Sooooo I think we’re definitely in need of a private bank thread
Where would we park our cash with if we were that wealthy folks? I’m undecided but I reckon anywhere provided the app was decent and brand recognition was enough that I could flex the membership
Thinking something like Coutts, Child & Co or maybe Citi, Chase, Sachs
If anyone actually has any recommendations that they’ve acquired for some reason I’d also be interested to hear about it, considering its on the plan to be with one eventually:tm:
I don’t think I would care if they had an app or not. I would be wanting the phone answered in one ring and telling a human in my own country what to do for me as far as my banking goes.
I think the absolute top private bank, both in terms of service and prestige, is probably C. Hoare & Co (known as Hoare’s).
They are very expensive, though, and don’t offer a huge amount tech-wise (mainly because they expect you to phone your personal banker if you need anything).
Considering I already have an account with Child & Co (and also with Drummonds) I would probably start there if I suddenly won the lottery! I believe they can also refer you to Coutts - after all, they are part of the same group.
They might be owned by RBS but if you have one of their proper private accounts they still have a high degree of autonomy, only with the personal accounts is it basically RBS with nicer branding.
Not ever going to be rich enough for one of these accounts, but I honestly can’t see why, even if I had millions of pounds, why they would be preferable to a high street bank (I sure as hell wouldn’t put more than a couple of thousand pounds/euros in any one neobank).
I mean, what do you actually get for your posh bank card and cheque book? Investment advice ? (Presumably to services they themselves provide)? Higher withdrawal limit?
I am not rich, but have sufficient investments across the group to trigger Santander to contact me to offer a Santander Select account. For £4pm, I would get
24 hour dedicated call centre support - allegedly keen but useless
Monthly interest of 0.30% on balances up to £20,000 - £5 max
Up to 3% cashback on selected household bills, capped at £5 each cashback tier each month - so we’ve busted the account cost - woo, and indeed hoo
£1,000 daily cash machine withdrawal - if the machine supports this - many do not
Fee-free withdrawals at Santander cash machines abroad when you choose the local currency - already available even with my free pov account
Up to 15% cashback with Retailer Offers - already available even with my free pov account
Arranged overdraft facility (subject to status) - already available even with my free pov account
What do these private banks actually offer that is worth the fees they charge ?
Did you post that photo on FTT? It seems someone else has been using it on their site without permission. I tried visiting the webpage but it redirects me a bunch of times before my adblocker kicks in (I’m assuming the website is malicious).
Edit: oh and sorry for calling your photo rubbish, obviously didn’t know it was yours
I just came across this article (read it in a private window and it should be available for free) which explains that pretty well.
It comes down to:
Whoever you bank with, you’ll be paying them a lot of money. It might be through opportunity cost, or fees, interest charges or transaction charges. You are still paying. On that basis, why pay for poor, impersonal customer service? IT systems that fail. Branches with long queues. Telephone call centres that frustrate. Arduous processes to borrow money when dealing with a short-term credit crisis of your own. I value my time, as that’s what I am short of. I also value the ability to do things with my money when it is not in the form I want.
There is also confirmation in the article that you get a golden-bottle debit card.
If we were to ask that question of someone who’s impossibly rich they might well say they haven’t a clue what they get, and in fact, they don’t really think about it.
They haven’t seen their cards or cheque book in years.
They struggle to think of the name of the place, anyway.
Someone else sorts all that day-to-day business for them.
“I’ve been assured my money is safer than the Rock of Gibraltar”.
“Oh, I haven’t a clue what it costs per month”.
If they have to think about apps and whether Apple Pay works, they’re probably not rich enough .
C Hoare & Co provide pretty much everything, 24/7 line that’s well staffed due to their customer base protentially being anywhere in the world
Tax planning, estate and trust planning, basically anything you need as a service. They have employees across pretty much all specialisms and they can afford it because theyre good
You also have peace of mind because they’re all holding partners with unlimited liability
There we go, found a list. Couldn’t tell you about what Child & Co do because they don’t actually have a website and AFAIK you can’t really even browse unless you go into branch and speak to a member of staff
If the services are similar to Drummonds, I believe they do have a website
Also, the reason for avoiding high-street chains Private Banking sector is the fact that they have so much baggage. The exceptions are probably Child & Co + Drummonds + Coutts, as it seems they’re functionally autonomous.
I read a story about a guy parking 100k with Santander Private Banking & he couldn’t speak to someone he was familiar with, it was always someome different. He also believed they were consistently investing in companies that were significantly riskier than they had agreed to and that they weren’t very experienced at managing his account.
@Johnny put me on to Child & Co and I signed up like, I suspect, many do because it’s different-looking and sounding and it’s not high-street and probably no one you know has one.
Unless I’m missing something, Child & Co is simply a version of an RBS current account with no unusual or premium features. Certainly not in the mould of private banks.
Edit: This impression was gained during sign-up. As we know, Childs & Co’s full feature list is not writ large upon application - it’s not that easy to even find them during the initial application (as others have similarly found ).
Here’s the Google Photos search result it’s from:
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impression was gained during sign-up. As we know, Childs & Co’s full feature list is not writ large upon application - it’s not that easy to even find them during the initial application (as others have similarly found 
).