
17SAXO BANK GROUP |
BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2018
For this reason, we entered into our
first white label partnership in 2001
– before many others – and since
then have developed our partnerships
strategy in an open and collaborative
way.Today, Saxo Group has more than
120 white label partnerships globally.
Our partners benefit from more than
two decades of trading innovation and
investment as we continue to enhance
our offering to ensure we deliver
access to investment and trading to
both our direct retail clients and those
who use our platform indirectly via our
white label partners.
It’s worth noting, too, that our white
label solution is a cost and time-efficient
alternative to replacing legacy IT or
building a new operational infrastructure
in-house, thereby avoiding the risks
associated with large IT projects.
For instance, Saxo recently announced
a partnership with Banca Generali, a
large Italian bank, as a consequence
of which Saxo will be providing
technological infrastructure to service
the bank’s customers’ access to global
capital markets through technology
and connectivity with more than 100
global liquidity providers. It is very
costly and time-consuming for any
bank or fintech company to develop
and maintain its own “global capital
markets engine”, which is why we see
the trend of partnerships spreading
much more broadly.
The development is positive for both
customers and the sector as a whole.
Partnerships could become one of
the most disruptive factors in the
financial sector in the coming years and
become the foundation for a significant
step forward in the sector’s use of
technology. When banks no longer have
to develop their own systems, significant
resources can be unleashed to deliver
better services and products for clients.
Potential challenges
Other changes in the sector, however,
have less obviously salutary effects. For
instance, tightening regulations will
result in difficult operational changes
and a squeeze on profit margins across
the board, but will also have the effect
of improving standards – this latter
effect being something we unequivocally
welcome. On top of this, though,
will be the serendipitous additional
demand for our white label services as
more of the value chain is outsourced.
So, more stringent regulations presents
to us long-term opportunities.
Brexit, too, is a potential challenge –
something that most in the financial
sector will attest to. Uncertainty in
general is not good for business, much
more so for the financial industry.
Nevertheless, we believe we are
well protected against some of the
potential downsides of leaving the
European Union. One such way in
which we are protected is the fact
that we are already regulated by
multiple entities across Europe, so
our compliance procedure will not be
dented all that drastically.
With regard to the future, we are
looking to expand in all the markets
that we already have a footprint in. The
UK, for instance, has much to offer us
in terms of prospects. Seeing this, we
have expanded our presence in our
London office from roughly 50 people
to closing in on 100 – most of whom
are dedicated to relationship building
with clients and compliance support.
Saxo’s HQ in
Copenhagen, Denmark
At Saxo we have
developed the
infrastructure to
give our own
direct clients
unparalleled
access to global
capital markets
and we deliver
‘banking-as-a-
service’ in the
field of
investment and
trading
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