Saxo Bank fulfils its regulatory capital requirements
In light of the recent volatile Swiss Franc currency movements, we would like to inform you that Saxo Bank and its subsidiaries are well positioned financially to conduct our on-going businesses globally.
Saxo Bank A/S is a European regulated bank and we meet the regulatory capital requirements according to European Banking Authority and Danish Financial Services Authority. The capital requirements for regulated banks are higher than those of most brokerages who are not regulated as banks.
A number of Saxo Bank’s customers ended up with insufficient margin collateral to cover their losses on positions in Swiss Franc. Saxo Bank is liaising with these clients to settle such unsecured amounts. It is expected that some customers will not be able to the settle the balance in full and that the bank will incur losses in this respect.
However, even in the unlikely event that Saxo Bank would not be able to recover any of the outstanding amounts, Saxo Bank would still fulfil its regulatory capital requirements.
Part of the reason that we have successfully protected our financial strength is our robust and pre-emptive risk management approach. Having identified the growing risks inherent in CHF trades, we raised margin requirements for CHF in Sep 2014 from 4% to 8%, translating to a leverage change from 25x to 12.5x. This naturally deleveraged our client positions and lowered the financial impact of the CHF move to our client portfolios collectively.
Saxo Bank generally only holds very small, immaterial proprietary positions – including to CHF, and Saxo did not incur any net losses on proprietary trading during this event.
Please see the official news releases from our website below regarding:
Saxo Bank A/S CFO’s statement on meeting regulatory capital requirements
At Saxo we believe that when you invest, you unlock a new curiosity for the world around you. As a provider of multi-asset trading and investment solutions, Saxo’s purpose is to Get Curious People Invested in the World. We are committed to enabling our clients to make more of their money. Saxo was founded in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1992 with a clear vision: to make the global financial markets accessible for more people. In 1998, Saxo launched one of the first online trading platforms in Europe, providing professional-grade tools and easy access to global financial markets for anyone who wanted to invest.
Today, Saxo is an international award-winning investment firm for investors and traders who are serious about making more of their money. As a well-capitalised and profitable Fintech, Saxo is a fully licensed bank under the supervision of the Danish FSA, holding broker and banking licenses in multiple jurisdictions. As one of the earliest fintechs in the world, Saxo continues to invest heavily into our technology. Saxo’s clients and partners enjoy broad access to global capital markets across asset classes on our industry-leading platforms. Our open banking technology also powers more than 200 financial institutions as partners by boosting the investment experience they can offer their clients. Keeping our headquarters in Copenhagen, Saxo has more than 2,500 professionals in financial centres around the world including London, Singapore, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Zurich, Dubai and Tokyo.
For more information, please visit: www.home.saxo