Name: J. Safra Sarasin Review
Item: Bank J. Safra Sarasin AG
Rating: 5
Author: Noam Cohen

Why J. Safra Sarasin has five stars

J. Safra Sarasin earns five stars, the highest rating we give. Custody assets are protected by statute in the booking centre, with conditions a family should read. What a family should weigh: serious adverse findings against this licence holder in the last ten years. The file does not yet show whether past findings were remediated and the custody terms. Until they are on file, the rating cannot count them.

Noam Cohen, Editor, Bank IntelligenceReviewed 6 November 2026, Q4 2026 edition. The rating weighs the public record together with what clients and their advisers tell us in confidence; retail products, branches and apps play no part.

Where J. Safra Sarasin stands out

Custody assets are protected by statute in the booking centre, with conditions a family should read.
Deposits are covered by a statutory protection scheme.
A broad range of private banking services is published for this booking unit.
Ownership and control are fully public.
No politically exposed person holds a significant stake.

What to weigh

Serious adverse findings against this licence holder in the last ten years.
The last adverse finding is recent.
No fee schedule is published; pricing is given on request.
Remediation of past findings is not documented.
The terms that would govern custody of your assets are not public.
Rules for third-party payments are not published.

Rating on public information

PPLI.com rating, after client experience

Positive feedback from clients of the bank received by PPLI.com about its service. On that basis the editor raised the rating on 6 November 2026; it will be reviewed in the next quarterly edition.

Regulatory and legal record

What regulators, prosecutors and courts have decided, recorded against the legal entity they named, with the status, the amounts as published and a link to the original document. Claims and investigations still under way are marked as open.

202522 August 2025

Penalty order for failing to prevent aggravated money laundering in the Petrobras case

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland convicted Bank J. Safra Sarasin AG by summary penalty order on 22 August 2025 and fined it CHF 3.5 million for failing to take reasonable organisational measures to prevent aggravated money laundering. Between November 2011 and May 2014 accounts at the bank received corrupt payments of about USD 71 million from some ten oil and construction companies, intended for Petrobras executives who were also clients, of which USD 42.5 million was transferred and USD 28.5 million refused by recipient banks. No compensatory claim was ordered because the bank had paid Petrobras CHF 16 million in settlement, a former relationship manager received a six-month suspended sentence, and the order is final as the parties declared they would not appeal.

Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG)Final decisionFine CHF 3.5 millionPrimary source

202029 May 2020

Order to repay a client's investment after faulty advice on a cum-ex fund

The Swiss Federal Supreme Court on 29 May 2020 (4A_297/2019) ordered a bank to repay EUR 887,593.29 plus interest to the asset management company of Clemens Tönnies for faulty advice on an investment in a cum-ex fund. The decision does not name the bank; the facts match Bank J. Safra Sarasin AG. law.ch reported on 7 August 2020 that the sum had already been paid.

Swiss Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgericht), per law.ch citing JUVE SteuermarktFinal decisionRestitution EUR 900,000Primary source

201814 September 2018

Appeal dismissed against damages for faulty advice on an investment in a cum-ex fund

The Oberlandesgericht Stuttgart on 14 September 2018 (5 U 98/17) dismissed the appeal of Bank J. Safra Sarasin AG against the Landgericht Ulm judgment of May 2017 ordering it to pay about EUR 45 million in damages to the entrepreneur Erwin Müller for faulty advice on the Sheridan cum-ex fund. A further appeal to the Federal Court of Justice was allowed, but none was lodged and the judgment became final.

Oberlandesgericht Stuttgart (appeal), after Landgericht Ulm (first instance, May 2017)Final decisionRestitution EUR 45 millionPrimary source

201523 December 2015

Swiss Bank Program Category 2 non-prosecution agreement

Bank J. Safra Sarasin AG entered a Swiss Bank Program non-prosecution agreement covering 1,275 US-related accounts with aggregate maximum value of about USD 2.2 billion since August 2008 and paid USD 85.809 million. The US Department of Justice noted that under its 2001 Qualified Intermediary agreement the bank continued to serve certain US customers without disclosing their identities to the IRS.

