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.

History

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. 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

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.