Pursuant to section 4 para 7 of the Bankwesengesetz (BWG; Austrian Banking Act), the Financial Market Authority (FMA) is entitled in individual cases to disclose to the general public by publication in the official gazette “Amtsblatt zur Wiener Zeitung”, or in any other official bulletin with nationwide circulation, the name of a company not entitled to broker loans pursuant to section 1 para 1 no. 18 lit. b BWG.
By publication in the official gazette “Amtsblatt zur Wiener Zeitung” of 18 March 2008, the FMA is exercising this right and warns against the conclusion of transactions which involve loan brokerage and require a licence with the following provider:
Direktzinsen.at – Der Finanzierungsdiskont
with alleged head office at
Handelskai 94-96/23
1200 Vienna
Austria
www.direktzinsen.at
This provider does not possess a licence issued by the FMA to provide investment services. Therefore, it is neither allowed to provide investment advice regarding financial instruments, nor portfolio management, i.e. managing portfolios for individual customers who authorise a room for manoeuvre, provided that the customer portfolio contains one or several financial instruments. Furthermore, the provider is also not entitled to accept or transmit transactions, provided that such activity involves one or several financial instruments.