Saxo Bank releases 10 Outrageous Predictions for 2012

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:10:20 GMT

Saxo Bank has today released its annual Outrageous Predictions. Among the unlikely events predicted by the Bank are that Australia will go into recession, Basel III and regulation will force 50 bank nationalisations in Europe and Apple shares will plummet 50 percent from their 2011 high.

In its Outrageous Predictions, Saxo Bank focuses on events that are unlikely to happen, but at the same time are far more likely than the market appreciates. The predictions are not meant as forecasts, but it is important for investors to consider events with under-recognised probabilities. Should any of them come to pass, they would have a significant impact on the markets.

Saxo Bank's Outrageous Predictions for 2012:
1. The stock of Apple Inc plummets 50 per cent from 2011 high

Going into 2012 Apple will find itself faced with multiple competitors such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft/Nokia, and Samsung across its most innovative products, the iPhone and iPad. Apple will be unable to maintain its market share of 55 per cent (three times as much as Android) and 66 per cent on the iOS and iPad.

2. EU declares extended bank holiday during 2012

The December EU Treaty changes prove insufficient to solve EU funding needs, particularly those in Italy, and the EU debt crisis returns with a vengeance by mid-year. In response, the stock market finally caves in and drops 25 per cent in short order, prompting EU politicians to call an extended bank holiday, closing all European exchanges and banks for a week or more.

3. A yet unannounced candidate takes the White House

In 1992, Texas billionaire Ross Perot managed to take advantage of a recessionary economy and popular disgust with US politics and reap 18.9 per cent of the popular vote. Three years of Obama has brought too little change and only additional widespread disillusionment with the entire US political system, and conditions for a third party candidate have never been riper. Someone with a strong programme for real change throws his or her hat in the ring early in 2012 and snatches the presidency in November in one of the most pivotal elections in US history, taking 38 per cent of the popular vote.

4. Australia goes into recession

The effects of the slowing up-and-coming Asian giant ripple through Asia Pacific push other countries into recession. If there ever was a country dependent on the well-being of China it is Australia with its heavy dependence on mining and natural resources. And as China's demand for these goods weakens, Australia is pushed into a recession, which is then exacerbated as the housing sector finally experiences its long overdue crash – a half decade after the rest of the developed world.

5. Basel III and regulation force 50 bank nationalisations in Europe

As 2012 begins, pressure will mount on the European banking system as new capital requirements and regulatory pressure force banks to deleverage in a great hurry. This creates a fire sale on financial assets as there are few takers in the market. A total freeze of the European interbank market forces nervous savers to make bank-runs, as depositors distrust deposit guarantees from insolvent sovereigns. More than 50 banks end up on government balance sheets and several known commercial bank brands cease to exist.

6. Sweden and Norway replace Switzerland as safe havens

As we saw with Switzerland, becoming a safe haven in a world of devaluing central banks presents a number of risks to a country’s economy. The capital markets of both countries are far smaller than Switzerland, but the Swiss are aggressively devaluing their currency and money managers are looking for new safe havens for capital. Flows into the two countries' government bonds on safe haven appeal becomes popular enough to drive 10-year rates there to more than 100 basis points below the classic safe haven German Bunds.

7. Swiss National Bank wins and catapults EURCHF to 1.50

Switzerland's persistency in fighting the appreciation of its currency will continue to pay off in 2012. With Swiss fundamentals - particularly export related - continuing to suffer mightily in 2012 from past CHF strength, the SNB and government bear down further to prevent more collateral damage and introduce extensions to existing programmes and even negative interest rates to trigger sufficient capital flight from the traditional safe haven of Switzerland to engineer a move in EURCHF as high as 1.50 during the year.

8. USDCNY rises 10 per cent to 7.00

As marginal returns from building million-inhabitant ghost towns diminish and exporters struggle with razor-thin margins due to the advancing CNY China gets to the brink of a "recession", meaning 5-6 per cent GDP growth. Chinese policymakers come to the rescue of exporters by allowing the CNY to decline against a US Dollar - buoyed by its safe-haven status amid slowing global growth and an on-going Eurozone sovereign debt crisis - and send the pair up to 7.00 for a 10 per cent increase.

9. Baltic Dry Index rises 100 per cent

Lower oil prices in 2012 could lead to an increase in the Baltic Dry Index as operating expenses go down. Brazil and Australia are expected to expand iron ore supply, further leading to lower prices and therefore higher import demand from China to satisfy its insatiable industrial production. In combination with monetary easing this leads to a massive spike in iron ore demand.

10. Wheat prices to double in 2012

The price of CBOT wheat will double during 2012 after having been the worst performing crop in 2011. With 7 billion people on the earth and money printing machines at full throttle, bad weather across the world will unfortunately return and make it a tricky year for agricultural products. Wheat especially will rally strongly as speculative investors, who had built up one of the biggest short positions on record, will help drive the price back towards the record high last seen in 2008.

Steen Jakobsen, Chief Economist at Saxo Bank, commented: "Our Outrageous Predictions have been prepared in the spirit of encouraging investors to think outside the box and prepare for world-altering events. Thinking outside the box is rarely a comfortable exercise, but neither is dealing with an unpleasant surprise for which one has failed to prepare in any meaningful way.

"Should some of the predictions come to pass, it would make 2012 a year of tremendous change. We would like nothing more than to be proven wrong on negative views, but only if they are replaced with something better than the current central bank and government-manipulated paradigm."

To see more please visit the Outrageous Predictions page Saxo Bank's website.

About Saxo Bank
Saxo Bank is a leading online trading and investment specialist. A fully licensed and regulated European bank, Saxo Bank enables private investors and institutional clients to trade FX, CFD, ETFs, Stocks, Futures, Options and other derivatives via three specialised and fully integrated trading platforms; the browser-based SaxoWebTrader, the downloadable SaxoTrader and the SaxoMobileTrader application available in over 20 languages. Saxo Bank also offers professional portfolio and fund management through Saxo Asset Management who accommodates high-net worth private clients and institutional investors and provides banking services and advice to retail clients through Saxo Privatbank. The Saxo Bank Group is headquartered in Copenhagen with offices throughout Europe, Asia, Middle East, Latin America and Australia.

Saxo Bank announces appointment of new board members following approval of TPG Capital

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:19:30 GMT

Saxo Bank, the online trading and investment specialist, is pleased to announce that TPG Capital, one of the world's leading investment firms, has acquired 30% of the total issued share capital of Saxo Bank A/S.

The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority, other international supervisory authorities and the EU Commission have all approved a TPG Capital affiliate as a new qualifying shareholder in Saxo Bank A/S. The transaction has consequently been closed today and the change of ownership has been completed.

TPG Capital has acquired the 30% stake in Saxo Bank from existing investors, including General Atlantic, a global growth investor, and Banco Espirito Santo, a leading Portuguese bank, amongst others. General Atlantic and Banco Espirito Santo invested in Saxo Bank in 2005 and 2008, respectively. Banco Espirito Santo will continue to build its commercial cooperation with Saxo Bank.

