An institution's private banking division provides services such as wealth management, savings, inheritance, and tax planning for their clients.
For private banking services, clients pay either based on the number of transactions, the annual portfolio performance or a "flat-fee", usually calculated as a yearly percentage of the total investment amount.
After World War I, the former nobles of Austro-Hungarian Empire moved their assets to Switzerland for fear of confiscation by new governments.
[5] During World War II, many wealthy people, including Jewish families and institutions, moved their assets into Switzerland to protect them from Nazi Germany.
However, this transfer of wealth into Switzerland had mixed and controversial results, as beneficiaries had difficulties retrieving their assets after the war.
[6] After World War II, in eastern Europe, assets were again moved into Switzerland for fear of confiscation by communist governments.
[7] Offshore wealth is defined as assets booked in a country where the investor has no legal residence or tax domicile.
In Great Britain, private banks were established in the 17th century, in parallel with the development of sophisticated agriculture, managing the assets of the royal family, nobility and the landed gentry.
Internationalisation of the economy, technological developments such as the internet and mobile phones ensure that banks have to innovate and look for new markets.
For example, the growth of HNWIs is low in traditional private banking markets such as Europe, compared with Asia where the number of millionaires has grown to 3.6 million.
[13] UBS Global Wealth Management took the top spot in Euromoney's 2019 survey for "Best private banking services overall 2019".
Some of the dimensions of value proposition of a private bank are parent brand, one-bank approach, unbiased advice, strong research and advisory team and unified platform.
Most modern private banks follow an open product platform, and hence claim their advice is unbiased.
A couple of banks also define their value proposition on their unified platform, their ability to comply with all regulations, yet serve the client without restrictions.