Middle Eastern Jewish Billionaires: Bank J Safra (Switzerland)

[CrackSmokeRepublican]

Bank J Safra (Switzerland)

In the financial sector, the past has an unparalleled importance in determining the present and providing solid guarantees for the future.

It was in the 19th century and the memory of Napoleon's military campaigns was still fresh in the minds of Europeans. The world was becoming well aware of the effects of the Industrial Revolution as the economies of Europe, the Mediterranean and the North America flourished, all thanks to the major inventions - the steam engine and electricity - and the movement of ships, caravans and now railroads that transported and sold agricultural products and the most diverse merchandise.

Financing for this intense commercial movements came from bankers, who would one day become legends. Families like the Rothschilds in Europe, the Rockfellers later in America and the Safras in the Middle East began this lineage of financiers, laying the foundation for modern banking based on improved communication and the growing demand for trade between cities.

Particularly intense was the exchange of merchandise between the ports and cities of Europe, such as Paris, Nice, Marseille, Madrid, Barcelona, Naples, Trieste, Genoa and Venice with cities like Alexandria, Athens, Istanbul, Beirut, Damascus, Aleppo, Haifa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. In this region of the Middle East, members of one Jewish family became known for a long tradition of dedication to financing in gold, earning them, in turn, the Arab name for the color of the precious metal: Safra.

One of the major centers of trade was Aleppo, a city in northwestern Syria. It was there that merchants and goods from the East and West converged. The city was also home to the Safra family, who with their cosmopolitan vocation financed trade and exchanged currencies from several different countries in Asia, Europe, and Africa, including the Ottoman Empire's "para", Venice's "zecchini" and Austrian Empress Maria Theresa's "thaler". In Aleppo, Jacob Safra, the patriarch, was known for his exceptional ability to mentally calculate the conversion of several currencies as well as the financial costs for each and every one of his clients.
           
 
In the mid 19th century, Safra Frères et Cie. was founded in Aleppo, a bank bearing the name of the renowned family. In no time at all, the institution earned fame and prestige throughout the Middle East, building a solid reputation as highly selective financiers. Safra Frères et Cie.'s strong expansion prompted the family to open branches in Istanbul, Alexandria and Beirut.

Later, in the first half of the 20th century, Beirut was chosen to be headquarters of the Jacob Safra Bank, founded by the patriarch of what would become another generation of successful bankers.

After World War II, Jacob Safra expanded his business to Europe and later to Latin America and the US. His offspring likewise gained prominence for their expertise in banking, continuing a long-standing relationship with a community of clients.

Today, several of Jacob's grandsons continue the Safra family tradition in diverse economic areas throughout the many countries where the bank thrives.

 http://www.jsafra.com/english/about1-1.htm

Interesting to see the current perch:

Jacob Safra Professor of International Banking; Professor of Finance. Education. PhD, Princeton University, 1973; MA, Princeton University,

[CrackSmokeRepublican]

Trustee wants Gibraltar bank to give back Bernie Madoff money

BY Thomas Zambito
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Friday, April 10th 2009, 6:29 AM
Related News


Months before his arrest for running a huge Ponzi scheme, Bernie Madoff wired $150 million to a Gibraltar bank founded by a prominent Jewish banking family.

The trustee hunting down Madoff assets across the globe wants Banque Jacob Safra to hand back that dough so thousands of Madoff's victims can divvy it up.

Trustee Irving Picard sued Banque Jacob Safra in Manhattan Federal Bankruptcy Court Thursday, seeking money the bank invested on behalf of Vizcaya Partners, a British Virgin Islands company.

It's believed to be the first so-called "clawback" lawsuit filed since the $65 billion scandal broke in December.

Picard has vowed to go after investors who cashed out before Madoff's scheme fell apart because their money was never actually invested and their profits were fictitious.

"When payments were made to or on behalf of these investors, including Vizcaya, the falsified monthly statements of accounts reported that the accounts of such investors included substantial gains," Picard attorney Thomas Wearsch wrote.

"In reality, [Madoff's firm] had largely or wholly dissipated the investors' principal and had not made any profits whatsoever."

Picard has already tracked down nearly $1 billion in Madoff assets, which will be divided up among some 7,000 victims in the coming months.

Beginning in 2002, Vizcaya wired $327 million to Madoff's investment firm through 26 different wire transfers, the lawsuit claims.

On Oct. 31, 2008, Madoff wired the $150 million to Banque Safra in what Picard called a "preferential payment" to Vizcaya.

Banque Safra was founded by Jacob Safra, whose billionaire son Edmond was killed in an arson fire in his Monaco mansion in 1999.

http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/0 ... bucks.html