As previously announced, the founders of Saxo Bank, Kim Fournais and Lars Seier Christensen, will retain majority ownership and continue in their roles as CEOs. Fournais Holding A/S and Lars Seier Christensen Holding A/S own 29.95% of the Bank each.

Following the new shareholder structure, the Board of Saxo Bank now includes Chairman Kurt K. Larsen, Dennis Malamatinas, Professor Thomas Plenborg as well as new members of the Board, Asiff S. Hirji, Partner at TPG Capital, Karl I. Peterson, Partner at TPG Capital, and Jacob Polny (alternate), Vice President at TPG Capital.

About TPG Capital:
TPG Capital is the global buyout group of TPG, a leading private investment firm founded in 1992, with $48 billion of assets under management and offices in Beijing, Chongqing, Fort Worth, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Melbourne, Moscow, Mumbai, New York, Paris, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo. TPG Capital has deep global financial services expertise with investments that have included Bank Thai, BTPN, Fidelity National Information Services, Korea First Bank, LPL Financial Services, Shenzhen Development Bank, Shriram City Union Finance and Taishin Holdings, among others. The Firm also has extensive technology experience with investments that have included Aptina, Hotwire, Intergraph, Lenovo, MEMC, Sabre Holdings, Seagate, SunGard, and Vertafore, among others. Please visit www.tpg.com for more information.

About Saxo Bank:
Saxo Bank is a leading online trading and investment specialist. A fully licensed and regulated European bank, Saxo Bank enables private investors and institutional clients to trade FX, CFDs, ETFs, Stocks, Futures, Options and other derivatives via three specialised and fully integrated trading platforms; the browser-based SaxoWebTrader, the downloadable SaxoTrader and the SaxoMobileTrader application are available in over 20 languages. Saxo Bank also offers professional portfolio and fund management. Saxo Asset Management accommodates high-net worth private clients and institutional investors and Saxo Privatbank provides banking services and advice to retail clients. The Saxo Bank Group is headquartered in Copenhagen with offices throughout Europe, Asia, Middle East, Latin America and Australia. For more information, please visit www.saxobank.com.

Saxo Bank comments on Eurozone sitation ahead of EU leaders summit

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:15:07 GMT

Saxo Bank has released a new macro view video with Steen Jakobsen, Chief Economist, commenting on the situation for the Eurozone ahead of the EU leaders' summit and in light of the major global central banks' intervention to boost liquidity. The concerted central bank action has effectively resulted in the US printing money for Europe seeing as the European Central Bank will not, says Steen, adding that it’s like flying in a jet with one engine only - hardly a safe scenario.

The surprising joint intervention by the world's largest central banks to make it cheaper for financial institutions outside America to borrow dollars has had a positive effect on risk sentiment, but is not expected to last long. For an extended rally or to just sustain gains something more needs to be put on the table, like better fundamentals, plus structural changes and real commitments to toing the line in Eurozone nations, says Steen. The reason being that the severe solvency issues in Europe and deep rooted growth problems are still very much plaguing outlooks.

One could argue that with the central banks having joined forces the pressure is now more so on European politicians to implement lasting austerity and commit to cleaning up their backyards and follow standard rules. The question is whether EU leaders will be able to set things straight once and for all when they meet for the seventeenth time to solve the issues. Steen remains doubtful.

In the meantime, the central bank action has resulted in the cost of emergency dollar funding being cheaper for European banks than US banks. Therefore there is increased expectation now that the Federal Reserve will lower its discount rate by at least 25 basis points before the new dollar swap rate kicks in on December 5. A deeper cut is also possible, he says but that would mean the Federal Reserve is virtually letting go and committing to printing money forever.

Steen also commented on the global macro situation, in particular China, following the Reserve Requirement Ratio cut amid a slowing growth scenario and in terms of timing in a global context. Meanwhile US data continues to please for now at least but he warns that the better numbers may be petering out.

The full video can be viewed at http://www.tradingfloor.com/blogs/macro-ad-hoc/global-central-bank-action-puts-heat-on-eu-summit-to-deliver-886705704.

About Saxo Bank
Saxo Bank is a leading online trading and investment specialist, assisting clients in forex trading, CFDs, Stocks, Futures, Options and other derivatives The three specialised and fully integrated trading platforms; the browser-based SaxoWebTrader, the downloadable SaxoTrader and the SaxoMobileTrader application are available in over 20 languages. Saxo Asset Management accommodates high-net worth private clients and institutional investors. In 2011 Saxo Bank continued the diversification of its business and launched Saxo Privatbank. The Saxo Bank Group is headquartered in Copenhagen with offices throughout Europe, Asia, Middle East, Latin America and Australia.

Saxo Bank releases new Asia Focus Video

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:35:11 GMT

Saxo Bank, the online trading specialist, has released a new Asia Focus Video which features Andrew Robinson, Forex Analyst for Saxo Capital Markets in Singapore, analysing the People's Bank of China's decision to lower its reserve requirement ratio, whether it's a taste of more cuts to come and how much it is a clear signal that the world's second-largest economy is really slowing after all.

The unexpected People's Bank of China's announcement that it will lower its reserve requirement ratio on December 5, representing the first cut in three years, initially surprised markets and started a risk-on sentiment, particularly in equities and incited market hunger for more monetary easing.

As such, reserve requirement ratio cuts rarely come in isolation and more are likely soon, probably as early as next month, confirmed Andrew Robinson, FX Analyst, Saxo Capital Markets. He said the timing of this easing has to do with the flow of data of late which has pointed to a slowing in the economy and that it was acknowledgement of this situation. Furthermore it pre-empted the latest purchasing manager index data which confirmed a contraction scenario for the economy.

Commenting on the recent data from China, Andrew said: "Last month's data was looking particularly soft and the expectations for this month are not particularly encouraging. If we look at the data that's been coming out recently, it's certainly suggesting that the market is slowing down.

"I think this is a pre-emptive move by the PBOC and they're looking to continue it and build the economy."

The focus in the coming days will now shift to inflation data with more declines in the consumer price index and an even greater drop in the purchasing prices index seen. Combined, this confirmation of a softening in price pressure effectively removes a hurdle the People's Bank of China was facing in terms of the freedom to continue to ease monetary policy.

The video can be viewed at http://www.tradingfloor.com/blogs/macro-ad-hoc/more-chinese-easing-as-price-pressure-abates-removing-pboc-hurdle-1126984016, with many other forex videos available on the Saxo Bank site.

Saxo Bank enables online Islamic trading

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:57:43 GMT

Saxo Bank A/S, the online trading and investment specialist, has enabled its clients to identify and trade Islamic compliant stocks and ETFs on more than 25 exchanges worldwide. The Bank selected IdealRatings Inc., a leading global Islamic compliant fund management service provider, as the most reliable source for identifying Islamic compliant instruments globally.

The compliance reasoning is based on commonly accepted and transparent Islamic guidelines defined by IdealRatings and Shariah Review Bureau with operations in Jeddah, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and Manama. More than 12,000 stocks and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are screened and researched on a monthly basis by IdealRatings.

