 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Conglomerate |
| Headquarters | São Paulo, Brazil |
Key people |
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| Products | Financial services |
Number of employees | 30,000 |
| Subsidiaries |
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| Website | www |
The J.Safra Group is a Brazilian 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, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia and the Caribbean.
In the early nineteenth century, Safra Frères et Cie., the family's first financial institution, was founded in the Ottoman Empire in Aleppo, Syria. Further economic expansions prompted the family to open new branches in Beirut, followed by Istanbul and Alexandria. In the early 1900s, Beirut was chosen as headquarters of the newly founded Bank Jacob Safra. Following the end of World War II, 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. [1] In November 2011, it bought 46% of Swiss bank Sarasin for US$1.13 billion. [2] In 2012, the J. Safra Group came to hold all of Sarasin's shares after making an offer to acquire stakes from minority shareholders. [3]
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. [4]
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.[ citation needed ]
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. [5] [6]
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. [7]
Banco Bradesco S.A. is a Brazilian financial services company headquartered in Osasco, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It is the third largest banking institution by assets in Brazil and Latin America. It is also one of fifty most valuable banks in the world. The bank is listed at the B3 in São Paulo, where it is part of the Índice Bovespa, in the New York Stock Exchange and in the Madrid Stock Exchange.
BankBoston was a bank based in Boston, Massachusetts, which was created by the 1996 merger of Bank of Boston and BayBank. One of its predecessor banks started in 1784, but the merged BankBoston was short-lived, being acquired by FleetBoston Financial in 1999. In 2005, FleetBoston was purchased by, and merged into, Bank of America of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Banco Itaú Unibanco S.A. is a Brazilian financial services company headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil. Itaú Unibanco was formed through the merger of Banco Itaú and Unibanco in 2008. It is the largest banking institution in Brazil, as well as the largest in Latin America, and the seventy-third largest bank in the world. The bank is listed on the B3 in São Paulo and in NYSE in New York.
Joseph Safra was a Swiss-based Lebanese Brazilian banker and billionaire businessman of Syrian descent. He was Brazil's richest man and the richest banker in the world, running the Brazilian banking and investment empire, Safra Group.
Edmond J. Safra was a Lebanese-Brazilian billionaire banker and philanthropist of Syrian descent. He continued his family tradition of banking in Brazil and Switzerland, and was married to Lily Watkins from 1976 until his death. He died in a fire that attracted wide media interest, and was judicially determined to be due to arson.
Republic New York Corporation was the holding company for Republic National Bank of New York, Safra Republic Holdings, and Safra Republic Bank.
Banco Santander S.A. trading as Santander Group, is a Spanish multinational financial services company based in Madrid and Santander in Spain. Additionally, Santander maintains a presence in most global financial centres as the 19th-largest banking institution in the world. Although known for its European banking operations, it has extended operations across North and South America, and more recently in continental Asia. It is considered a systemically important bank by the Financial Stability Board.
Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) is a Portuguese state-owned banking corporation, and the largest bank in Portugal, established in Lisbon in 1876.
Banco Espírito Santo (BES) was a Portuguese bank based in Lisbon that on 3 August 2014 was split in two banks: Novo Banco, which kept its healthy operations, and a "bad bank" to keep its toxic assets.
Banco Safra is a Brazilian financial services company headquartered in São Paulo. It is the seventh largest banking institution in Brazil and the nineteenth largest in Latin America. It provides services in investment banking, private banking, asset management and retail banking through its neobank AgZero. The bank is part of the financial holding company Safra Group.
Safra National Bank of New York is an American privately held bank based in New York City, which provides services in investment banking, private banking, and asset management, to high-net-worth individuals, businesses, family offices and sophisticated investors in the U.S. and internationally.
Jacob Safra was a Syrian banker and patriarch of the Safra family. The Safras were bankers and gold traders engaged in the financing of trade between Beirut, Aleppo, Istanbul and Alexandria.
Bank Jacob Safra (Suisse) AG was a full-service commercial banking institution headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. As part of the Safra Group of financial institutions, in 2013, it merged with Bank Sarasin & Cie, when that bank was purchased by the Safra Group, with the combined entity being named J. Safra Sarasin.
Bancolombia S.A. is a full-service financial institution that provides financial products and services in Colombia, Panama, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, the Cayman Islands, Peru and Guatemala. Bancolombia is one of the six banking-related companies of the COLCAP index. The Bank operates in nine segments: Banking Colombia, Banking El Salvador, Leasing, Trust, Investment, Brokerage, Off Shore, Pension and Insurance, and all other segments.
BTG Pactual is a Brazilian financial company that operates in the markets of investment banking, wealth management, asset management, corporate lending and sales and trading. It offers advisory services in mergers and acquisitions, wealth planning, loans and financings, as well as investment solutions and market analyses. It is the sixth largest banking institution in Brazil, the eleventh largest in Latin America, and the largest investment bank in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Banca Privada d'Andorra was a bank in Andorra founded in 1957.
J. Safra Sarasin is a Swiss private bank, founded in 1841 and headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. It is currently owned by the Brazilian J. Safra Group, and was formed in its present state in 2013, when Safra Group acquired Bank Sarasin & Co. Ltd, merging it with its Bank Jacob Safra Switzerland subsidiary.
Sasja Beslik is a Swedish and international financial expert known for promoting financial sustainability across the world. He has been employed by J. Safra Sarasin since 2019.
Alberto J. Safra is a Brazilian-born businessman who founded ASA and is a member of the Safra family.