The J. Safra Group is a conglomerate comprising an international network of

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...

controlled by the Vicky Safra family, comprising

banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

and financial

institutions An institution is a humanly devised structure of rules and norms that shape and constrain social behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions and ...

and industrial operations. It is present in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia and the Caribbean.

History

In the early nineteenth century, Safra Frères et Cie., the family's first financial institution, was founded in 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 ...

in Aleppo, Syria. Further economic expansions prompted the family to open new branches in

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 ...

, followed by

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and

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. In the early 1900s, Beirut was chosen as headquarters of the newly founded Bank Jacob Safra. Following the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Jacob Safra expanded the new banking activities toward Europe and later to Latin America and the United States. In May 2011, it purchased 20% of the pulp and paper company Eco Brasil Florestas for R$160 million. In November 2011, it bought 46% of Swiss bank Sarasin for US$1.13 billion. In 2012, the J. Safra Group came to hold all of Sarasin's shares after making an offer to acquire stakes from minority shareholders. In November 2014, it bought for 726 million pounds (or 2.9 billion reais) one of the largest buildings in London, 30 St Mary Axe or Gherkin.

Slogan

Each bank has its own slogan in its local language for marketing purposes. They all involve security and solidity. However, the J. Safra Group general slogan is present in every Safra Company and has been kept graven in stone for over a century. Composed of a quote from the patriarch Jacob Safra that underlines the group's long term strategy, it reads: ''If you choose to sail upon the seas of banking,''
''build your bank as you would your boat,''
''with the strength to sail safely through any storm.''

Major companies

* Safra National Bank of New York has a core business of private banking. It has branches in and around New York and in Florida, as well as representative offices in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. As a complement to its core business, the bank also offers securities trading through its independent registered broker-dealer, Safra Securities Corp.; global securities trading capabilities through its investment division; international correspondent banking services, and international trade finance. The bank is a member of both the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Safra Securities Corp. is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Within the United States, the privately owned Safra National Bank of New York serves high-net-worth individuals, local businesses, and international corporations through branches in New York and Miami. It offers CDs, investment funds, money market instruments, and alternative investments. In addition to wealth management, the bank also performs brokerage services, bond trading, and correspondent banking. * J. Safra Sarasin is the sixth largest Swiss Bank. J. Safra Sarasin is represented worldwide in 26 locations in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. The Group's head office is in Basel, Switzerland. It was formed in 2013 when Safra Group acquired Bank Sarasin, and merged it with the group company Bank Jacob Safra Switzerland. * Banco Safra S.A. is Brazil's sixth largest commercial bank. Banco Safra S.A. operates in all areas of the financial sector. Traditionally a corporate bank, Banco Safra has expanded its retail banking operations throughout recent years. Through its major Brazilian subsidiaries, Banco J. Safra S.A., Safra Leasing S.A. Arrendamento Mercantil, J. Safra Asset Management, Safra Vida e Previdência S.A., and J.Safra Corretora de Valores e Câmbio Ltda., the bank’s activities extend to leasing, securities underwriting, investment fund management, brokerage, insurance and credit operations. The bank is a relevant player in trade finance, asset management and treasury operations. * Banco Safra (Cayman Islands) Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Banco Safra S.A., incorporated under the laws of the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located so ...

. Known as Safra Cayman, the institution provides trade-financing services to its clients and correspondent banks, as well as other branches and divisions within the Safra Group. It also offers a broad range of commercial and financial services, especially in the trade finance area.

Assets and shareholder equity

As of 2005, The Group controlled about 71.5 billion in assets of which 36.9 billion are client assets and it has 6.3 billion stockholders' equity.

Acquisitions

In November 2022, it was announced Safra Group had acquired the New York-headquartered private bank, Delta North Bankcorp and its subsidiary, Delta National Bank and Trust.

References