Jakob Beck Thomsen, Regional head of Middle East and CEO Saxo Bank (Dubai) Ltd., said: "Islamic finance is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world today and we are excited to enable our clients to identify and trade Islamic compliant stocks online. IdealRatings is the industry's most trusted brand for identifying and researching Islamic compliant stocks and we are confident in offering their data to our clients."

Mohamed Donia, CEO of IdealRatings, added: "Saxo Bank A/S has always been an innovator and market leader in providing its clients with quality financial services and we are delighted to partner with them to provide this reliable information for their discerning investors."

Saxo Bank to take over full title sponsorship of Riis Cycling

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 12:04:07 GMT

Saxo Bank, the trading and investment specialist, will take over the full title sponsorship of Riis Cycling in 2012. In 2011 the sponsorship was held jointly with SunGard, one of the world's leading software and technology services companies, but Saxo Bank has now decided to exercise an option to step up and become the sole title sponsor. All three parties have agreed that the timing is now right for a smooth transition, where SunGard will discontinue its sponsorship.

Saxo Bank has sponsored Riis Cycling since 2008, and Saxo Bank's decision to once again become sole title sponsor of the team is based on a genuine wish to support the team and a commercial decision to further build on the advantages that Saxo Bank believes are extended through this additional commitment to Riis Cycling.

Team owner Bjarne Riis said: "Since 2008 Saxo Bank and Riis Cycling have proven to be a great match. I am proud that a truly professional company such as Saxo Bank not only continues to see the commercial benefits in sponsoring our teams, but also shows its commitment and faith in our work by stepping up to become the sole title sponsor. This is evidence of a great partnership, and I'm convinced there are many more gains to be realized from this relationship in the future."

In a joint statement, Kim Fournais and Lars Seier Christensen, co-CEOs and co-founders of Saxo Bank, said: "Saxo Bank was offered an option to become the sole title sponsor of Riis Cycling, which was an offer we could not turn down. From the outset, we have sincerely wanted to support Bjarne Riis and his team and with our continued geographical expansion, the sponsorship also makes good sense commercially. While the decision to continue as full title sponsor is a strategic one, our past collaboration with the team has been fantastic, and we are looking forward to watching Team Saxo Bank race across the streets of the world in 2012."

SunGard became a sponsor of Riis Cycling below title level in 2010. This paved the way for SunGard to announce the co-title sponsorship deal for 2011 and 2012 during the 2010 Tour de France.

Bjarne Riis says: "We have had a great partnership with SunGard, and I'm forever grateful for SunGard believing in us and stepping up to sponsoring the team at title level at what was a very difficult moment for the team, but SunGard did never hide that this wasn't part of their long-term strategy."

With Saxo Bank ready to take over the full title sponsorship again, the parties have agreed for SunGard to step down and terminate SunGard's deal for next year. The agreement has no influence on the 2012 team budget.

George Thomas, SunGard's vice president of communications said: "We have had a successful partnership with Riis Cycling over the past two years and we are pleased that we were part of the team’s success. The decision to end our sponsorship was a business decision and not related to the team. We know we are leaving them with a great sponsor in Saxo Bank and we wish them much continued success."

In 2012 the name of the professional cycling team will be "Team Saxo Bank Professional Cycling Team."

About Saxo Bank:
Saxo Bank is a leading online trading and investment specialist, assisting clients in forex trading, CFDs, Stocks, Futures, Options and other derivatives. The three specialised and fully integrated trading platforms; the browser-based SaxoWebTrader, the downloadable SaxoTrader and the SaxoMobileTrader application are available in over 20 languages. Saxo Asset Management accommodates high-net worth private clients and institutional investors. In 2011 Saxo Bank continued the diversification of its business and launched Saxo Privatbank. The Saxo Bank Group is headquartered in Copenhagen with offices throughout Europe, Asia, Middle East and Australia.

About SunGard
SunGard is one of the world’s leading software and technology services companies. SunGard has more than 20,000 employees and serves over 25,000 customers in more than 70 countries. SunGard provides software and processing solutions for financial services, education and the public sector. SunGard also provides disaster recovery services, managed IT services, information availability consulting services and business continuity management software. With annual revenue of about $5 billion, SunGard is ranked 434 on the Fortune 500 and is the largest privately held business software and IT services company. Look for us wherever the mission is critical. For more information, visit www.sungard.com.

Trademark Information: SunGard and the SunGard logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of SunGard Data Systems Inc. or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries. All other trade names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Saxo Bank receives Best Active Trading Tools award at Shares awards

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 11:50:40 GMT

Saxo Bank, online trading and investment specialist, has won the award for 'Best Active Trading Tools' at the annual Shares awards in London.

The Shares awards aim to recognise those organizations providing both innovative and high quality of service to the world of retail investment. The awards provide a platform for traders and investors to voice who are the best in the business.

Henrik Dyrholm Holst, Head of Platform Management at Saxo Bank, commented on the win: "Saxo Bank is proud to have been awarded for providing the industry’s leading trading tools. Saxo Bank is renowned for our online forex trading but SaxoTrader is a multi-product trading platform offering clients a wide range of opportunities to trade the world's capital markets, from FX Options and Futures to CFDs on stocks, indices and commodities as well as popular investment products such as Stocks, Bonds and ETFs. We have continuously focus on making the trading experience for all types of traders as positive and intuitive as possible, and clearly guide users through the broad range of features on the platform. In 2011 we have also upgraded the platform with winners/losers stock in intraday real-time across all 23 stock exchanges covered by Saxo Bank. In addition, we continue our investment in optimizing and adding new trading tools and are happy to announce the imminent launch of our cutting edge trading apps for both Android and iPhone."

Saxo Bank's trading platforms have defined the company's success in the online trading space for over a decade. Since introducing the SaxoTrader in 1998, Saxo Bank has enhanced and improved its platforms to meet the evolving needs of forex traders and investors in a continuously changing industry.

Shares is the leading weekly publication for stock market professionals and private investors and as such is read weekly by thousands of analysts, fund managers, stockbrokers, company directors and private investors. The Shares' team of expert writers is highly regarded in the City and their comment frequently influences the market's view of individual companies and their underlying share price. The magazine's easy-to-read style and depth of analysis has made it the indispensable weekly read for those actively investing in the UK stock market today.

A full list of awards can be found at http://www.sharesawards.co.uk/awards/.

About Saxo Bank
Saxo Bank is a leading online trading and investment specialist. The three specialised and fully integrated trading platforms; the browser-based SaxoWebTrader, the downloadable SaxoTrader and the SaxoMobileTrader application are available in over 20 languages. Saxo Asset Management accommodates high-net worth private clients and institutional investors. In 2011 Saxo Bank continued the diversification of its business and launched Saxo Privatbank. The Saxo Bank Group is headquartered in Copenhagen with offices throughout Europe, Asia, Middle East, Latin America and Australia.

Saxo Bank FX open positions module on TradingFloor.com

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 09:32:46 GMT

Saxo Bank, the online trading and investment specialist, has announced the launch of its FX Open Positions module on TradingFloor.com, its trading commentary, news and analysis website.

