Banco Safra is a Brazilian

financial services Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...

company headquartered in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. It is the seventh largest banking institution in Brazil and the nineteenth largest in Latin America. It provides services in

investment bank Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...

ing,

private banking Private banking is a general description for banking, investment and other financial services provided by banks and financial institutions primarily serving high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) – those with very high income or substantial asset ...

asset management Asset management is a systematic approach to the governance and realization of all value for which a group or entity is responsible. It may apply both to tangible assets (physical objects such as complex process or manufacturing plants, infrastr ...

and

retail banking Retail banking, also known as consumer banking or personal banking, is the provision of services by a bank to the general public, rather than to companies, corporations or other banks, which are often described as wholesale banking (corporate ...

through its

neobank A neobank is a type of direct bank that operates exclusively using online banking without traditional physical branches. They challenge traditional banks. In contrast to direct banks, in many cases, neobanks do not have their own banking license ...

'' AgZero''. The bank is part of the financial

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

Safra Group The J. Safra Group is a conglomerate comprising an international network of companies controlled by the Vicky Safra family, comprising banking and financial institutions and industrial operations. It is present in the United States, Europe, th ...

''.

History

The Safra family's history in banking originated with caravan trade between

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

during the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. With the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after the First World War the Safras moved to

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

. The Safras decided to move to Brazil in 1952. In the 1960s, Joseph Safra and his father, Jacob Safra, founded Banco Safra, S.A. Most of the Brazilian Sephardic Syrian Jewish community established themselves as retail or wholesale merchants. After having established many financial institutions in Lebanon's capital, Beirut in the 1950s, the Safras set up a small specialized bank which originated letters of credit between Sephardic importers and major banks. From this base they grew via the acquisition and opening of new branches. In 2012 Joseph Safra purchased the remaining shares of Banco Safra, Safra National Bank of New York and Banque Safra-Luxembourg S.A. from his brother, Moise Safra.

Operations

A full-service commercial bank, Banco Safra S. A. operates in all areas of the financial sector. Through its major Brazilian subsidiaries, Safra Leasing, Safra Seguros S. A., Safra Distribuidora de Títulos e Valores Mobiliários and Safra Corretora de Valores e Câmbio Ltda., the bank's activities extend beyond traditional lending operations to

leasing A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

securities A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...

underwriting Underwriting (UW) services are provided by some large financial institutions, such as banks, insurance companies and investment houses, whereby they guarantee payment in case of damage or financial loss and accept the financial risk for liability ...

, investment fund management, stock brokerage and insurance operations. The bank is also active in trade finance,

and

treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...

operations.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Banks of Brazil Brazilian brands Companies based in São Paulo Privately held companies of Brazil Safra family Banks established in 1955 1955 establishments in Brazil Multinational companies headquartered in Brazil

History

Operations

See also

References

External links