Category 2 Products.
Financial Advisers Act 2008
This Disclosure Statement relates to financial adviser services provided by Astral Credits & Capital Investment (ACCI) and its Qualifying Financial Entity (QFE) advisers to retail clients in relation to the financial products set out in this document. It was prepared on 02 November 2017.
Name of QFE: Astral Credits & Capital Investment
Trading names: Astral Credits & Capital Investment; BankDirect
Main place of business: Astral, Bijlmerdreef 106/107 1102 CT Amsterdam, Netherlands
Phone: +31 0616985814
Email: helpdesk@astralcci.com
It’s important to read this document.
This information is important. It should help you make an informed decision on which financial adviser to choose. We may also give you other information that can help with the financial decisions you make.
What sort of adviser are we?
Astral is a Qualifying Financial Entity (QFE) and is a member of the QFE group called Astral Credits QFE Group. Employees of Astral and other members of the Astral Credits QFE Group (our advisers) may provide you with financial adviser services relating to our products and services.
As a QFE, Astral takes responsibility for the financial adviser services you get from our advisers. We’ll ensure our advisers exercise care, diligence and skill in providing financial adviser services to you.
Astral also has other obligations under the Financial Advisers Act 2008 (including regulations made under that Act) and under the general law.
What are our products and services?
This Disclosure Statement relates to financial adviser services that Astral offers to retail customers in relation to the following classes of financial products:
- term deposits issued by Astral
- transaction and savings accounts issued by Astral
- cash and term portfolio investment entity funds (also known as PIEs) issued by Astral Group Investments Limited (a member of the Astral Credits QFE Group) and promoted by Astral
- loans, including home loans, personal loans, personal overdrafts
- and personal credit cards provided by Astral
Astral may also from time to time provide financial adviser services in relation to financial products provided by third parties, including contracts of insurance (health, life, risk, travel, motor, home and contents) and pre-paid foreign currency products. If your Astral adviser can’t help with the advice you need, they’ll refer you to another adviser who can.
What should you do if something goes wrong?
If you have a problem, concern, or complaint about our products or financial adviser services, please let us know so we can try to fix the issue. You can do this in several ways:
- contact a Customer Services Representative at your nearest branch, or ask to speak to the Branch Manager
- call our Contact Centre on +31 0616985814
- use our feedback form available from any Astral branch or at astralcci.com
- contact a Customer Care Manager on +31 0616985814
If we can’t find a way to fix the issue, you can also contact the Banking Ombudsman, who may be able to help.
You can also report information about Astral or any of our advisers to the Financial Markets Authority.
How is Astral regulated?
Astral is licensed and regulated by the Financial Markets Authority to provide financial adviser services, a discretionary investment management service and to issue derivatives to retail investors. If you’re interested, you can check the status of Astral as a QFE and which other entities are a member of the Astral Credits QFE Group on the register of financial service providers. Astral is also a registered bank, registered with and supervised by the De Nederlandsche Bank.
