In light of the central bank's desire to regulate the retention Madad for banks concerning documents related to their customers, and based on paragraph (d) of Article (3) of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority Law issued by Royal Decree No. (23) dated 23/05/1377 AH, which empowered the central bank to issue instructions specific to banks and financial institutions operating in the Kingdom.

Banks must establish an internal policy that regulates the mechanisms, procedures, and Madad for retaining documents related to their customers. This policy should include, at a minimum, the following:

      1. Retention of all original paper documents related to customer transactions for          a minimum of ten years from the date of either the completion of the                        transaction or the termination of the contractual relationship, in addition to              maintaining a clear electronic copy of these documents.
      2. Retention of all original paper documents related to legal claims or                            investigations of any nature, along with maintaining a clear copy, for                          a minimum of ten years from the date of resolution of the case.
      3. Banks must adequately inform their customers about the document retention           period through contracts made with customers and by highlighting this                     information on the bank's website.
         4. There should be an annual periodic review conducted by the Internal Audit             Department as part of the auditing programs to verify the integrity and                     completeness of the retention process, ensuring compliance with the                         provisions of this circular, any other related instructions, and the internal                   policy of the bank mentioned above.

For your information and implementation effective from this date, noting that this circular does not affect the requirements of any other related circulars or instructions.