The Forex Open Positions module provides a snapshot of Saxo Bank clients' aggregated FX open positions on 10 major currency pairs, allowing users access to historical positioning across and within currency pairs. The module makes it possible to search for extreme positioning in particular currency pairs or for concentrations of positions that might result in support or resistance.

Claus Nielsen, Head of Markets at Saxo Bank, said: "We are pleased to be offering our FX Open Positions module to a wide audience via TradingFloor.com. The data available provides greater transparency to the forex market, a core ambition of Saxo Bank since we began publishing OTC options data in May 2011. We aim to ensure clients, visitors to TradingFloor.com and other potential users of the module have as much information as possible at their disposal to make informed trading decisions."

Module features include:
- Aggregate Position Ratios which show the relative size of position by USD value held by clients in a selection of currency pairs, and the relative proportion of longs versus shorts by currency pair.
- Instrument Open Positions which show clients' long and short positions at any instance in time in a single currency pair, selected from the Aggregated Position Ratio chart.
- Normalised Net Positioning for a single currency pair, which shows the relative positioning of clients within a certain time horizon.

The module is also interactive and users can set the start and end date to the time range they are interested in seeing data for, and drag a vertical bar to see how the open positions have changed over time. The chart data is updated hourly by default.

Read more about the module here: http://www.tradingfloor.com/tools/fx-open-positions.

About TradingFloor.com
TradingFloor.com is hosted, owned and managed by Saxo Bank A/S. The site provides commentary and analysis on trading in the financial markets. Content is delivered in text and video format. The site's contributors and bloggers include economists, equity analysts, trading advisors and journalists employed by Saxo Bank. The site also hosts content from other individuals and organisations. The website is embedded in all of Saxo Bank's trading platforms.

About Saxo Bank:
Saxo Bank is a leading online trading and investment specialist, enabling clients to trade forex, CFDs, Stocks, Futures, Options and other derivatives. The three specialised and fully integrated trading platforms; the browser-based SaxoWebTrader, the downloadable SaxoTrader and the SaxoMobileTrader application are available in over 20 languages. Saxo Asset Management accommodates high-net worth private clients and institutional investors. In 2011 Saxo Bank continued the diversification of its business and launched Saxo Privatbank. The Saxo Bank Group is headquartered in Copenhagen with offices throughout Europe, Asia, Middle East, Latin America and Australia.

Saxo Bank has announced its expansion into Belgium

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 09:44:14 GMT

Saxo Bank, the specialist in online trading and investing, has announced the opening of its branch in Brussels in order to provide Belgian investors with access to international financial markets. Géraud Missonnier has been appointed Director of Saxo Bank Belgium.

The opening of the new office in Brussels is a strategic move by Saxo Bank in order to meet the growing demands of Belgian investors and strengthen its position as a major player in online brokerage, both in Europe and internationally. The Belgian branch will provide investors with the opportunity to participate in more than 25 stock markets and a wide range of financial instruments available through Saxo Bank's award-winning trading platforms.

Appointed Director of Saxo Bank Belgium, Géraud Missonnier will take over the operational implementation in Belgium and the organisations development in the Belgian market.

In addition to its offer to individual investors, Saxo Bank also offers a White Label solution (WLC - White Label Clients) for financial institutions allowed to hold their clients' funds. Saxo Bank's technology offers White Label Clients the ability to provide their clients with a unique trading offering whilst maintaining the characteristics of their brand, their visual identity, and their logo. This new expansion will allow Saxo Bank Belgium to reinforce existing partnerships and focus on developing new opportunities.

Géraud Missonnier, Saxo Bank Belgium Director declared: "By expanding into Belgium, Saxo Bank clearly intends to win over a market made up of high-potential investors. Indeed, a recent survey by NYSE Euronext conducted among active European investors revealed that 91% of the surveyed Belgian investors already use the Internet to buy and sell financial products. Our multi-product online platform combined with competitive rates corresponds perfectly to the expectations of those Belgian investors. Our aim? To become a major player in online brokerage in Belgium."

Founded in 1992, Saxo Bank is the second largest bank in Denmark by market capitalization. World leader in forex and CFDs, as well as known and renowned for its online trading solution, Saxo Bank also benefits from its sponsorship of the "Team Saxo Bank - Sungard" cycling team represented in Belgium by Nick Nuyens who made his team proud by winning the Tour of Flanders in April, 2011.

Nick Nuyens was present at the grand opening of the new office in Brussels, along with Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Institutional Reform, Didier Reynders, and Lars Seier Christensen, co-founder and co-CEO of Saxo Bank.

Saxo Bank Belgium's Offering in Brief:
- Multi-product trading platform providing clients with direct access to 25 stock markets and more than 20,000 financial instruments via a single account
- Very competitive rates on Forex, CFDs, Stocks, ETFs, and Bonds
- Support and help for clients: an appointed adviser to answer client requests and the possibility of a meeting in the Saxo Bank offices
- Trading platform available three different ways: software downloaded to a PC, a platform available on the Internet, or from a smartphone (or PC tablet) connected to the Internet.
- Free online training
- Daily economic newsletter and stock exchange advice.

About Saxo Bank:
Saxo Bank is a leading online trading and investment specialist. The three specialised and fully integrated trading platforms; the browser-based SaxoWebTrader, the downloadable SaxoTrader and the SaxoMobileTrader application are available in over 20 languages. Saxo Asset Management accommodates high-net worth private clients and institutional investors. In 2011 Saxo Bank continued the diversification of its business and launched Saxo Privatbank. In 2010, the Saxo Bank Group had a net banking income of 443 M€ (87 M€ net result). The Group is headquartered in Copenhagen with offices throughout Europe, Asia, Middle East, Latin America and Australia.

About Saxo Bank Belgium:
Launched in October 2011, Saxo Bank is registered with the National Bank of Belgium (Boulevard de Berlaimont 14, 1000 Brussels, www.nbb.be) on the list of credit institutions governed by the law of another Member State of the European Economic Area with a registered branch in Belgium. Saxo Bank Belgium enables private individuals, banks, and brokers to trade forex, CFDs, stocks, futures, options, and other derivatives via its online trading platforms. Saxo Bank Belgium is wholly owned by a Danish bank, Saxo Bank, founded in 1992 by Kim Fournais and Lars Seier Christensen. The Saxo Bank Group, headquartered in Copenhagen, currently employs more than 1,000 people from 62 different countries and is particularly present in the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Singapore, Spain, Australia, Japan, China, Italy, Dubai, Prague, the Netherlands, Russia, and now in Belgium.

