HELLERUP, Denmark, December 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Saxo Bank, the online mulit-asset trading and investment specialist, today announced an increase in monthly average FX volumes of nearly 600% compared to December 2011 on Saxo Direct, its cross-asset API (Application Programming Interface) solution for institutional clients. In the same period, CFD and Cash Equities volumes on Saxo Direct increased by 650%. New clients using the Saxo API service are primarily retail aggregators and asset managers.  The number of active clients grew significantly in 2012.

Saxo Direct provides institutional clients with FX and CFD liquidity and an enhanced pricing and execution offer for their use or for their own clients. Saxo approaches the Direct API channel by leveraging the expertise gained over years of managing their own relationship with liquidity providers, and uses these same tools, metrics, and expertise to construct customised feeds to provide reliable high quality liquidity services to Saxo Direct clients.

Based on the FIX Protocol, the Saxo Direct API solution connects to clients FIX trading engines and Order Management Systems. Customers can trade FX, CFDs (Indices and Commodities), CFD DMA, Stocks and Futures using a single API. Saxo Direct also supports connectivity for a range of Metatrader 4 solutions and has added support for several new third party platforms in 2012

Lucian Lauerman, Head of API Business at Saxo Bank comments: "2012 has been a very successful year for our institutional offering, and Saxo Direct in particular has seen extraordinary growth. We have invested substantial resources into building relationships and connectivity with retail aggregators, asset managers and technical facilitators. We will now continue to further develop and enhance the functionality of Saxo Direct to provide a market-leading solution."

Saxo Direct is available for Saxo Bank's institutional clients worldwide. More information on Saxo Direct and Saxo Bank's offering for institutional investors can be found here: http://institutional.saxobank.com/

About Saxo Bank

Saxo Bank is a leading online trading and investment specialist. A fully licensed and regulated European bank, Saxo Bank enables private investors and institutional clients to trade FX, CFDs, ETFs, Stocks, Futures, Options and other derivatives via three specialised and fully integrated trading platforms; the browser-based SaxoWebTrader, the downloadable SaxoTrader and the SaxoMobileTrader application available in over 20 languages. Saxo Bank also offers professional portfolio and fund management through Saxo Asset Management who accommodates high-net worth private clients and institutional investors and provides banking services and advice to retail clients through Saxo Privatbank. The Saxo Bank Group is headquartered in Copenhagen with offices throughout Europe, Asia, Middle East, Latin America and Australia.