Safra Sarasin will pay a penalty of $85.809 million.

US Department of Justice (Swiss Bank Program)Settlement without admissionPenalty USD 85.8 millionPrimary source

Client experience and financial standing

What clients meet at J. Safra Sarasin, read from complaint registers, ombudsman decisions and court records, independent reporting and what clients and their advisers tell PPLI.com in confidence. Announcements by the bank, awards and marketing material are left out.

UHNW client ratings

4.7 out of 5, based on 14 client ratings for this booking centre.

What clients report

Clients have won in court over investment advice: the entrepreneur Erwin Müller obtained about EUR 45 million in damages over a cum-ex fund, upheld on appeal in Stuttgart in September 2018 in a judgment that became final, and the Swiss Federal Supreme Court ordered repayment of EUR 887,593.29 plus interest to the asset management company of Clemens Tönnies in May 2020. According to Asian Private Banker, in an undated article, the DIFC Courts dismissed an appeal by the bank and its Dubai subsidiary against a mis-selling award of more than USD 70 million to a Kuwaiti family, which included punitive damages.

Worth raising with the bank

Ask what changed in the bank's controls after the August 2025 penalty order over Petrobras-linked payments of about USD 71 million, and who now reviews incoming funds for accounts of that kind.
Ask how the bank now approves complex fund products for advisory clients, given the court rulings against it in 2018 and 2020 over advice on cum-ex funds.

In the press

6 July 2026finews.com
J. Safra Sarasin Increases Its Stake in Saxo
The J. Safra Sarasin group plans to buy founder Kim Fournais's 28% of Saxo Holding and become its sole owner, subject to regulatory approval.
6 March 2026Walder Wyss
J. Safra Sarasin Group completes the acquisition of a majority stake in Saxo Bank
The J. Safra Sarasin group completed the purchase of about 71% of Saxo Bank A/S on 2 March 2026 after approvals from FINMA and the Danish FSA.
22 August 2025swissinfo.ch
Safra Sarasin private bank and former asset manager sentenced
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland fined the bank CHF 3.5 million over Petrobras-linked money laundering, and a former employee received a six-month suspended sentence.
7 August 2020law.ch
Cum-Ex: Bank J. Safra Sarasin muss wegen Falschberatung von Clemens Tönnies zahlen
The Swiss Federal Supreme Court ordered the bank to pay about EUR 900,000 plus interest to the asset management company of Clemens Tönnies for faulty cum-ex advice.

What J. Safra Sarasin charges

J. Safra Sarasin does not publish its private banking fees. We searched its website on 6 November 2026 for a fee schedule, a tariff or a pricing page. We read its legal, documents and client information pages and searched the site in each language it uses. 96 of the 151 banks we cover publish theirs. A family cannot see what a relationship with J. Safra Sarasin would cost before asking, so the cost transparency element of the PPLI.com rating gives J. Safra Sarasin no credit for a published schedule, and the bank cannot be placed in our fee comparison. If J. Safra Sarasin publishes a schedule, we will read it and add it in the next edition.

Pricing not published

Banks that publish their fees, and how they compare, are listed on the comparison page. If you hold a proposal from J. Safra Sarasin, our editors can place it against the published fees of other banks in confidence: write to [email protected].

