Senate passes 2019 amendments to banks, JODIC laws as referred from Lower House

AMMAN — The Senate on Wednesday endorsed the 2019 amendments to the banks and the Deposit Insurance Corporation (JODIC) laws as referred from the Lower House.

Under lawmakers’ amendments to the Banks Law, the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) will be required to justify the reasons when issuing a consequent approval to transfer shares or change ownership, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

As worded by MPs and approved by senators, the membership of Islamic banks in the JODIC is changed from optional to mandatory under the 2019 amendments to the corporation’s law.

The bill, which includes Islamic banks under the JODIC’s insurance umbrella, in accordance with Sharia (Islamic law), also enables the corporation to manage troubled banks in accordance with the new amendments to the law.

The law stipulates the establishment of a fund in the Islamic banks with a JD150,000 grant from the JODIC as a governmental contribution.

Banks present annual statements to the JODIC and the CBJ on their total deposits under the law, which exempts Islamic banks from paying the annual subscription fees, which stand at 0.0025 per cent of total deposits.