Saxo Bank CEO tells Reuters technology and the way people are starting to collaborate is going to change the world

Record ID: 79977

  • Title: Saxo Bank CEO tells Reuters technology and the way people are starting to collaborate is going to change the world
  • Date: 8th November 2016
  • Summary: LISBON, PORTUGAL (NOVEMBER 8, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF WEB SUMMIT CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) KIM FOURNAIS, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SAXO BANK: "When you look at Facebook being probably the biggest media company but it produces no content. You see Uber being the biggest car company without having any cars and so forth. I think for us it's also about sharing because we have very open architecture, If you have a great product, great liquidity, that's how we have been building the core of our product and liquidity provision, but also when it comes to the distribution side, in terms of how you engage with clients. I think that is moving quickly with fintech's very savvy interfaces and user interfaces and digital distribution and so forth. But they should not necessarily try to build a full value chain, cloud based solution and so forth. So I think those partnerships, we believe, is actually going to be the next big disruptor. Clearly technology is, but I think actually the way that people are starting collaborating is going to change the world." WEB SUMMIT ATTENDEES (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) KIM FOURNAIS, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SAXO BANK "I think China is another huge opportunity, because if you're Chinese, historically, you had access to Shanghai stock exchange, you can buy real estate. But you couldn't buy Google or Apple or other products. And I think there's a big need eventually for Chinese investors to be able to trade with the world, to invest with the world. And that's something again that we would very much like to facilitate in China. Also working with various Chinese institutions, bringing China to the world. It's pretty much been more or less a closed door so far apart from a few set-ups in Hong Kong, Xiangjing and so forth." WEB SUMMIT (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) KIM FOURNAIS, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SAXO BANK "When you've been in this business for a certain time, it's pretty hard to predict the future and I think that it can really go both ways right, because we have a U.S. election today. We have many, many things happening. If we end up with a very protectionist world. Some presidents ago they tore down the walls, now they are considering building new ones. I'm not sure that that's going to create the win-win and then the ability for people to trade with each other and the world, and that of course could put a dampener to everything, including foreign exchange trade. But I remain an optimist. I think that as long as you facilitate this in a good way, the markets and the world in general has every opportunity for growth." VARIOUS OF WEB SUMMIT (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) KIM FOURNAIS, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SAXO BANK "Honestly, we see it's more than just Brexit. Because there are many multi-dimensional factors that are moving around. There's technology, there's globalisation, there's regulation, there's changed consumer behaviour, there's Brexit, there's geopolitical threats, there's all sorts of stuff. That I think it's actually much more complex than it's been at least in the market for almost 30 years and I think this is a highly complex time. In the end, I hope that rationality will win, but it's clear that the social contract is broken so to speak. There are 52 percent of the voters in the U.S. who have no or negative capital and that is not a long term sustainable setup. So people are frustrated. And that's not only in U.S. It was also the cause of Brexit and so forth. And I think those, again, those uncertainties and instabilities, are in many places in the world right now. So I think it's a highly unpredictable environment and I think the only thing you can do is really try to be prudent about risk as much as you can and then monitor the markets with caution." WEB SUMMIT
  • Embargoed: 23rd November 2016 18:48
  • Keywords: portgual web summit saxo bank economy technology
  • Location: LISBON, PORTUGAL
  • City: LISBON, PORTUGAL
  • Country: Portugal
  • Topics: Economic Events
  • Reuters ID: LVA00157L6K5P
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The CEO of Saxo Bank told Reuters on Tuesday (November 8) that technology and the way people are starting to collaborate is going to change the world.
    "When you look at Facebook being probably the biggest media company but it produces no content. You see Uber being the biggest car company without having any cars and so forth. I think for us it's also about sharing because we have very open architecture, If you have a great product, great liquidity, that's how we have been building the core of our product and liquidity provision, but also when it comes to the distribution side, in terms of how you engage with clients. I think that is moving quickly with fintech's very savvy interfaces and user interfaces and digital distribution and so forth. But they should not necessarily try to build a full value chain, cloud based solution and so forth. So I think those partnerships, we believe, is actually going to be the next big disruptor. Clearly technology is, but I think actually the way that people are starting collaborating is going to change the world," said Kim Fournais at the Web Summit being held this week in Lisbon.
    Fournais established Saxo Bank with Lars Seier Christensen in 1992 under the name Midas.
    It focussed on digitization and technology and was one of the first financial institutions to launch an online trading platform.
    Fournais says Saxo was a Fintech before the term was coined.
    Today, its trading platforms are still the core of the business, servicing both retail and institutional clients in over 180 countries.
    Fournais also spoke about the Chinese economy.
    "I think China is another huge opportunity, because if you're Chinese, historically, you had access to Shanghai stock exchange, you can buy real estate. But you couldn't buy Google or Apple or other products. And I think there's a big need eventually for Chinese investors to be able to trade with the world, to invest with the world. And that's something again that we would very much like to facilitate in China. Also working with various Chinese institutions, bringing China to the world. It's pretty much been more or less a closed door so far apart from a few set-ups in Hong Kong, Xiangjing and so forth," he said.
    And he said Brexit was more complicated than it may seem to some.
    "Honestly, we see it's more than just Brexit. Because there are many multi-dimensional factors that are moving around. There's technology, there's globalisation, there's regulation, there's changed consumer behaviour, there's Brexit, there's geopolitical threats, there's all sorts of stuff. That I think it's actually much more complex than it's been at least in the market for almost 30 years and I think this is a highly complex time. In the end, I hope that rationality will win, but it's clear that the social contract is broken so to speak. There are 52 percent of the voters in the U.S. who have no or negative capital and that is not a long term sustainable set-up. So people are frustrated. And that's not only in U.S. It was also the cause of Brexit and so forth. And I think those, again, those uncertainties and instabilities, are in many places in the world right now. So I think it's a highly unpredictable environment and I think the only thing you can do is really try to is be prudent about risk as much as you can and then monitor the markets with caution," he said.
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