Identity, protection and services

Legal identity

Legal nameBank J. Safra Sarasin AG

LEI5493008LFIYZKT5TJ445

LicenceBank Source

RegulatorFINMA

Legal formLicence holder

OwnerNot published Source

Ownership

Group parentJS International Holdings Limited (Bahamas; GLEIF ultimate parent) - J. Safra Group, owned by Jacob J. Safra and David J. Safra Source

ControlJacob J. Safra and David J. Safra; family owned Source (31 December 2025)

Holder of 10% or moreJ. Safra Sarasin Holding AG in Bank J. Safra Sarasin AG Source (31 December 2025)

Holder of 10% or moreJS International Holdings Limited in J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG (ultimate parent per GLEIF) Source

Holder of 10% or moreJacob J. Safra in J. Safra Group (top) Source (31 December 2025)

Holder of 10% or moreDavid J. Safra in J. Safra Group (top) Source (31 December 2025)

Ownership is shown as published, with its date. It describes who owns the bank; it does not, by itself, suggest any wrongdoing by the bank or its owners.

Financial strength, as reported

Credit ratingsS&P A (long-term counterparty) Rated entity: Bank J. Safra Sarasin AG

CET1 ratio34.5% (31 Dec 2025) Source

Assets under managementCHF 228.5 bn (31 Dec 2025) Source

Rows without a source link are taken from the published reports of J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG (consolidated). Sources: J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Geschäftsbericht 2025; J. Safra Sarasin media release, 30 March 2026.

Services published for this booking unit

Private clients

Discretionary management

Advisory mandates

Custody only (execution and safekeeping)

Lombard lending

Mortgage lending

Multi currency accounts

Trust and fiduciary services

Family office services

Wealth planning

Consolidated reporting

External asset manager desk

Offered at this booking centreOffered by the group, not confirmed hereNot located, which does not mean unavailable
Checked on the bank's own pages, 2 November 2026.

Access and costs

Minimum relationshipNot published

US personsNot published

Fee scheduleNot published

Third party paymentsNot published

Transfer out termsNot published

Protection of client assets

Deposit protectionAll banks with a Swiss office must be members of esisuisse: privileged deposits are protected up to CHF 100,000 per client per bank, including non-resident clients and foreign currency deposits, within a system cap.

Custody lawSwiss Banking Act art. 37d: custody assets held for clients are separated from the bankrupt bank's estate and handed over to the clients, with privileged deposits protected under arts. 37a and 37h.

Custody termsNot published

Before opening an account

Custody agreement. The applicable legal framework is set out above. Ask for the agreement that would govern your account and check how securities are titled, whether any sub-custodian is used, and when the bank may take a lien.
Reporting to the family office. The bank lists a desk for external asset managers. Ask for a sample statement or data export and confirm whether it includes positions, transactions, accrued income and all currencies held.
Transferring assets out. Ask which positions can be transferred without selling them, who approves exceptions, and how charges are calculated for each position and market.

Rate J. Safra Sarasin

If you bank with J. Safra Sarasin or advise clients who do, your experience forms part of its PPLI.com rating. Every response is read by the editor and treated in strict confidence.

Bank J. Safra Sarasin AG

Why J. Safra Sarasin has five stars

Where J. Safra Sarasin stands out

What to weigh

Regulatory and legal record

Penalty order for failing to prevent aggravated money laundering in the Petrobras case

Order to repay a client's investment after faulty advice on a cum-ex fund

Appeal dismissed against damages for faulty advice on an investment in a cum-ex fund

Swiss Bank Program Category 2 non-prosecution agreement

Client experience and financial standing

UHNW client ratings

What clients report

Worth raising with the bank

In the press

J. Safra Sarasin Increases Its Stake in Saxo

J. Safra Sarasin Group completes the acquisition of a majority stake in Saxo Bank

Safra Sarasin private bank and former asset manager sentenced

Cum-Ex: Bank J. Safra Sarasin muss wegen Falschberatung von Clemens Tönnies zahlen

What J. Safra Sarasin charges

Identity, protection and services

Legal identity

Ownership

Financial strength, as reported

Services published for this booking unit

Access and costs

Protection of client assets

Before opening an account

Rate J. Safra Sarasin

Our commitment to confidentiality

Sources

Regulatory and legal record

Client experience and press

Identity, ownership, finances and services

The bank

For J. Safra Sarasin

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