Any real reviews on Private Banks

John1507

Hi, I was wondering if anyone on here has any non biased, real reviews on some Private Banks. Any reviews from personal use would be most helpful for me. I went to London a couple of months back to meet with Duncan Lawrie, but in the end I decided not to switch from them to Barclays Premier.

I have roughly £108K from a house sale last year, which I doubt is anywhere near enough for the likes of Coutts or A&Co.

*I'm not a snob and I don't come from a wealthy background, and I have an average salerly job haha.

Thanks

CKhalvashi

John1507 wrote: »

Hi, I was wondering if anyone on here has any non biased, real reviews on some Private Banks. Any reviews from personal use would be most helpful for me. I went to London a couple of months back to meet with Duncan Lawrie, but in the end I decided not to switch from them to Barclays Premier.

I have roughly £108K from a house sale last year, which I doubt is anywhere near enough for the likes of Coutts or A&Co.

*I'm not a snob and I don't come from a wealthy background, and I have an average salerly job haha.

Thanks

I'm HSBC Premier, and have the advantage of I don't have to pay for it. I've got anything in cash with Lloyds. Who you bank with is all down to personal opinion IMO.

Coutts (I think) is £500k, however I wouldn't change from what I already have. I can call with anything I need doing and speak to someone 24 hours a day, and where would you get this with a private bank?!

CK

GlamGirlie

John1507 wrote: »

Hi, I was wondering if anyone on here has any non biased, real reviews on some Private Banks. Any reviews from personal use would be most helpful for me. I went to London a couple of months back to meet with Duncan Lawrie, but in the end I decided not to switch from them to Barclays Premier.

I have roughly £108K from a house sale last year, which I doubt is anywhere near enough for the likes of Coutts or A&Co.

*I'm not a snob and I don't come from a wealthy background, and I have an average salerly job haha.

Thanks

£108k is not enough for Private Banks. You'd need c.£2m in investable assets, for example, to be accepted into HSBC Private Bank.

At your level, you need to be considering the retail banks' high net worth accounts, such as CitiGold or HSBC Premier. However, if you plan to use that money in a few months' time, say to buy another property, then the chances are they still won't take you because it's not really an investable asset - it will be going again in the near future.

BugsyBrowne

Yes there are a few, I know cater Allan is 100k deposit, and there are plenty more.

Dr_Cuckoo3

John1507 wrote: »

Hi, I was wondering if anyone on here has any non biased, real reviews on some Private Banks. Any reviews from personal use would be most helpful for me. I went to London a couple of months back to meet with Duncan Lawrie, but in the end I decided not to switch from them to Barclays Premier.

If I was in your position I would have opened the Duncan Lawrie account and used it as a bill payment / secondary account whilst keeping the Barclays Premier account open

They seem to only require an average monthly cleared balance of £5,000 for free everyday banking (although they charge £15 for faster payments and £100 per year for a charge card )

I remember that you posted back in March 2012 stating that you were concerned that Duncan Lawrie would charge you 90p per transaction if your balance fell below £5,000 following a purchase of 50p on your debit card to buy a can of Coke

I hold accounts with private banks currently and previously , it is rare for holders of such accounts to discuss their bank on internet forums and I no longer do so other than to comment generally

I do wonder how your meeting went however and whether it was a case of them rejecting you rather than you rejecting them

I do think that Harrods Bank would be a good starting point for you - so that is my recommendation
http://www.harrodsbank.co.uk/bank-01.html

John1507 wrote: »

*I'm not a snob and I don't come from a wealthy background, and I have an average salerly job haha.

Thanks

This isn't likely to go in your favour , if you were at the other end of the spectrum then you may look out of place when visiting the bank and upset their other clients

Gentoo365

What actual services do you require?

...or do you just want the account as some sort of status symbol?

I ask this because if you do not really need the bespoke services then you may as well just get a 'premier' type account, and maybe a high net worth credit card.

John1507

Dr_Cuckoo3 wrote: »

If I was in your position I would have opened the Duncan Lawrie account and used it as a bill payment / secondary account whilst keeping the Barclays Premier account open

They seem to only require an average monthly cleared balance of £5,000 for free everyday banking (although they charge £15 for faster payments and £100 per year for a charge card )

I remember that you posted back in March 2012 stating that you were concerned that Duncan Lawrie would charge you 90p per transaction if your balance fell below £5,000 following a purchase of 50p on your debit card to buy a can of Coke

I hold accounts with private banks currently and previously , it is rare for holders of such accounts to discuss their bank on internet forums and I no longer do so other than to comment generally

I do wonder how your meeting went however and whether it was a case of them rejecting you rather than you rejecting them

I do think that Harrods Bank would be a good starting point for you - so that is my recommendation

This isn't likely to go in your favour , if you were at the other end of the spectrum then you may look out of place when visiting the bank and upset their other clients

The truth is they rejected me, the rumor you only need 5K to have an account could be false, I fully explained to them my finances and about myself. I feel, to be honest, they rejected me, not my money. I'm only 19, with an average job, nowhere near affluent or from a wealthy family and will need the money in the future for a mortgage etc. I guess I don't fit there "perfect client" criteria.

I currently have my funds in a Barclays Premier account aswell as having a Barclays Flexible Bond, as I dont need access to my money just now. I'm fairly happy with my banking products just now, and I think, unless you have millions, you have to fit a Private Banks ethos of client, which I currently do not.

Moomum

We bank with the Queens bank, I think it's a waste of time to be honest. It's helpful to hubby as he gets personalised tax advice etc, for me I just like the pretty card and the fact they answer the phone straight away and know who you are.

antrobus

Dr_Cuckoo3 wrote: »

....I hold accounts with private banks currently and previously , it is rare for holders of such accounts to discuss their bank on internet forums and I no longer do so other than to comment generally..

Quite. The whole point about private banking is that it's supposed to be, well, private.

The problem is (of course) that the phrase 'private bank' gets used as a marketing term by; (a) big banks selling allegedly premium services to high net worth individuals, (b) small banks selling allegedly personalised banking services, or (c) as a catch all for any banking service being targetted at wealthy individuals. So when someone asks about 'private banking', it's never clear which of these defintions they have in mind, or whether they're actually talking about real private banking. (And if you're after real private banking, then you wouldn't be asking the question on a public forum on the interweb.)

BugsyBrowne

Moomum wrote: »

We bank with the Queens bank, I think it's a waste of time to be honest. It's helpful to hubby as he gets personalised tax advice etc, for me I just like the pretty card and the fact they answer the phone straight away and know who you are.

Think most banks know who you are once you've put your account number in or am I mistaken.

InsideInsurance

antrobus wrote: »

or whether they're actually talking about real private banking. (And if you're after real private banking, then you wouldn't be asking the question on a public forum on the interweb.)

What is your definition of "real" private banking then?

BugsyBrowne wrote:

Think most banks know who you are once you've put your account number in or am I mistaken.

Most banks will know your name after you've given them your account number. Given them a minute and they'll know what products you have and their current balances. Give them 5 minutes and they may know a bit more about you from reading some file notes.

As per my recent Natwest issues, their agents kept telling me they have me as unemployed despite just having upgraded my account to a Black account.

Having never been with a private bank, real or otherwise, the difference in theory is that the people you speak to actually truly know you, they know why large sums are moving through your accounts and your plans so don't try and sell you inappropriate products.