Central bank seeks to reduce banks’ loans to their shareholders

It wants to reduce the maximum loan a bank can give a customer to 10% of its capital from the current 15%, and maximum loans to a customer and affiliates to 15% from the current 25%.

Besides, it wants to limit an individual’s ownership in a bank to 3% or less, down from the current 5%, and an organization’s ownership to 10%, down from the current 15%.

But this rule will not apply to banks that are under special control or to the government’s ownership.

The proposals are also meant to enable a more equitable distribution of bank credit.