About Géraud Missonnier, Saxo Bank Belgium Director:
Gerald Missonnier, who has a Master's Degree in Finance and a Specialized Master's Degree in Management Stratégique International from the Université de Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, as well as a second Specialized Master's Degree in Finanzas Internacionales from the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia (Spain), began his career at Lonlay & Associés as a Junior Consultant in wealth management and tax-exempt products. At the same time, he founded a forex investment club with seven investors. With a degree in Finance and a strong interest in the stock market, he joined Saxo Banque France in January 2009 as a Sales Trader. In that capacity, he developed and managed clientèle and also became a privileged contact person for French media (BFM Radio and Business, Reuters, Les Echos, Le Figaro, La Tribune, etc.) by providing analyses of financial markets (CAC40 and EUR / USD). He provided training in trading and gave lectures in Paris at significant conferences dedicated to investors active in the stock market. In October 2011, Géraud Missonnier was appointed Director of Saxo Bank Belgium; his goal is to develop Saxo Bank Belgium and manage the client portfolios.

Saxo Bank Q4 Outlook 2011: Fasten your seatbelts, we're heading to Crisis 2.0

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 09:22:16 GMT

The next few months will see desperate moves by policymakers to save the financial system, according to Saxo Bank. In their Q4 financial outlook, the online trading and investment specialist says that this eventually will lead to Crisis 2.0.

In the past few months, the global economy has moved from bad to worse. Growth prospects have soured and governments and central banks are pulling out the stops to save the system once again. In Europe, renewed efforts to save the European Union from its debt crisis are foundering as EU governments have reached an all-time low in solidarity and an all-time high in playing to more domestic national agendas. However, for the first time in months, Saxo Bank is optimistic and says that Crisis 2.0 could result in a real confrontation between the Western world’s debt demons and bad practices and lead to unfettered markets and allocation of capital based on gaining the highest marginal return.

Commenting on the outlook, Steen Jakobsen, Saxo Bank's Chief Economist said:

"Policymakers' efforts in the developed world to salvage the economy with bailouts, stimulus and money printing have failed to build a sustainable recovery since the financial crisis in 2008. It seems policymakers and central banks have hardly learnt anything from their past mistakes. In fact, it appears they are ready to double down on their previous efforts, a state of affairs we call ‘Maximum Intervention’, which we believe will lead us towards Crisis 2.0.

"On a positive note, we believe Crisis 2.0 could result in a real confrontation with our debt demons and bad practices, eventually replacing the extend and pretend routine we’ve seen since the global financial crisis got under way. Now, more than ever, would be the time in which we ponder the true meaning of the word crisis: a turning point, not an extended period of doom and gloom. However, for now investors should fasten their seatbelts because we are in for a rough ride – one that will very hopefully see us in a better place when we finally land."

The Quarterly Outlook Q4 2011 focuses on the following areas:

Macro Outlook
Though the world economy will see robust growth of 3.8 percent this year this figure papers over a chasm between developed and emerging countries. While the developed economies led by the heavyweights (U.S. and Eurozone) are struggling to cope with the drag from deleveraging, emerging markets have hiked rates as inflationary pressures have mounted due to strong domestic demand. Domestic demand in emerging countries remains strong and should offset weakening foreign demand from developed economies.

Monetary policy
Saxo Bank expects the Fed’s “Operation Twist” to be the next step towards “QE Infinite”, with the next instalment being QE3, probably in Q1 2012. The Bank also expects that before year-end the ECB will reintroduce the provision of unlimited, fixed rate, long-term liquidity to banks, flushing the system with liquidity and forcing actual market rates lower than the current refinance rate at 1.5 percent – which may further go down. The analysts maintain their call for unchanged Japanese rates throughout 2011 and 2012, and feel further quantitative easing is very likely. Similarly, the Bank feels that QE2 in the UK is likely before Christmas and rates are not going to rise before 2013.

FX Outlook
Saxo Bank suspects a further tightening in yield spreads between the USD and other currencies will continue to unwind the carry advantage built up against the USD last year and at the beginning of 2011. The Euro could see a short-term relief rally if the EU manages to muddle through with the solidarity enforced by the market’s discipline. NOK appears to be the safer harbour than SEK, but it is unlikely to replicate the CHF’s previous performance. Also, the Aussie’s and Kiwi’s remain to appear extremely overvalued, and trading is expected to become more sidewise.

FX Options
Despite current high levels of volatility, Saxo Bank is cautious towards any short EUR downside option positions, and would rather lean towards a long option position aimed at benefitting from a lower EURUSD spot. If selling downside options, the Bank would much rather enter a conservative strategy such as selling EURCHF put spreads, rather than selling plain vanilla options. This would allow the investor to control the potential risk through 1.20.

Asia
The report suggests that China is facing an erosion of its global competitiveness with wage pressures linked to high-flying inflation being the dominant factors. The Chinese currency, and its gradual revaluation, is also playing its part and China’s loss of competitiveness may be seen as a helpful factor in the global rebalancing process. But Chinese authorities do not see any need to panic. If they can succeed in pulling off the latest Five-Year-Plan then this development, and its impact on the trade balance, will not be a major issue.

Equity Outlook
The Bank’s analysts do not recommend investors go all-in on equities despite compelling underlying fundamentals. It is more meaningful to keep some powder dry if stocks continue lower due to unpredictable events, and to increase exposure there if stocks tumble. This sounds nerve-racking for most investors but it is the most profitable strategy to keep increasing exposure in risky assets. If there are surprises in economic data going forward the biggest winners will be stocks in the financial, materials and industrial sectors. Investors that are willing to take on risk should consider those sectors as that is where the largest potential risk-reward ratio exists.

Commodity Outlook
Commodity markets will continue to be driven by worries about the potential impact of a slowing global economy. Cyclical commodities like energy and base metals have suffered as a consequence while safe haven flows and adverse weather have been the main reasons for gains across precious metals and agricultural commodities. Saxo Bank believes that renewed dollar strength during September will continue into the last quarter and this could potentially have a dampening effect on the performance of commodities, ensuring a relative flat 2011 performance of the major commodity indices.

Saxo Bank continues international expansion with new office in Moscow

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 09:41:48 GMT

Saxo Bank, the online trading and investment specialist today announced the opening of a new representative office in Moscow in order to respond to growing demand by Russia's sophisticated investor base.

The opening of the Moscow office is a strategic move by online trading specialist to strengthen and expand its position as a leading provider of online trading and investment solutions. The office will act as a broker boutique offering Russian investors a broad list of exchanges and instruments available through Saxo Bank's award winning trading platform.

There have been promising developments in Russia this year, with retail sales growth accelerating in August reaching 7.8% year on year (y/y). Unemployment declined whilst real wage growth picked up to 3.9% y/y which has filtered through to every segment from discount to luxury. Consumers' increasing maturity and sophistication has increased the HNW sector of the market and thus stimulated their risk appetite and desire for better returns, which fits Saxo Bank's investor profile.

The Moscow office will be headed by newly appointed COO Igor Dombrovan, who said: "Sustainable success is driven by customer focus, and the new representative office will enable us to have greater access to clients in Russia. The Russian retail market has demonstrated solid growth rates over the last several years, making the sector one of the most actively developing markets in the economy. This has been fuelled by growth in the overall economy, growing consumption and an increasingly organised marketplace. The new office will enable us to further support and educate this growing market with its highly sophisticated investor base."

