Adequate corporate governance controls are particularly important in the banking sector, where the financial risks are relatively high, affecting not only the individual bank in question, but also the banking sector as a whole and the sustainability of the financial market in that country. The financial crisis of 2008 provided a clear, irrefutable example of the substantial costs of failing to have effective controls in place. Recognizing this, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, and the Financial Stability Board each issued international standards and/or guiding principles for the enhancement of corporate governance controls, including those applicable to banks.

Most recently, the Central Bank of Jordan (“ Central Bank ”) issued the Corporate Governance Instructions for Banks no. 58 for the year 2014 (“ Corporate Governance Instructions ”) codifying and developing the principles provided under the Bank Directors' Handbook of Corporate Governance and the Corporate Governance Code for Banks in Jordan issued in 2007, as they apply to conventional banks.

The Corporate Governance Instructions are based on the following principles: