Private banking
guide

Private banking in Dubai (and their associated wealth management teams) is a big, global business.  Private banks in Dubai generally make their money from multiple revenue lines – transactions, lending/credit, managing the liquid assets of their clients and product fees.  

You can see examples of their often long and complex charging structures here and here.

Many private banks in Dubai are extremely popular with the less-informed international investor who perhaps lacks a comprehensive framework, the skills and experience for evaluating the services, expertise and value on offer.  

It is not uncommon to see relationship decisions made upon 'tangibles' such as the associated prestige of holding an account and having the ‘red-carpet rolled out’, without regard to the 'intangibles' such as the potential conflicts of interest, product range, competency, charges, access or terms on offer. 

An ability to ask the right questions at the outset of a private banking relationship and  the ability to avoid having to actually become a client and 'discovering through experience' is therefore critical to avoid future surprises and keeping yourself on a wealth-building trajectory.

For wealthy individuals, there is no choice but to be extremely critical about how many private banks in Dubai charge and to consider - where one has negotiating power given the level of assets involved - not signing the standard documents that banks put in front of you, but rather to set out your own terms, mandating your advisers to work in a way that makes sense for the wealth-owning family itself.   

Even when the amount of wealth involved is not enough to dictate your own terms to the banks you work with, our suggestion is to agree in writing about the actual service you expect to receive and to make it clear what your expectations are. 

Client education also has to play a key role. People who think a private bank just processes transaction orders, are mistaken. 

You must understand what you can and cannot get from your private bank, in order to reap the full benefit. 

Private banks typically have many conflicts of interest, and one of the challenges this industry faces is that clients are increasingly becoming aware of them. 

If you have an account with a private bank, they likely have a clear interest not only in managing your money but also in directing you to invest in products they have a financial interest in.  

These may include internal investment products from which the bank earns further fees, or third-party products from which the bank gets some form of benefit, whether through a retrocession (i.e. earnings kick-back) or something else. Transactions may give rise to revenue for the bank, and this may create an incentive to churn the account.  If you use a trust company that is owned by a bank, does the trust company have an incentive to keep AuM (assets under management) with the bank as a means of enhancing overall revenue?  For some banks, the trust function has traditionally been a cost centre, specifically for the purpose of expanding AuM.  This lack of basic fiduciary duty or ability to act in the best interest of the client has decimated the private banking industry in more highly regulated and developed financial centres. 

However, if you turn to an independent investment adviser or independent trust company, or to an independent lawyer or accountant, can you be assured of freedom from conflicts of interest?  In our view, the answer is always no.  

Everybody has a conflict of interest of some kind.  For the wealth owner, the best thing is to accept this, and to be aware of what the exact conflicts of interest are, so they can be well managed. 

There is no replacement for the wealth owner and/or their family truly understanding how the private banking or wealth management industry works. 

The wealth owner needs high-quality independent advice and this is initially typically best sourced from someone entirely independent.   A trusted adviser - one who is not measured by what proportion of your assets they place into their internal products, but someone who is valued for objective advice and always having the client’s interests at heart. 

This is a fiduciary, nothing less.

Discovering the nature of the Private Banking world may be disturbing but also invaluable.

Our Co-CEO, Sam Instone explains:

When I first become an expatriate 17 years ago, I was extremely fortunate to open a private banking relationship that has very much served as the bedrock upon which I have built my families finances.

NedBank Private Wealth had a wide range of the perfect services and traditions then and has moved from strength to strength ever since.  I am a huge believer that the right banking relationship can make a huge impact on your overall finances and well-being. 

Ensuring the bank you choose shares your values, offers the breath of planning services you require and delivers excellence in every aspect of a relationship is far more challenging than many high and ultra-high net-worth individuals realise. 

We’re here to help and I am always happy to share more of my personal experiences with anyone who asks.

For the new generation of wealthy families and individuals, paying a bank to simply preserve and manage their money is becoming less attractive considering low interest rates, government deficits, public spending cuts and growing global environmental concerns.

Wealthy clients, conscious of these global challenges, are looking for organisations that can help them reach their financial goals while keeping a keen eye on what’s happening in the world around them and helping them manage their responses to these events – on a behavioural and emotional level. 

This, however, was never the role of the traditional private bank in Dubai.  

While affluent investors do not expect their wealth managers to be perfect, they want to know their bankers and advisers understand and respect their desire to align their wealth with their values.  

For these investors, advisers are almost always necessary, but it is critical for wealth-owning families to understand the role, and to manage their advisers the right way.  Finding the right adviser requires that families know what they need and know who they are looking for.  In essence, a good adviser is one who has the interest of their clients at the forefront, and positions themselves as a true, trusted fiduciary. 

Innumerable instances exist of family wealth being devoured by banks.  Bad investments, bad loans and bad advice.  This is perhaps not surprising given many private banks are jack of all trades and masters of none. 

Letting a private bank "kidnap" your wealth can be detrimental without detailed thought.  There are many situations of private bankers becoming the gatekeepers to a family’s wealth, using wealth that is not theirs to benefit themselves.  It pays to keep an eye on the detail.