Cheap private banks

GeoffTF

brucefan_2 said:

So, am I understanding this correctly? They would offer you a 'Private Banking' account even though all your assets are elsewhere?

That is what the Santander Select customer services guy told me a couple of days ago. He was the second one raise Private Banking when I did a big payment to an investment platform. They said that a member of their Private Banking team will ring me. It has not happened. I told the first customer services guy that I had a free for life account with Vanguard and was also using iWeb. I expect they know that there is no chance of me paying their percentage fees.

GeoffTF

Futuristic said:

GeoffTF said:

Has anyone used Santander Private Banking?

I banked with Santander personal (+business), they never got back to me after the initial interview. I think it's cause they wouldn't make money off me, investment products have silly high fees and they knew I already have my investments elsewhere and wouldn't hold large balance with them.
These offers by most high street banks are merely normal personal accounts with "private" branding and maybe a personal account manager which if you already bank online is mostly pointless. Real private banks are like Coutts, Weatherbys, JPM etc. with margin facilities, lending stocks etc. 
For large fx there's plenty of options around that dont need "private" facility, HSBC being one of them if its major currency eg. EUR/USD. Maybe even Fineco or IBKR. 
Not sure what OP means by "private equity funds" other than ridiculous high fee "managed" funds. 
Tl;dr From my weeks of looking into private banking, it is useless rip off unless you need margin facility in the million(s). 

I have not even got as far as the interview, despite having several times their minimum requirement. I am just using Vanguard funds, gilt edged stock and bank accounts nowadays. I expect that you are right. I doubt whether they have anything tangible to offer me. It would not be the first time that I have been offered a special deal, but that would not change the big picture.

Futuristic

GeoffTF said:

Futuristic said:

GeoffTF said:

Has anyone used Santander Private Banking?

I banked with Santander personal (+business), they never got back to me after the initial interview. I think it's cause they wouldn't make money off me, investment products have silly high fees and they knew I already have my investments elsewhere and wouldn't hold large balance with them.
These offers by most high street banks are merely normal personal accounts with "private" branding and maybe a personal account manager which if you already bank online is mostly pointless. Real private banks are like Coutts, Weatherbys, JPM etc. with margin facilities, lending stocks etc. 
For large fx there's plenty of options around that dont need "private" facility, HSBC being one of them if its major currency eg. EUR/USD. Maybe even Fineco or IBKR. 
Not sure what OP means by "private equity funds" other than ridiculous high fee "managed" funds. 
Tl;dr From my weeks of looking into private banking, it is useless rip off unless you need margin facility in the million(s). 

I have not even got as far as the interview, despite having several times their minimum requirement. I am just using Vanguard funds, gilt edged stock and bank accounts nowadays. I expect that you are right. I doubt whether they have anything tangible to offer me. It would not be the first time that I have been offered a special deal, but that would not change the big picture.

Yes frustrating to not hear anything back but I didn't bother chasing, I have moved everything to Chase now.

Also interview was with my local private banker in the same city, it could be just that he didn't want to onboard me and you may have better luck with yours.

GeoffTF

Chase has a limit of £25K for transfers, which would not be enough for me:

https://www.chase.co.uk/gb/en/support/moving-money/

Santander will transfer up to £100K over the telephone. The debit card limit is less clear, but I have seen reports of successful payments of about £60K. It can be a nuisance if I get bounced into security, but that has not been a big issue so far.

Futuristic

GeoffTF said:

Chase has a limit of £25K for transfers, which would not be enough for me:

https://www.chase.co.uk/gb/en/support/moving-money/

Santander will transfer up to £100K over the telephone. The debit card limit is less clear, but I have seen reports of successful payments of about £60K. It can be a nuisance if I get bounced into security, but that has not been a big issue so far.

Mine is 50k, you can call for temp increase to 100k+ and they answer calls within minutes. They can release payments even at midnight outside normal bank hours.

No spend limit on card unless you set one.

I have moved mid 6 figures in and out.

GeoffTF

That is worth knowing. My Santander account is the nominated account for about a dozen other accounts, so switching it would not be easy.

gary1312

Marchitiello said:

gary1312 said:

lr1277 said:

This is not a recommendation but a suggestion for further investigation.
Cater Allen May fulfill some of your needs. When I last looked about 18 months ago:
You needed the equivalent of £5k per type of currency current account. They only offered sterling, euro and dollar current accounts.
You need to be introduced to them by a qualified professional eg solicitor, accountant or financial adviser.
The application form was long and required lots of information.
Their current account charges for a Sterling current account were comparable to a high street bank.

I have a Cater Allen Sterling Account - unlike their Private Account there are no minimum income or balance requirements. You can also apply directly on their website, no need for an intermediary.

That product is no longer on offer 

Happy to be corrected @Marchitiello - has the account been withdrawn for some time?

I also agree with yours and others assessment of the Bank's services in your other posts on this thread. I opened my account as my family had some business banking with them and was expecting features equivalent to my Santander accounts but the lack of an app, poor web interface and no real-time transactions make me wonder if it's a profitable concern for the Santander Group and exactly how many personal customers they service.

artyboy

brucefan_2 said:

GeoffTF said:

Marchitiello said:

GeoffTF said:

Has anyone used Santander Private Banking?

As I said I have had some experience with Cater Allen (I still have a semi dormant currency account, should check out if is actually still operational…), but they do/did operate as a separate operations from Santander, especially with their systems and procedures.

I have also been a “Select” customer at Santander for some years, and I have to say that amongst the Premier offering is the one that does not look to differentiate at all between standard customers and Select, even when it comes to customer service, so would also be curious what level of service their private customers get. 

There does appear to be a Select customer services team. They used to have relationship managers, but I never spoke to mine. They are not offering new Select accounts, but are pushing Private Banking. I would qualify by virtue of having >£500K investments, and they say I would not have to transfer them in. It appears that I would have to convert my 123 Lite to an Edge Up account. That does not look favourable, but the cost difference is not significant. If Private Banking is costing me nothing, I expect that I will get what I pay for, but there is possibility that I might have less hassle transferring large sums.

So, am I understanding this correctly? They would offer you a 'Private Banking' account even though all your assets are elsewhere?

I've just looked on the 'Private Banking' website - the requirements on the account are pretty minimal, requiring £1500 monthly pay in and 2 DDs.

3.5% on up to £25k is nowhere near market leading but not too shabby for anyone who just wants the convenience of their accessible cash being in one place.

The attraction would very much be the speedier access to more knowledgeable staff who would be able to smooth out any difficulties on a hopefully speedier time frame than might normally be the case.

Yes, this is 100% why I value premier type accounts. All the other baubles like insurance I already have up to the ears. The only other thing that might sway me would be decent airport lounge access, but the accounts offering that have rather more onerous fees or investing requirements...

Futuristic

You could just pick a bank with good customer service? FD, Chase, Starling etc? How many times have you needed to contact your bank?

Your personal manager won't have some special permissions like releasing your blocked transfers at these low requirement retail bank offerings. By the time you've contacted them and they've passed it to back office/fraud team you would have it solved with the above. 

gary1312

I received an email today informing me that my Cater Allen Sterling Account is being changed to a Private Account. Further investigation reveals that the requirement for a minimum 100K holdings with CA no longer applies. I'm quite puzzled as to who they're actually aiming to attract with a 'Private' account that pretty much anyone can open.