Best private banks in the UK: eligibility, services and more

Interested in joining a private bank? There are quite a few to choose from in the UK banking market, each with their own range of financial services and eligibility requirements.

In this essential guide, we’ll run through all of your best options for a private bank in the UK. We’ll look at their fees and costs, services and accounts, who owns each bank and who can open an account there.

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What is a private bank?

A private bank is an enhanced version of an ordinary bank. It offers similar services such as accounts, cards, loans and mortgages. But a private bank goes much further, offering a wide range of extra services to help clients manage their money.

Another key difference between private and regular banks is that the former offers a personalised banking experience and a one-on-one relationship with a banking expert.

Private banks tend to have high eligibility requirements for who can become a customer, as they tend to serve only the wealthiest clients.

Who needs a private bank?

Private banks target their services at high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWs).

These are people with large amounts of wealth and perhaps complex financial circumstances. These clients want a personalised banking experience, with guidance from financial and investment experts with years of experience.

This includes access to a wide range of services, including wealth management, international banking, investments, financing solutions and later life planning.

Some private banks also offer commercial banking services.

How does private banking work?

In an ordinary bank, you may manage your money and account via online or mobile banking. Private banking doesn’t offer this self-service approach, instead offering a kind of financial concierge service.

Once you’ve joined the bank as a client (meeting strict eligibility requirements), you’ll be given your own personal banking specialist. You’ll have a direct line to this person or team, who can help with advice, access to specialist teams or to complete transactions.

Private bankers can also draw up financial strategies for their clients, eliminate friction when connecting clients to other services, and closely monitor the performance of your accounts and investments.

Private banking services

Here are just some of the many services that private banks in the UK may offer:

• Current and savings accounts, including preferential rates on some products
• Multi-currency and international banking
• Mortgages, loans and other finance
• Debit and credit cards
• Travel insurance and protection
• Wealth management services
• Estate and succession planning
• Tax planning
• Credit and cash flow management
• Investment advice
• General financial planning.

What are the best private banks in the UK?

Take a look below at our UK private banks list, which includes both private banks in the UK and private bank subsidiaries of international banking groups like HSBC, Barclays and Lloyds Bank.

Here are all the private banks we’ll cover:

• Coutts & Co
• Weatherbys
• HSBC Global Private Banking
• Arbuthnot Latham
• C Hoare & Co
• Barclays Private Banking
• Lloyds Private Banking
• SG Kleinwort Hambros
• Hampden & Co
• EFG Private Bank.

UK private bank eligibility

Let’s start with a quick look at the eligibility criteria for becoming a customer, for each of the UK’s top private banks:

Private bank	Eligibility criteria
Coutts & Co	Invest or borrow at least £1m, or deposit £3m1
Weatherbys	Annual income of £300,000+ or assets of £5m+2
HSBC Global Private Banking	Assets over £1.5m3
Arbuthnot Latham	At least £500,000 in deposits, investments or borrowing4
C Hoare & Co	£3m + in deposits and £1m+ of borrowing5
Barclays Private Banking	At least £3m in investments6
Lloyds Private Banking	At least £250,000 in savings/investments or a Lloyds mortgage of £750,000+ For Mayfair Banking - at least £2m in assets or annual income of £500,000+7
SG Kleinwort Hambros	Invest or borrow at least £2m8
Hampden & Co	Deposit at least £350,000 or borrow at least £500,0005
EFG Private Bank	Unavailable

Coutts & Co

Coutts & Co is one of the UK’s most famous private banks, and one of the oldest banks in the world. Today, it’s part of the NatWest Group’s wealth management division.

Coutts offers private banking, commercial banking and wealth management solutions. Services include:

• Current and savings accounts
• Debit, credit and charge cards
• Borrowing - including mortgages and investment-backed lending
• Travel protection
• Financial planning
• Investment services and advice - including online and alternative investing.

The bank makes some fees available on its website. This includes personal portfolio fund and managed fund pricing, as well as FX rates for payments and card spending. All of these vary depending on the fund you hold or the foreign currency you’re dealing with⁸.

Weatherbys

Weatherbys Private Bank was set up by the Weatherby family around 250 years ago, and is still a family-owned company to this day.

It offers private banking services such as:

• Current and deposit accounts
• Foreign exchange
• Lending, including mortgages
• Financial planning
• Tax planning
• Investments.

It has specialist services available for entrepreneurs, accountants, US citizens, non-residents, sports professionals and those in the arts and creative sector. There’s even a Weatherbys Racing Bank, offering financial services linked to the horse racing industry.

Weatherbys has a monthly fee for Private Current Accounts of £75, but this is waived if you maintain loans, deposits or investments with the bank of £300,000 or more.⁹

HSBC Global Private Banking

HSBC Global Private Banking is a subsidiary of the global HSBC group, which has a retail banking presence on the British high street.

It offers services for individual investors and entrepreneurs including:

• Banking, including current and savings accounts, debit/credit cards and international transfers
• Wealth planning, including estate administration, liquidity planning, trust administration and private family funds
• Bespoke financing
• Investing services
• Succession planning for businesses
• Insurance
• Lending, including mortgages, tailored lending and specialised asset finance.

