The Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan, Dr. Ziyad Fariz, affirmed that “the measures implemented by the central bank, which were distinguished by being proactive, preventive and precautionary, aimed to enhance the ability of economic sectors to face the negative repercussions of the Corona pandemic, in addition to raising the immunity of the national economy.”
Fariz expected that the Jordanian economy would witness an economic contraction during this year by 3.0 percent, due to the closure and the ban that was applied to limit the spread of the Corona epidemic since the beginning of mid-March 2020, explaining that “the Corona pandemic had a special impact on foreign trade, tourism income, foreign investment flows, and remittances from workers abroad. These indicators are the most important determinants of the balance of payments."
"The Jordanian banking system is sound, solid, and generally able to withstand shocks and high risks, as a result of banks in Jordan enjoying high levels of capital adequacy ratios, which are among the highest in the Middle East region," he affirmed. Governor Fariz revealed that the assets of licensed banks during the first eight months of this year grew by about 3.0 percent, to about 55.3 billion dinars, compared to a growth of 3.2 percent during the same period of the previous year. The total credit facilities increased during the first eight months of this year by about 1.6 billion dinars, with a growth rate of about 5.8 percent compared to about 3.5 percent during the same period of the previous year.
Source (Ad-Dustour Newspaper-Jordan, Edited)
