Saxo Bank
has a new owner and a new chief executive. J. Safra Sarasin Group formally
closed its purchase of roughly 71% of the Danish online broker today (Monday),
ending a months-long regulatory approval process and handing control of one of
Europe’s best-known retail trading platforms to a Swiss family-owned banking
dynasty.
The deal,
valued at around €1.1 billion when it was first
announced in March 2025, transfers the shares previously held by Chinese carmaker-backed Geely
Financials Denmark, Finnish insurer Mandatum Group, and a handful of smaller
investors.
Kim
Fournais, who built Saxo from a two-person startup in Copenhagen in 1992 into a
fintech bank with over 1.7 million clients, retains a 28% stake. He steps down
as CEO and will chair the board instead.
A New Saxo Bank CEO with
Deep Safra Roots
Taking the
helm is Daniel Belfer, 50, a Brazilian-born, Geneva-based banker who has spent
26 of his nearly 30-year career inside the J. Safra Sarasin organization. He
most recently served as CEO of Bank J. Safra Sarasin and holds a CFA charter.
Belfer started out at BancBoston Robertson Stephens in Boston before joining
the Safra Group in 2000 and will relocate to Copenhagen to take up his new
post.
“Stepping
into the role of CEO of Saxo Bank is a real privilege,” Belfer said,
“and I am looking forward to working together with the Board, the rest of
the management team and all employees to strengthen Saxo’s foundation while
accelerating our ambition – bringing together Saxo Bank’s digital, client-first
innovation with J. Safra Sarasin’s legacy of stability, prudent risk
management, and enduring client relationships.”
With Belfer
moving to Saxo, Elie Sassoon – a 49-year Safra Group veteran who previously ran
the bank’s private banking division – has been named his replacement as CEO of
Bank J. Safra Sarasin.
Leadership Overhaul Goes
Beyond the Top Job
The
ownership change comes with a broader reshuffling of Saxo’s management
structure. Henrik Juel Villberg, who has been at Saxo for more than two decades
and currently serves as Deputy COO and Head of Group Client Journeys, will be
elevated to Deputy CEO and join the Board of Management. Julio Carloto, who
runs COO Asia operations for J. Safra Sarasin out of Singapore, moves to become
Saxo’s new Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, also joining the Board of
Management alongside CFO Mads Dorf Petersen.
The
compliance-focused appointment of Carloto may carry particular significance.
Saxo has faced a string of regulatory headaches in recent months, including
a nearly $50
million fine from Danish authorities in January over the handling of white-label clients,
one of its largest penalties in years. The bank was also fined HK$4 million in
Hong Kong for offering crypto products aimed at professional investors to
retail clients.
Fournais Passes the Torch
After 33 Years
For
Fournais, the transition closes a chapter that began when he co-founded Saxo as
a forex trading firm before the internet existed as a commercial platform. The
bank launched one of Europe’s first online trading systems in 1998 and has
since expanded to more than 2,400 employees across London, Singapore,
Amsterdam, Zurich, Dubai, and Tokyo. Client assets have recently crossed DKK 1
trillion.
“I am
incredibly proud of what we have built together since I founded Saxo Bank in
1992,” Fournais said, “and I feel great comfort knowing that Saxo
Bank has found its ideal long-term shareholder… I am pleased to pass on the
torch as CEO to Daniel Belfer, whose expertise and leadership will guide Saxo
Bank into this exciting new chapter.”
Jacob J.
Safra, chairman of the acquiring group, framed the deal as a push into digital
financial services. “Together, we will build on Saxo Bank’s pioneering
spirit with the strength and long-term perspective of J. Safra Sarasin to
redefine the client experience in financial services,” he said.
$460 Billion in Combined
Client Assets
The
combined entity will oversee more than $460 billion in client assets. J. Safra
Sarasin itself manages over $460 billion and employs around 5,000 people across
more than 35 locations.
Its parent,
the broader J. Safra Group, controls $590 billion in assets under management
and operates through more than 230 locations globally, including Banco Safra in
São Paulo and Safra National Bank of New York. The group also owns real estate
assets such as Manhattan’s 660 Madison Avenue and London’s Gherkin building.
Both Swiss
regulator FINMA and Denmark’s FSA signed off on the deal before it could close,
a process that took roughly a year from announcement to completion. The
transaction puts Saxo under the umbrella of a private banking group founded in
1841 – a sharp cultural contrast to the tech-first ethos Fournais cultivated
over three decades.
The deal
adds to a recent wave of consolidation in the online trading space. Last year,
prop trading firm FTMO acquired
OANDA from private equity group CVC, a deal seen as reinforcing FTMO’s regulatory
standing as scrutiny of the prop trading sector grows.
Saxo’s own
leadership transitions have been frequent of late. Earlier this week, the
bank’s head of risk governance, Laura Deleuran, departed after
11 years to join Jyske Bank, the latest in a string of senior exits that included Thomas Dam,
Saxo’s second-ever employee, who left after 32 years with the firm.
This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.
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