HSBC doesn’t make details of its private banking fees available online.

Arbuthnot Latham

Arbuthnot Latham is a subsidiary of the Arbuthnot Banking Group PLC, with offices in Manchester, London, Bristol and Exeter. It offers private and commercial banking, as well as wealth management services.

Its core private banking offer includes:

• Borrowing, including mortgages
• Current and savings accounts
• Multi-currency banking and foreign exchange
• Treasury services
• Wealth management
• Online and mobile banking
• Specialist services for entrepreneurs, executives and professionals, international clients and people/businesses within the sports, media and entertainment sector.

Arbuthnot Latham doesn’t charge an account fee as long as you have at least £500,000 invested, saved or borrowed with the bank.¹⁰

C Hoare & Co

One of the UK’s oldest private banks, C Hoare & Co is owned by the Hoare family and has been a family-owned bank since it was founded in 1672.

The bank offers services for personal and business clients, including:

• Current and deposit accounts
• Borrowing
• Treasury and foreign exchange
• Philanthropy support services
• Business accounts and financing solutions
• Specialist services for farms and estates, entrepreneurs, city professionals and people/businesses within the arts, culture and entertainment sector.

To hold a personal current account at C Hoare & Co, there’s a £50 monthly maintenance charge. This is waived for customers under 30 years old.¹¹

Barclays Private Banking

Barclays Private Banking is a subsidiary of the global Barclays banking group which also has a retail banking presence in the UK. It is headquartered in London, but serves clients all over the UK.

Its private banking services include:

• Banking products such as current and savings accounts, unsecured lending and time deposit accounts
• Online and mobile banking
• Bespoke credit arrangements
• Wealth management advice
• Complex structuring, hedging and investment banking solutions.

There are no maintenance fees for Barclays Private Banking accounts.¹²

Lloyds Private Banking

Lloyds Private Banking is a subsidiary of the Lloyds Banking Group, one of the UK’s major financial services groups. Lloyds of course also has a prominent retail banking in the UK.

For private banking customers, it offers:

• Specialist lending
• Estate administration
• Professional Trustee Services
• Investments
• Financial and wealth management advice through a partnership with Schroders Personal Wealth.

Lloyds also has a Mayfair Banking service for wealthier clients, which has higher eligibility requirements.

The bank charges no account maintenance fees to private banking clients.¹³

SG Kleinwort Hambros

SG Kleinwort Hambros is a private bank owned by French financial services company Société Générale. It’s the company’s wealth management arm in the UK.

Its services for individuals, entrepreneurs, business owners and international clients include the following:

• Banking and deposits
• Lending solutions
• Investment management services
• Wealth planning and structuring
• Succession planning
• Art advisory services
• Philanthropy and charitable giving support.

SG Kleinwort Hambros charges a quarterly maintenance fee of £300 for personal current accounts. However, this is waived if you maintain an average account balance of at least £1m.¹⁴

Hampden & Co

Founded in 2015, Hampden & Co is a relatively new private bank in the UK. It’s independently owned, with the Hampden Group being a major shareholder.

The bank offers the following services:

• Day-to-day banking services, including accounts, deposits, cards and online banking
• Borrowing, including residential mortgages, portfolio lending and overdrafts
• Banking for Trusts
• Hiscox insurance
• Services for credit unions.

Hampden & Co doesn’t charge any maintenance fees for holding a personal current account, although there are fees for nearly all transactions.¹⁵

EFG Private Bank

EFG Private Bank is owned by Swiss global private banking group EFG International. Its UK headquarters is in London.

Services for private banking clients include:

• Banking services, including accounts and cards
• Specialist and expert investment advice
• Discretionary mandates for investments
• Wealth management, structuring and planning services
• Credit and financing.

EFG Private Bank charges an annual maintenance fee of £1,600 for its accounts.¹⁶

Advantages and disadvantages of private banking

Pros

• Single point of contact and a one-on-one relationship
• Fully personalised service
• Access to a full range of financial services
• Access to exclusive products and investments, plus preferential rates
• Useful banking services for business owners, helping them balance personal and business finances.

Cons

• Lack of transparency on pricing
• High eligibility requirements
• High fees for some services
• Some private bankers (especially in smaller private banks) are ‘generalists’, so may lack the specialist knowledge you need
• Potential conflict of interest - where the banker prioritises their interests over their needs.

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Sources used:

1. Coutts - Become a client
2. Weatherbys - Private Bank
3. HSBC - Global Private Banking
4. Arbuthnot Latham - Private banking
5. The Telegraph - The world’s most exclusive bank accounts – and how to get one
6. Barclays - Private Banking
7. Lloyds Bank - Private Banking
8. SG Kleinwort Hambros - Become a client
9. Weatherbys - Private Current Account Fee Information Document
10. Arbuthnot Latham - Fees and Charges Explained
11. C Hoare & Co - Fee Information Document
12. Barclays Private Bank - Banking Tariff Guide
13. Lloyds Bank - Private Banking Price List
14. SG Kleinwort Hambros - Fee Information Document
15. Hampden & Co - Personal Current Account Fee Information Document
16. EFG International - Banking Tariff Sheet

Sources last checked on date: 25-Oct-2024