Republic came to dominate some of the more exotic fringes of banking. While its heritage was in the world of international private banking, sheltering the fortunes of multimillionaires, it was equally a leader in precious metals and securities trading. For Safra personal banking was a way of life. Though described by friends and associates as witty and warm, Safra avoided publicity, agreeing for the first time to reverse his policy in 1988, when he sought to raise new equity for Safra Republic Holdings. A bank is not a playground.
Banking is conservatism.
And it has been the same for a few thousand years. Safra kept homes in Geneva, Monaco, New York and Paris. A passionate family man, Safra was a contributor to scholarly institutions and charitable causes. He financed chairs for Sephardic studies at Yeshiva University in New York and at Harvard, in Latin American studies at Harvard and in banking studies at the University of Pennsylvania. It was also in 1998 that Republic made a report to the F.B.I. that began an investigation into the possibility of a vast Russian money laundering that came to focus on the Bank of New York.