Saxo Banks Marks a Decade in the Middle East

Regional Assets Under Management Rise 25% on an annualized basis and client numbers grow five-fold over decade 

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - November 04, 2019:    Saxo Bank, the leading fintech and regtech specialist focused on multi-asset trading and investment, is celebrating 10 years of operations in the Middle East, reporting a 25% annualized growth rate for assets under management and a five-fold increase in its regional client base.

Growth has been spearheaded from Saxo Bank’s regional Dubai hub, which at the time of opening, was the first presence by a Danish bank in the region. As part of its growth, Saxo Bank recently relocated its offices to Boulevard Plaza, Downtown Dubai. The new office provides additional space for seminars, networking and to address the growing needs of Saxo Bank’s clients in the region 

Kim Fournais, Saxo Bank Founder and CEO said Dubai was chosen for its strategic location at the heart of a region poised for significant Fintech development and global financial market exposure.
“Our Middle East business has grown substantially in recent years having our total number of clients multiple five times over. This is in line with the region strengthening its role in global financial markets and the increasing sophistication of our client base. We continue to invest heavily in our platforms and services to enable traders and investors to access global markets and diversify their portfolios across asset classes and geographies.” 

“Apart from servicing our own direct clients through our trading platforms – with access to more than 40,000 financial instruments – we are also delivering services, technology and platforms to partners such as other banks, brokers and fintechs.”

Saxo Bank’s partner business, which includes Middle East and North African investment bank EFG Hermes, is also growing in the region. “We are now servicing more than 30 other banks, brokers and family offices - as more industry players realise the advantages of a partner with the technology that powers a trading and investment platform and who is renowned for building global multi-asset access to exchanges and financial instruments” explained Steve Weller, Middle East CEO, Saxo Bank. “They are turning to banks like Saxo to deliver the engine and vital market access.”

Weller predicts future growth will come from assets under management and partnership business volume. “Both are really picking up now and we expect these to be key drivers going forward,” he said. 
“Fintech and digital transformation will hallmark the industry over the coming decade, and all involved need to be ready for it. In this way, Saxo Bank will be as successful, if not more, in this region in its second decade as it has in its first.”

Saxo Bank also plans to continue its involvement with New York’s Market Trader Academy to enhance GCC investor insights into financial assets, currencies, global equities and commodities, digital trading and blockchain insights. The courses, which aim to train between 3,000 and 5,000 students a year, are part of Saxo Bank’s ongoing efforts to educate regional traders and investors to ensure their financial decision-making is well informed.