Kim Fournais and Lars Seier Christensen, co-founders and CEOs of Saxo Bank, said in a joint statement: "While opening an office in Moscow is a strategic decision to support our European expansion and growth strategy, it has always been a priority for Saxo Bank. Russia has always been a good market for Saxo Bank because Russian clients are highly sophisticated investors. The new office will enable us to provide a more comprehensive on-the-ground service to clients and potential clients in the region."

About Saxo Bank:
Saxo Bank is a leading online trading and investment specialist, enabling clients to trade forex, CFD, Stocks, Futures, Options and other derivatives. The three specialised and fully integrated trading platforms; the browser-based SaxoWebTrader, the downloadable SaxoTrader and the SaxoMobileTrader application are available in over 20 languages. Saxo Asset Management accommodates high-net worth private clients and institutional investors. In 2011 Saxo Bank continued the diversification of its business and launched Saxo Privatbank. The Saxo Bank Group is headquartered in Copenhagen with offices throughout Europe, Asia, Middle East and Australia.

Saxo Bank announces new offshore Renminbi CNH

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 10:14:38 GMT

Saxo Bank, the specialist in online trading and investment, today announced that the new USDCNH currency cross is now available on its trading platforms. Clients of Saxo Bank will now be able to trade the offshore Chinese renminbi against the US Dollar.

Streaming prices on ticket sizes up to USD 3 million will be available during regular FX trading hours from 8am Mondays Sydney time to 5pm Fridays New York time. Larger trade sizes will be available on a Request for Quote (RFQ) basis. The Margin Requirement for the USDCNH is 8% and the minimum trade size is USD 5,000 notional.

The USDCNH will be available to all Saxo Bank's clients, including those of white label clients, but will not be available to clients of Saxo Capital Markets HK.

Claus Nielsen, Head of Trading, Saxo Bank comments: "Over the past few years, the Chinese government has allowed the renminbi to appreciate against the US Dollar, and has gradually deregulated the currency's trading. CNH offers an important option to take and manage renminbi risk and exposure to real investments and positive yield. The development of the offshore renminbi CNH is integral to China's broader strategic plans to internationalise and turn the renminbi into a viable reserve currency.

"London, whose 37 per cent share of the global forex market is twice the one of its nearest rival New York, has just been officially approved by China as an offshore centre for trading renminbi. We expect USDCNH to become an interesting trading currency for our clients in the future."

About Saxo Bank:
Saxo Bank is a leading online trading and investment specialist. The three specialised and fully integrated trading platforms; the browser-based SaxoWebTrader, the downloadable SaxoTrader and the SaxoMobileTrader application are available in over 20 languages. Saxo Asset Management accommodates high-net worth private clients and institutional investors. In 2011 Saxo Bank continued the diversification of its business and launched Saxo Privatbank. The Saxo Bank Group is headquartered in Copenhagen with offices throughout Europe, Asia, Middle East and Australia.

Saxo Bank announces half year results

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 17:00:56 GMT

Saxo Bank reported a net profit of DKK 346 million for the first six months of 2011. The result which is in line with expectations represents an increase of 375% over the second half of 2010, and a decrease of 37% compared with the first six months of 2010, where market activity and volatility were unusually high.

- Operating income DKK 1,772 million (DKK 1,992 million)
- Profit before tax DKK 474 million (DKK 729 million)
- Net profit DKK 346 million (DKK 551 million)
- Solvency ratio 12.3% (19.2%)
- Clients’ collateral deposits DKK 32,855 million (DKK 26,590 million)
- Assets under management DKK 32,357 million (DKK 24,606 million)

Saxo Bank saw a significant increase in average monthly volumes traded in CFD stock indices, single stocks and commodities, cash stocks, FX options and futures compared to the same period last year. Monthly FX volumes averaged approximately DKK 1.2 trillion in the first half of 2011, with lower trading volumes in the first quarter and a pick up in the second.

While the overall trader and investor activity level was moderate in the first half of 2011, the Bank saw continued growth in clients' collateral deposits and assets under management, which are the foundation for future business and profits. Total assets under management in Saxo Bank’s trading business increased from DKK 31.2 billion as of 31 December 2010 to DKK 32.4 billion as of 30 June 2011. Clients' collateral deposits in Saxo Bank’s asset management business increased from DKK 31.3 billion as of 31 December 2010 to DKK 32.9 billion as of 30 June 2011.

Operating income for the first six months of 2011 reached DKK 1,772 million for the Group. This is lower compared to the same period in 2010, but represents an increase in trading-related income following on from the second half of 2010.

Kim Fournais and Lars Seier Christensen, co-founders and CEOs of Saxo Bank, said in a joint statement: "Saxo Bank achieved a satisfactory half-year net profit fully in line with expectations, despite general market conditions which reduced risk appetite in the economy and dampened capital market activities. While keeping a close eye on overall cost developments, Saxo Bank will keep its focus on expanding our products and services as well as optimising the efficiency and profitability of our operations. Overall, we believe the Group has a solid foundation for current and future operations and we expect to continue to create value for our stakeholders."

About Saxo Bank:
Saxo Bank is an online trading and investment specialist, enabling clients to trade Forex, CFD, Stocks, Futures, Options and other derivatives, as well as providing portfolio management via SaxoWebTrader and SaxoTrader, the leading online trading platforms. Saxo Asset Management accommodates high-net worth private clients and institutional investors. In 2011 Saxo Bank continued the diversification of its business and launched Saxo Privatbank. The Saxo Bank Group is headquartered in Copenhagen with offices throughout Europe, Asia, Middle East and Australia.

Saxo Properties and Resolution Property form a €250 million joint venture

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:12:10 GMT

Saxo Properties, the property investment arm of Saxo Bank, the Copenhagen-based trading and investment specialist, has entered into a joint venture with Resolution Real Estate Advisers LLP "Resolution Property", the pan European real estate fund, whose investors include some of the major US universities such as Harvard and Yale and foundations, currently has €1.5 billion of assets under management.

The Joint Venture will focus on co-investing up to approximately €250 million in the central business district of Copenhagen, targeting residential and mixed use, residential and commercial buildings which will benefit from the application of intensive asset management, including refurbishment and the repositioning of occupiers. With an in-house team of 15 highly skilled property professionals and a facilities management arm, Saxo Properties is well positioned to identify off market opportunities, and implement an asset management programme of improvements resulting in significantly enhanced returns for investors.

The new venture, which is already targeting its first purchases, will have a life of three to five years with the emphasis on income growth and capital gains.

Jesper Damborg, Chief Executive of Saxo Properties said: "We are delighted to have teamed up with Resolution Property, one of the leading pan European real estate investors, with assets across Continental Europe. The Joint Venture will seek to take advantage of carefully selected opportunities which have the potential to produce above average returns in the medium term."

Robert Laurence, Chief Executive of Resolution Property said: "The stability of the underlying economy in Copenhagen, coupled with the opportunity to acquire good quality assets at levels representing a significant discount to their peak values, is of great appeal to us. Our Joint Venture with Saxo Properties provides a highly experienced property team at local level with an established track record of achieving good returns and an exciting opportunity for us to develop our value add real estate strategy in a new market place."

