The Central Bank of Jordan has allowed banks operating in the Kingdom to reschedule retail loans so that the repayment period extends to ten years instead of eight years from the date of granting or scheduling the loan.

The Central Bank said in a statement on December 23, 2018, that this decision comes to address the potential effects of high interest rates on debt service installments for households and individual borrowers for housing and retail purposes with the banking system, thus reducing the economic burden on them, and avoid them high debt service premiums, and thus mitigate the negative impact on domestic demand. The Central Bank issued on August 27, 2018 instructions to banks to allow the rescheduling of retail loans.

The statement added that the instructions of the Central Bank permit the rescheduling of debt repayment and an extension of the period of repayment that commensurate with customers’ cash flow. The same guidelines also facilitated the handling of the large, medium and small companies that faced or were facing difficulties in their cash flows, thus enabling them to continue their activities. Taking into account the compatibility of the specific repayment schedules of the customers with the cash flows of their business, which does not affect the quality and safety of the bank's credit facilities portfolio.

The Central Bank affirmed its continued follow-up of the developments of local and international monetary and economic indicators and taking appropriate measures to ensure the preservation of monetary and financial stability in the Kingdom.