Saxo Bank

Infobox_Company
company_name = Saxo Bank A/S
company_
company_type = Private
company_slogan = Serious Trading. Worldwide.
foundation = 1992
location =
key_people = Henrik Thufason, Chairman
Florian Wendelstadt, Vice-Chairman
Kim Fournais, Chief Executive Officer
Lars Seier Christensen, Chief Executive Officer
num_employees = 1150+ (2008)
industry = Finance
products = Investment Banking
revenue = profitDKK 1,002 Million (2006)
net_income = profitDKK 144 Million (2006)
homepage = [http://www.saxobank.com/ www.saxobank.com]

Saxo Bank is an investment Bank in Denmark. It was founded as an online investment bank founded in 1992 under the name "Midas Fondsmæglerselskab" by Lars Seier Christensen, Kim Fournais and Marc Hauschildt. The name changed to Saxo Bank when the bank was awarded full European bank status in 2001. On August 29, 2008, the bank suspended its Global Head of Trading, Charles Henri-Sabet, pending a legal investigation for criminal insider trading. [Euromoney, The Weekly FiX, September 2008.]

Since 2006, Saxo Bank has undergone a period of rapid growth and expansion, opening offices in London, Geneva, Zurich, Marbella and Singapore. In late May, Saxo Bank joined forces with French brokerage, Cambiste, which is set to be renamed Saxo Banque, France.

In June 2008, immediately following the opening of the Tokyo office, Saxo Bank announced their co-sponsorship with Riis Cycling, owned by the former Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis. Through the rest of 2008, the cycling team is to be renamed Team CSC Saxo Bank and beginning in 2009 the team will be named Team Saxo Bank - IT Factory. [cite news|url=http://www.teamcsc-saxobank.com/ny_news.asp?n_id=2142|title=Nu to danske virksomheder som hovedsponsorer for Bjarne Riis' cykelhold (da)|date=2008-09-28|first= |last=|publisher=Team CSC Saxo Bank|language=danish] .

The Bank is privately held with its co-founders, Kim Fournais and Lars Seier Christensen, holding majority stakes. Private Equity firm General Atlantic bought a minority stake in June 2005 and invested USD127 Million. September 2007 Saxo Bank announced acquisition of Swiss Synthesis Bank, a white label partner of Saxo Bank through four years. CEO Lars Seier Christensen argued the acquisition was perfect fit, matching the Saxo Bank 2010-strategy where presence in the major financial districts of the world is a key factor. In November 2007 Saxo Bank announced white label partnership with Citibank, constituting the largest deal in Saxo Bank's history. In January 2008, Portugal’s third largest financial group, Espirito Santo, took a five percent stake in Saxo Bank, making Saxo Bank’s market value worth at Euros 1.26 billion. Following the transaction, Saxo Bank was ranked as the fourth largest Danish bank by market capital.

Saxo Bank facilitates global capital markets trading and investing through its online trading platform. It offers a broad suite of investment banking products including Forex, Stocks, CFDs, Futures, Funds and Bonds. Private Wealth Management services are also offered to high net worth individuals and families. Roughly two-thirds of the Bank's activities are derived from partnerships with licensed financial intermediaries including banks, brokerage firms, FCMs and institutional trading partners.

Public Relations

Saxo Bank monitors press and information sources to control the banks public image. Several times employees have edited e.g. this article to remove objective but critical informations concerning the company [cite news|url=http://www.borsen.dk/it/nyhed/141222/|title=Saxo Bank afviser propaganda på internettet (da)|date=2008-09-25|first= |last=|publisher=Børsen|language=danish] .

Quick facts

*Saxo Bank started expanding its physical presence worldwide in 2006 and today has offices in London, Geneva, Zurich, Paris, Tokyo, Singapore and Marbella. Furthermore, the bank runs a representative office in Beijing and an IT development centre in St. Petersburg.

*Saxo Bank currently employs almost 800 employees after dismissal of about 340 employees in September, 2008.

*Saxo Bank is named after Saxo Grammaticus, a medieval Danish theologian and historian.

*Saxo Bank distributed 10,000 copies of Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged which promotes capitalism and the free market. [cite news|url=http://www.180grader.dk/klumme/Ayn_Rand_er_et_tve_gget_sv_rd.php|title=Ayn Rand - et tveægget sværd (da)|date=2008-04-13|first= |last=|publisher=180 grader|language=danish] The book is also given to every new employee of the bank.

*Saxo Bank is a main supporter of the small Danish political party Liberal Alliance (Denmark) (founded 2007) and the bank's manager Lars Seier Christensen has joined the party (in 2008). Saxo Bank is also a main sponsor of the liberal-conservative think tank CEPOS.

Businesses

Saxo Bank's businesses can be broadly categorized into 3 areas: Private Clients, Institutional & White Label Partnership and Private Wealth Management.

*Private Client services focus on enabling individuals to trade the different financial instruments online.

*Institutional services include institutional trading services, introducing brokers and White Label Partnerships (WLP). The White Label Partnership business accounts for more than half of the bank's revenue providing an efficient, scalable re-distribution of the bank's core competencies to a broader public. In November 2007 Saxo Bank made a White Label Partnership agreement with Citibank, the biggest bank in the US. In total Saxo Bank has more than 120 White Label Partners and boasts clients in more than 177 countries. In a White Label Relationship, the trading platform and back office risk management and client account management systems are branded in the identity of the partner. The partner must be a licensed financial institution able to hold client funds, and appropriately regulated for securities, currency and derivatives trading in its local jurisdiction. Saxo Bank provides the technology and a suite of value-added business development, planning and strategic services while the white label partner provides on-the-ground distribution, sales, marketing and client servicing.

*Private Wealth Management is a relatively new growth segment for the bank.

ee also

*Team CSC Saxo Bank

External Links

* [http://www.saxobank.com www.saxobank.com]

References