Saxo Properties is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saxo Bank and was launched in March 2010 to provide closed end funds for both high net worth clients and institutional investors, focusing on residential, office and retail property in Central Copenhagen.

Originally founded in 1998, Resolution Property, backed by a shareholder base including international private equity investors, pension funds and major US universities and foundations, is invested across continental Europe including France, Poland, Germany, United Kingdom and Switzerland. With a €808 million capital raising completed in 2007, Resolution Property is targeting a portfolio size over €2.6 billion.

de Morgan & Company of London, acted on behalf of Saxo Properties in the negotiations and Resolution Property was represented by Whitmarsh Holt Young along with local advisers including Plesner and Sadolin & Albæk.

About Saxo Bank:
Saxo Bank is an online trading and investment specialist, enabling clients to trade Forex, CFDs, Stocks, Futures, Options and other derivatives, as well as providing portfolio management via SaxoWebTrader and SaxoTrader, the leading online trading platforms. Saxo Asset Management accommodates high-net worth private clients and institutional investors. In 2011 Saxo Bank continued the diversification of its business and launched Saxo Privatbank. The Saxo Bank Group is headquartered in Copenhagen with offices throughout Europe, Asia, Middle East and Australia.

Saxo Bank acquires 25% stake in broker solutions provider Leverate

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 11:14:32 GMT

Saxo Bank and Leverate announced that they have entered into a strategic partnership in which Saxo Bank has acquired 25% of Leverate. The broker solutions provider offers a full turn-key solution for brokerage companies looking to offer trading capabilities based on the online automated trading application MetaTrader or to complement their existing trading solutions.

Through this acquisition, Saxo Bank and Leverate will continue to enhance their offerings towards institutional segments and retail brokers by adding new trading functionalities. Leverate's complete solution provides brokers with the services needed to increase their conversions, trading volume and risk management capabilities by offering products integrated to the MT4 and other proprietary platforms. Since its release in 2005, MetaTrader has established itself as one of the most popular non-proprietary Forex trading platforms. Offering advanced functionality, the system is regarded as one of the preferred auto-dealing systems on the market and it is widely used by FX traders.

Stig Pastwa, Chief Commercial Officer of Saxo Bank, commented on the acquisition: "We have seen an increased demand among our institutional and retail clients for automated trading solutions, including MetaTrader. Leverate's track record and ability to deliver a comprehensive and reliable trading environment has made them an obvious choice as a provider of technology supporting the MT4 universe, which lives up to Saxo Bank’s award winning standard of execution. As an extension to our important business for white-label and institutional clients, we wish to support Leverate with technology and liquidity. While keeping their independence, we hope to assist Leverate in their already impressive growth from which their customers will further benefit."

In a joint statement, the co-CEOs of Leverate, Ran Strauss and Doron Cohen commented: "Leverate had been approached on multiple occasions by other private equity funds eager to enter into a business relationship, but when we met Saxo Bank, we felt we had encountered the perfect partner. Leverate will continue to provide innovative and comprehensive proprietary solutions for the FX market, and we are proud to be working together with Saxo Bank. Time and time again, Saxo Bank has been recognised as a leading force in the FX industry, and together we plan to continue Leverate's R&D efforts in the area of technology solutions and related services for brokers and financial institutions. This mutually beneficial partnership will allow our clients to benefit from enhanced top-tier liquidity sources, while Saxo Bank’s clients can have access to our Complete Broker Solution: MT4, Live Feed, Web & Mobile Traders, CRM and Risk Management, powered by Leverate, and fully integrated with Saxo Bank's core liquidity and execution engine. This partnership will in no way change the management or operations of Leverate and our clients can only benefit from it."

About Leverate
Leverate offers cutting-edge solutions powered by breakthrough technology. Market players receive sophisticated trading tools and services such as the full Private Label solution, including the Liquidity Bridge, live feeds and web & mobile applications. Dozens of brokers around the world rely on Leverate’s solutions and services to increase trading volumes, achieve maximum precision and accuracy with market feeds and prevent fraud. In line with its commitment to its growing customer base, Leverate continues to develop new solutions and innovative technologies that address evolving market trends and generate better value for their customers.

Saxo Bank launches FX Binary Touch Options

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 10:52:35 GMT

Saxo Bank, the specialist in online trading and investment, today announced the launch of six Binary Touch Options on its trading platform. The Binary Touch options will initially be offered in six currency pairs; EURUSD, USDJPY, GBPUSD, EURJPY, EURGBP, and AUDUSD. They will be tradable from Saxo Bank’s award winning FX Options Board, where clients are already able to trade regular FX Vanilla Options.

The launch will further extend Saxo Bank's FX offering and allow clients to trade in the world's most liquid financial market in a simple and convenient way. A Binary Touch Option differs from a plain Vanilla Option in that the potential gains and losses of a Binary Touch Option position is known upfront, thus greatly simplifying the transaction. Clients may invest not only in which direction the price will move, but at the same time express their views on how far and over what time period.

Unlike other trading platforms that offer similar products, Saxo Bank will offer its clients the ability to close-out their long or short positions at the current market price prior to expiry.

Gustave Rieunier, Global Head of FX Options & Forward Trading at Saxo Bank, said: "Adding Binary Touch Options trading to our platform bridges the gap between FX Spot and FX Vanilla Options and meets the recent demand in the market for wanting to trade in the global currency market in a simple, straight forward manner. Whether you are a seasoned FX trader or new to investing in currencies, this is an excellent way to add FX exposure to your portfolio.

"Saxo Bank has developed into one of the top market makers in the global FX Options space. Adding such a simple and straight forward product to our strong liquidity and award winning pricing capabilities is another significant improvement to our FX offering."

About Saxo Bank:
Saxo Bank is a leading online trading and investment specialist with a worldwide client base. The three specialised and fully integrated trading platforms; the browser-based SaxoWebTrader, the downloadable SaxoTrader and the SaxoMobileTrader application are available in over 20 languages. Saxo Asset Management accommodates high-net worth private clients and institutional investors. In 2010 Saxo Bank continued the diversification of its business with acquisitions of Saxo-E*Trade Bank, a specialist in online investment, and Brørup Sparekasse, a Danish savings bank. The Saxo Bank Group is headquartered in Copenhagen with offices throughout Europe, Asia, Middle East and Australia.

Saxo Bank wins Best Liquidity Distribution Service at the eFX Awards 2011

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:37:55 GMT

Saxo Bank, the specialist in online trading and investment, has won the "Best Liquidity Distribution Service" award at the annual eFX Awards 2011 hosted by FX Week in New York.

At the core of Saxo Bank's offering is its White Label solution for banks that require a market leading on-line trading platform for their clients. The key benefits of the solution are:

- It facilitates ownership and control of banks’ relationships with their clients whilst maintaining full client anonymity from Saxo Bank.
- Access to a fully branded and customised trading solution.
- A facility for banks to distribute their own FX liquidity to their clients via the white-label platform.
- A multi-asset offering with more than 20,000 financial products, including FX, Stocks, CFDs and commodities.
- Flexibility and control allows banks to distribute liquidity from the asset classes with tailored commission pricing to their own clients, based on their own local and regional requirements.

