"Keep your reputation sterling, and gold will find you."
Jacob E. Safra, 1889-1963
Bank History
M.Y. Safra is a dynamic contemporary bank completely focused on the diverse needs of our business and personal clients. We provide innovative products and solutions. Our team of dedicated and passionate bankers provide clients with superior service both digitally and traditionally.
The bank is Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured and an Equal Housing/Equal Opportunity Lender. M.Y. Safra Bank is privately owned and headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 2013, M. Y. Safra Bank leverages the generational global roots of the Safra family to become a pillar of stability and excellence. Our timeless banking principles and the personal values of Moise Y. Safra has inspired our team to always put our clients first.
Pictured: Edmond J. Safra (left) and portrait of his father Jacob E. Safra
For centuries, the Safra name, meaning gold, has been synonymous with sustained trust and reliability. The Safra family first rose to prominence while financing 19th century trade to Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe. The patriarch of the contemporary Safra dynasty, Jacob E. Safra, began working at age 13 under the tutelage of his uncle at Safra Frères & Cie., headquartered in Aleppo. In 1920, he established his own bank in Beirut, Jacob Safra Maison de Banque, marking the first step in extending the Safra legacy of prudent banking practices to the four corners of the world.
Jacob E. Safra’s son, esteemed banker, and financier Edmond J. Safra, advanced his family’s legacy by founding a world-renowned bank in Switzerland before arriving in New York in the early 1960s to establish what became Republic National Bank. Within twenty years, it grew to be one of America’s largest banks. Having successfully built a global network of banking excellence, he championed the Safra family principles of discretion and service in every institution that he built.
With centuries of experience in old-world merchant trade financing, the Safra family legacy also encompasses forward thinking investment strategies. Moise Y. Safra, the next eldest son, led his family as pioneer investors in the emerging telecommunications, natural resources, and real estate industries in Latin America and throughout the world. Highly regarded as a legendary Brazilian banker and a leading businessman, his personal legacy is one of humanistic values and kindness.
In the 21st century, a third generation continues to further the patriarch’s legacy. His grandson and namesake, Jacob M. Safra, learned the principles of banking from his uncle Edmond, just as his grandfather learned from his own uncle a century earlier. These timeless banking principles, along with the personal values of Moise Y. Safra, inspired the establishment of M.Y. Safra Bank under the leadership of Jacob M. Safra.
M.Y. Safra Bank applies old world banking values to contemporary innovation. The Bank commits to understanding the diverse nature and dynamic needs of its clients. This commitment enables the Bank to better serve innovative and burgeoning industries as well as established families.
With a family legacy that has safeguarded assets for some of history’s most iconic figures, M.Y. Safra Bank’s doors are open to this generation’s future leaders.