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.
As part of these changes, Saxo Bank Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer Søren Kyhl has announced he will leave the firm after more than ten years in senior management. In a LinkedIn post, Kyhl wrote that the time had come for him to move on. He did not provide details on the timing of his departure or his next role.
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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.