For institutional clients, such as hedge funds and retail aggregators with sophisticated high trading volumes, Saxo Bank's trading API compliments their needs by making its multi-asset product range available in the client's own systems via a low latency VPN, standard FIX protocol API. The trading API extends Saxo Bank’s distribution services and makes available its range of FX crosses and order routing for CFDs, Stocks and Futures in the client's proprietary systems.

The founders and co-CEOs of Saxo Bank, Kim Fournais and Lars Seier Christens said in a joint statement: "Saxo Bank acts as a facilitator linking liquidity from Tier-1-banks and access to over 20 exchanges across the globe to our institutional and retail clients via our integrated platforms. The award acknowledges this business model. It makes us very proud and we are honored to accept the award."

Saxo Bank was also nominated for the "Best Retail Platform" award. The award was won by Citi. The CitiFX Pro platform is powered by Saxo Bank.

This year the awards were judged by industry experts, Joel Clark, Editor, FX Week, Justyn Trenner, Chief Executive, Client Knowledge, Sang Lee, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Aite Group and Rob Daly, Editor, Sell-Side Technology.

About Saxo Bank:
Saxo Bank is a leading online trading and investment specialist. The three specialised and fully integrated trading platforms; the browser-based SaxoWebTrader, the downloadable SaxoTrader and the SaxoMobileTrader application are available in over 20 languages. Saxo Asset Management accommodates high-net worth private clients and institutional investors. In 2011 Saxo Bank continued the diversification of its business and launched Saxo Privatbank. The Saxo Bank Group is headquartered in Copenhagen with offices throughout Europe, Asia, Middle East and Australia.

Saxo Bank launches SaxoTrader 2.5 with improved navigation and position management

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 09:40:15 GMT

Saxo Bank, the specialist in online trading and investment, has announced the launch of SaxoTrader 2.5, the latest update to its multi-asset class trading platform. The new version includes improved navigation and added features to manage positions and orders, and is available to customers from July 2011.

Saxo Bank has replaced the old SaxoTrader menu with an intuitive, easily navigable ribbon-style toolbar. The menu items are now grouped by function which takes up less screen space whilst making the breadth of functions available more accessible and simple to use. "News and Research" as well as "Account" tabs enable users to easily access all the information they need. In addition, new product icons clearly differentiate the various products tradable on the platform.

Enhanced position management features include a module allowing users to view and manage positions and related orders in one integrated workflow. This enables to flexibly close positions, set stop and limit orders, and provides users with a customisable display of all open and closed positions. A heatmap visualisation gives them an additional instant overview of the performance of their positions.

Henrik Dyrholm Holst, Head of Platform Management at Saxo Bank, commented: "SaxoTrader 2.5 is designed to make trading even faster and more efficient. Nowadays, traders demand intuitive tools that are rich in data and analytics. SaxoTrader is a multi-asset trading platform with a specific set of tools for each asset class. We have therefore focused on making the trading experience for all types of traders as positive and intuitive as possible, and clearly guide users through the broad range of features on the platform."

This latest release is a subset of the functionality Saxo Bank will be adding to SaxoTrader. The Bank will continue to upgrade the platform in phases this year.

About Saxo Bank:
Saxo Bank is a leading online trading and investment specialist. The three specialised and fully integrated trading platforms; the browser-based SaxoWebTrader, the downloadable SaxoTrader and the SaxoMobileTrader application are available in over 20 languages. Saxo Asset Management accommodates high-net worth private clients and institutional investors. In 2011 Saxo Bank continued the diversification of its business and launched Saxo Privatbank. The Saxo Bank Group is headquartered in Copenhagen with offices throughout Europe, Asia, Middle East and Australia.

Saxo Bank wins two awards at the World Finance Foreign Exchange Awards 2011

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 15:10:13 GMT

Saxo Bank, the specialist in online trading and investment, has been named "Best Forex Broker in Northern Europe" and "Best White Label Solution Provider" in the World Finance Foreign Exchange Awards 2011. This accolade acknowledges Saxo Bank's position as an established FX house and its leading role in the foreign exchange market.

Kim Fournais and Lars Seier Christensen, founders and co-CEOs of Saxo Bank, said in a joint statement: "We are delighted that Saxo Bank has won these two awards. Modern traders and investors demand usability, mobility, performance, and service when executing online trades, all of which we will continue to provide our clients with."

Saxo Bank, which is renowned for aggregating liquidity from the world's leading FX dealers, facilitates Forex trading on three different online platforms, covering the needs of those who are new to the Forex markets as well as professional investors who demand a wide selection of trading instruments and a variety of product types for multi-asset portfolio creation.

Saxo Bank's many years of experience in the online trading business and accumulated knowledge of the markets as well as the needs of clients translates into a proven success formula for completely scalable White Label solutions. The solution is built around a customised version of Saxo Bank's award-winning platform and then branded under the White Label Client's name.

The World Finance Awards are chosen by an expert panel. They identify industry leaders, individuals, teams and organisations that represent the benchmark of achievement and best practice in the financial and business world. Now in their fourth year, the awards reflect a wider spectrum of financial services and related industries than ever before.

About Saxo Bank:
Saxo Bank is a leading online trading and investment specialist. The Bank enables clients to trade Forex, CFDs Stocks, Equities, Futures, Options and other derivatives via three specialised and integrated trading platforms; the browser based SaxoWebTrader the downloadable SaxoTrader and the SaxoMobileTrader, a mobile phone trading platform.

SaxoMobileTrader application is available in over 20 languages. Saxo Asset Management accommodates high net worth private clients and institutional investors. In 2011 Saxo Bank continued the diversification of its business and launched Saxo Privatbank. The Saxo Bank Group is headquartered in Copenhagen with offices throughout Europe, Asia, Middle East and Australia.

Saxo Bank's ForexTrading.com adds new product offerings

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 10:24:57 GMT

Saxo Bank, the online trading and investment specialist, has announced the addition of 12 CFDs on major stock indices and 7 commodity CFDs to its ForexTrading.com platform for private traders.

ForexTrading.com was launched by Saxo Bank in early June 2011 and provides traders with browser based and downloadable trading platforms, supporting a range of the world's most liquid forex, and CFD instruments at competitive spreads.

Claus Nielsen, head of markets at Saxo Bank, said: "The addition of stock index CFDs and seven further commodity CFDs to ForexTrading.com now enables private investors to trade in the most liquid contracts across a range of asset classes. The majority of clients use ForexTrading.com as a no thrills account to trade currencies, however we want to make sure that they have the opportunity to leverage the opportunities they see in other asset classes."

"We expect dedicated index and commodity traders to enjoy the tight spreads for the CFD indices. The indices are priced competitively with the UK 100 and Germany 30 indices spread going as low as 1 point and the US SPX500 as tight as 0.75 points."

The minimum initial deposit when opening an account with ForexTrading.com is $2,000 or equivalent, and no interest will be paid on funds on deposit. ForexTrading.com supports retail trading accounts and offers support and service in English.

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