"I would like to dip my toe into the water with Formula One but I need to find a modest way of trying it out," Lars Christensen, the chief executive, was quoted as saying while he was in Abu Dhabi to attend this weekend’s Grand Prix race.

"There’s a possibility you might see us as a small sponsor. In all sports you have to be at the top of the game and it would have to be with one of the bigger teams," he was quoted as saying.

The bank has sponsored a cycling team owned by the 1996 Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis, which helped raise Saxo Bank’s profile in the mass market, said Christensen.

The cycling sponsorship deal was renewed last month.

Away from sport, Saxo Bank plans to partner with a UAE bank to offer a flagship trading product to exploit rich people’s desire to manage their wealth directly, the report said. The Middle East currently accounts for 8 or 9 per cent of the Danish investment bank’s global revenues, Christensen said.

Known for his outspoken views for his stance on defending free enterprise, Christensen spoke to the Adam Smith Institute in London last week to explain how Saxo’s management philosophy is affected by thinkers such as novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand. He has also warned that recent concerns about manipulation of the foreign exchange market could lead to over-regulation of the market.