The Jordan Securities Commission (JSC) mandates that financial brokers convert dormant accounts of their clients in the local financial market to "dormant" accounts.

The Jordan Securities Commission (JSC) has mandated that financial brokers in the local financial market convert client accounts that have remained inactive for one year without any transactions or updates to their data on the Securities Depository Center's database to "dormant" accounts. This proactive measure aims to protect investors' rights from potential risks.

To ensure implementation, and in accordance with international best practices, the JSC Board of Commissioners issued guidelines for handling dormant accounts of clients of financial brokers trading securities in the local market. These guidelines will take effect at the beginning of next month, with the one-year period for considering an account dormant. The JSC also urges investors in the local financial market to continuously monitor their accounts with their brokerage firms and update their data and supporting documents.

This step aims to protect clients' assets, whether securities or cash, from potential loss or misuse, and to provide better financial services through data updates. This fulfills one of the Authority's most important strategic objectives and its most sensitive role: protecting investors from potential risks, preserving the rights of all participants in the financial markets, and regulating and developing the capital market, as stipulated by the Securities Law.

The regulations also obligate the financial intermediary to notify the client thirty days prior to considering the account dormant, using one of the methods agreed upon in the account opening agreement. The notification must emphasize the importance of updating the client's data on the Securities Depository Center's database with the financial intermediary within two weeks of the notification date. This notification must also include a statement of the consequences and procedures that will result from failure to comply within the specified timeframe. Regarding the procedures and consequences if the specified deadline expires without the client updating their information or conducting any transactions on their account, the financial intermediary is obligated, according to established principles, to classify the account as dormant, refrain from processing any transactions through it, and transfer the client's securities balances to the central registry at the Securities Depository Center, after verifying that there are no legal impediments to such a transfer. The intermediary is also obligated to transfer all client credit balances to a bank account (under the "trusts" category) designated by the Board, along with a statement stamped and signed by the Board of Directors/or the Board of Directors in PDF/Excel format. The client retains the right to reactivate their account by contacting the company and making the necessary updates.

If the client does not wish to reactivate their account, they can contact the financial intermediary to close their account and contact the Securities Depository Center to receive their cash entitlements from the designated bank account (if any), and contact the Securities Depository Center regarding their securities entitlements. This does not prejudice the financial intermediary's right to close the account, subject to the account opening agreement concluded between the two parties. The guidelines also exclude accounts that are the subject of complaints filed with the Authority, or that are the subject of pending lawsuits before the courts, until their conclusion is proven, or accounts that include securities pledged to the broker. It should be noted that updating the center's database of clients does not require the client's presence at the company's headquarters, as updating and ensuring the accuracy of the data is the responsibility of the company.