Description

The Central Bank of Jordan (Arabic: البنك المركزي الاردني) is the central bank of Jordan whose main duties include the release and distribution of the Jordanian currency and the maintenance of a national reserve of gold and foreign currencies. The bank also maintains and insures the safety of the banking environment in Jordan.

Jordan set out preparations to establish the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) in the late 1950s. The Law of the CBJ was enacted in 1959. Thereafter, its operational procedures were commenced on the first day of October 1964. The CBJ succeeded the Jordan Currency Board which had been established in 1950. The capital of the CBJ, which is totally owned by the government, was increased gradually, from one million to 18 billion Jordanian Dinars. The CBJ enjoys the status of an independent and autonomous corporate body, although its capital is owned entirely by the government.

Hussein bin Talal (1935–1999) was King of Jordan from the abdication of his father, King Talal, in 1952, until his death. Hussein's rule extended through the Cold War and four decades of Arab–Israeli conflict.