The Central Bank of Bahrain hosted a workshop on its “Legal Professionals Account Opening Guidance”, setting out the process retail banks are expected to follow when opening accounts for lawyers and law firms in line with newly introduced requirements from the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Waqf. The updated requirements require legal professionals to hold dedicated bank accounts for client payments, which may be opened only after the bank receives a no-objection certificate from the Ministry. The certificate must include relevant Know Your Client information, aligning the account-opening process with compliance and transparency standards. Nearly 60 representatives from the Central Bank of Bahrain, the Ministry and retail banks attended, with the Central Bank of Bahrain’s Compliance team presenting the guidance and taking questions. The Central Bank of Bahrain indicated it will continue issuing guidance papers and holding workshops, seminars and roundtables on an annual basis to keep licensees informed about regulatory developments and supervisory expectations.
Central Bank of Bahrain 2025-05-04
Central Bank of Bahrain hosts workshop on retail banks’ account-opening guidance for legal professionals under new Ministry requirements
The Central Bank of Bahrain held a workshop on "Legal Professionals Account Opening Guidance," detailing the process for retail banks to open accounts for lawyers and law firms per new Ministry of Justice requirements. Legal professionals must have dedicated accounts for client payments, opened only after obtaining a no-objection certificate with Know Your Client information. The Central Bank plans to issue further guidance and hold annual workshops to update licensees on regulatory developments.