Banco Safra

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Banco Safra
Type	Sociedade Anônima
Founded	1955
Headquarters	São Paulo, Brazil
Key people	Joseph Safra (Chairman)
Industry	Finance and Insurance
Products	Financial Services
Revenue	▲ $5.593 billion BRL (2005) ^[1]
Employees	3,800
Website	www.safra.com.br

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Banco Safra S.A. is a Brazilian and international bank, ranking sixth among the country’s largest private sector financial institutions in terms of total assets. The Bank is part of the larger Safra Group of banks and financial institutions.

1 Operations
2 History
3 Performance
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Operations

A full-service commercial bank, Banco Safra S. A. operates in all areas of the financial sector. Outside Brazil, the bank offers its large customer base a broad selection of international services. Through its major Brazilian subsidiaries, Safra Leasing, Safra Seguros S. A., Safra Distribuidora de Títulos e Valores Mobiliários and Safra Corretora de Valores e Câmbio Ltda., the bank’s activities extend beyond traditional lending operations to leasing, securities underwriting, investment fund management, brokerage and insurance operations. The bank is also active in trade finance, asset management and treasury operations.

[edit] History

The Safra family's history in banking originated with caravan trade between Aleppo, Alexandria and Constantinople during the Ottoman Empire. Facing anti-Jewish riots in Beirut after the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, the Safras decided to move to Brazil in 1952. In the 1960s, Joseph Safra and his father, Jacob Safra, founded Banco Safra, S.A.

Joseph Safra recently purchased the remaining shares of Banco Safra, Safra National Bank of New York and Banque Safra-Luxembourg S.A. from his brother, Moise.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Performance

At the end of 2005, shareholders' equity stood at R$3,665 billion, for an increase of 20 percent compared with R$3,057 billion at the end of 2004. Net income amounted to R$633.9 million in 2005, for an annualized return on equity of 18.8 percent, in line with the industry average. The balance of consolidated assets as of December 31, 2005 was R$41.7 billion, up 10 percent from R$38 billion.^[2]