To: All Licensed Banks Operating in the Sultanate of Oman

After Compliments,

Sub: Marketing of Foreign Investment Products

1. Reference is invited to Article 4 of Regulation BM/REG/38/04/94 governing the investment banking activities of banks.

2. In pursuance of Central Bank’s approach of progressive de-regulation, it has since been decided that licensed banks, holding investment banking licence, can market foreign investment products without seeking prior approval of Central Bank of Oman.

3. The following are the requirements to be followed by licensed banks in this regard:

   • i) Tier 3 of investment banking licence (investment brokerage and investment advisory services) is a prerequisite for undertaking the above activity.

   • ii) The above delegation is for simple and generic investment products (equity and fixed income investments) and banks shall refer any deviant products including investments in the nature of quasi-equity, subordinated liabilities etc.

     While Central Bank expects banks to be diligent, banks are, specifically, advised against marketing of products in the nature of/related to derivatives, insurance, deposit mobilization for overseas banks and Islamic Banking. Needless to reiterate that high-risk/speculative/ambiguous products shall be avoided.