Saxo Bank Sees Record Assets Under Management and Retains Profitability in Difficult Market Conditions

Hellerup, Denmark (ots/PRNewswire) -

Saxo Bank, the online trading and investment specialist, saw an
increase of nearly 50% in assets under management in 2012, growing to
an all-time high of DKK 49 billion from DKK 33 billion in 2011. Total
clients collateral deposits in 2012 increased almost 14% to more than
DKK 40 billion. In a year marked by volatility and low trading
volumes, this helped Saxo Bank to generate an overall net profit of
DKK 81 million for 2012.

Foreign exchange moved in tight ranges in 2012, with major currencies
such as CHF and JPY impacted by pegging to the EUR and Bank of Japan
intervention. These limitations naturally influenced clients' trading
behaviour. Saxo Bank's EBITDA was DKK 606 million in 2012, remaining
at a high level after decreasing 48% compared to 2011.

With market volatility in most asset classes remaining subdued
throughout the year, operating income was DKK 2.97 billion, around
15% lower than in 2011. The Bank lowered the run-rate cost level to a
level reflecting the market activity in November 2012, and operating
costs for the Group ended at a similar level than in 2011 at DKK 2.51
billion. Saxo Bank's solvency ratio is almost the same as last year
at 13.5%, well above the legal requirement.

The founders and CEOs of Saxo Bank, Kim Fournais and Lars Seier
Christensen, said in a joint statement:

"Saxo Bank's performance in 2012 was unsatisfactory, but explainable
with the overall economic climate. We have demonstrated that Saxo
Bank is able to go through an economic recession and stagnation
without losing profitability. Following the restructuring last year,
we are now extremely well positioned for growth and profitability in
2013.

"Market activity is somewhat rebounding, and Saxo Bank's net profit
for the first two months of 2013 is already higher than for the full
year of 2012. At the same time we are focusing even more on our core
competencies and what brought us here in order to continue to lead
the game. Embracing the latest information technology and developing
innovative trading solutions is part of Saxo Bank's DNA. Investors
can rest assured that they continue to have the best tools, the
broadest access to markets and the best performing multi-asset
platform available when trading with Saxo Bank."

A copy of the Annual Report can be downloaded here
[http://www.saxoworld.com/investorrelations/annual-reports ].

About Saxo Bank

Saxo Bank is a leading online trading [http://www.saxobank.com/forex
?csref=b1744_Link_boilerplate_pressrelease ] and investment
specialist, offering private investors and institutional clients a
complete set of tools for their trading and investment strategies. A
fully licensed and regulated European bank, Saxo Bank enables clients
to trade FX, CFDs [http://www.saxobank.com/cfds?csref=b1745_Link_boi
lerplate_pressrelease ], ETFs, Stocks, Futures, Options and other
derivatives via three specialised and fully integrated multi-asset
trading platforms [http://www.saxobank.com/demo-account?csref=b1746_
Link_boilerplate_pressrelease ]; the browser-based SaxoWebTrader, the
downloadable SaxoTrader and the SaxoTrader app. The platforms are
available in over 20 languages and are white-labelled by more than
100 major financial institutions worldwide. Saxo Bank also offers
professional portfolio and fund management as well as traditional
banking services through Saxo Privatbank. Founded in 1992, the Saxo
Bank Group is headquartered in Copenhagen with 23 local offices
throughout Europe, Asia, Middle East, Latin America, Africa and
Australia.

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