Article (4/h): Regarding the declaration of joint partners in dissolved companies as primary debtors for the company and the mechanism for doing so, as this cannot be applied without opening an account for each partner and transferring the debt to them. Answer: We emphasize the instruction to continue declaring banking notifications for companies that have been liquidated. In the case of dissolved joint partnerships or dissolved companies where one partner is a joint partner (simple recommendation/recommendation by shares), the bank must declare the names of all joint partners as primary debtors for the full amount of the debt registered on the dissolved company and for each joint partner. If one of the joint partners is not a bank customer, the bank must follow the inquiry procedures and assign a banking transaction number to the joint partner and declare them in the banking notification statement. If the bank is unable to open accounts for the remaining partners, the bank must continue to declare the dissolved company and the joint partners therein who have accounts with the bank.

7. Article (4/k): To avoid duplication in obtaining a banking transaction number, we suggest the existence of a fixed reference to refer to, such as the national number for individuals, because the search process by name involves many possibilities such as the presence of a space, or a dotted 't', or 'h', or the presence of abbreviations, etc., and such that this reference is specific to companies, banks, and non-Jordanian customers. Answer: We emphasize the necessity of adhering to the inquiry mechanism detailed in the appendix of the Customer Inquiry Guide on the Office Supervision System (Customer Cards/Banking Notifications).

8. Article (4/m): Declaring the bank's share of the value of the syndicated loan only, and it must also be clarified that the declaration should only include the bank's share in the collateral of the syndicated loan. Answer: The notification file includes the declaration of the customer's facilities and the collateral against them. In light of declaring its share in the syndicated loan, the bank will naturally declare the value of the collateral regarding its share in the loan.

9. General Comments:

  • There was no mention of facilities in foreign currency. Answer: Facilities granted in foreign currency are declared in the banking notification file valued in Dinars.
  • Modifying banking notification data requires modifying the systems used, which requires granting banks sufficient time to make the necessary modifications. Answer: There will be no need to make fundamental modifications to the systems used, given that most of what is contained in the Instructions is currently in practice.