Two firms whose top managers are both inspired by a famous 1950s novel defending free enterprise have formed a business partnership.

Denmark-headquartered Saxo Bank, the online trading and investment house, has formed a white label partnership with a firm that takes its name from a famous American novel about capitalism.

The firm has formed the deal with JSC Galt & Taggart, a wholly-owned investment banking subsidiary of Bank of Georgia Holdings, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The names Galt and Taggart appear in the famous 1957 novel Atlas Shrugged, by the novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand who fled Communist Russia and moved to the US in the 1920s, eventually becoming a best-selling writer and public figure. Atlas Shrugged depicts an America sliding towards collapse as government controls of the economy intensify, and of how a group of business leaders, inventors and artists “shrug” - they give up their work by refusing to comply with state demands and hasten the crisis to cause change. Since the 2008 financial crisis and the big rise in regulation and expansion of state control in areas such as healthcare in the US, some commentators say that Rand's novel carries valuable warnings.

By coincidence, Lars Seier Christensen, co-founder of Saxo who is stepping down from the board at the end of the year (while remaining a shareholder), is a fan of the author and her philosophy of Objectivism. (Rand, a controversial figure, remains a big influence in the free market movement in parts of the world, particularly in the US.)

As part of the arrangement, Saxo Bank’s white label trading technology solution will enable Galt & Taggart’s clients to access global capital markets and invest on a multi asset basis.

”The partnership is the first of its kind in the region and our aim is to kick-start a true digitalisation of high growth frontier markets. With more than 100 white label partners around the world today, Saxo takes a lead in transforming the way traders and investors access trading opportunities,” Matteo Cassina, global head of lines of business, Saxo Bank, said.

“We believe better access to trading technology in the region, through leading financial institutions like Bank of Georgia, will revolutionise the way private investors access opportunities in the Eurasian region,” Cassina added.

JSC Galt & Taggart offers investment banking and investment management services through its investment banking, asset management, brokerage, wealth management, and research units.

Bank of Georgia Holdings is a UK-incorporated holding company of the Georgia-based banking group. Its primary business is JSC Bank of Georgia.