I've posted before about how private banks don't do a very good job investing their clients' money, which to me should be the main service they provide. The other service they provide, tax evasion strategies, can be more trouble than it's worth (especially for US citizens--maybe it's different for citizens of other countries), as all these recent articles about UBS show.
And yet private banking is one of the fastest growing areas in finance, and most large private banks earn excellent returns on capital (for themselves, that is. Not to be confused with the returns they earn for their clients). So a lot of rich people seem to think they provide a service worth paying a lot for.
My question to all of you is: Are there any defenders of private banking out there? I'm interested to know the arguments in favor of becoming a client, especially of the larger well-known banks, and especially for US-based individuals or families. Feel free to leave a comment or just send me an email at the address at the top of this page.
And yet private banking is one of the fastest growing areas in finance, and most large private banks earn excellent returns on capital (for themselves, that is. Not to be confused with the returns they earn for their clients). So a lot of rich people seem to think they provide a service worth paying a lot for.
My question to all of you is: Are there any defenders of private banking out there? I'm interested to know the arguments in favor of becoming a client, especially of the larger well-known banks, and especially for US-based individuals or families. Feel free to leave a comment or just send me an email at the address at the top of this page.
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