Private Banking

Private banking is the classification given to banking, investment and various financial services provided to private persons with sizeable assets.

Private banking differs from the retail banking most people are familiar with in tha the customer service is usually more attentive. This is enabled primarily due to the low touch/hi value customer interactions a private banker will have with those clients. Most private banking clients will have a dedicated banking advisor who is responsible for a portfolio of clients.

Wikipedia notes that private banking institutions should not be confused with a "private bank", which is another name for a non-incorporated banking institution.

Private banking is most often available for more wealthy clients. Most often the clients are high net worth individuals with liquid assets in excess of $2 million USD . However, in some cases it may be possible to open accounts for as little as $250,000. In most cases, the higher your total deposits at a given institution, the more financial services become available to you.

An banking institution's private banking division will usually provide a number of services to include asset protection, wealth management, offshore investing , tax planning , estate, inheritence and wealth management.

Both asset protection and tax planning often use offshore banking services and offshore banking centres, including tax havens, to create tax efficient structures and vehicles for protecting the assets from lawsuits or other litigation -- in addition to minimizing estate taxes. For this reason, bank secrecy, and strong bank secrecy laws are often an important part of promoting a bank or region as a centre for private banking. Offshore banks and " offshore bank accounts are often used for securing assets in tax havens as part of a private banking strategy.