Private banking serves wealthy clients with personalized financial services. It goes beyond checking accounts and mortgages. Private bankers manage investments, structure estates, plan taxes, arrange credit, and coordinate philanthropy. The relationship is intimate and long-term. A private banker may work with a family for generations.

The threshold varies. Some banks require $1 million in investable assets. Others set the bar at $5 million or $10 million. The largest private banks, like UBS, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs, manage trillions of dollars for the world's wealthiest families. They offer access to exclusive investments, like private equity and hedge funds, and to specialists in tax law, trust structures, and art advisory.

Private banking is global. Wealthy clients often have assets in multiple countries, and private banks help them navigate different tax regimes and regulations. They set up offshore trusts, family offices, and holding companies. They also help with succession planning, ensuring that wealth transfers smoothly to the next generation.

Privacy is a selling point, but it has limits. Governments have cracked down on tax evasion. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act requires foreign banks to report U.S. account holders to the IRS. The Common Reporting Standard does the same for many other countries. Private banks now emphasize tax compliance and transparency, not secrecy. The days of hidden Swiss accounts are largely over.