Private Banking: An Introduction

According to The World Health Report published by Capgemini and Merrill Lynch, the number of High Networth Individuals (HNIs) (with assets greater than $1 mn) has grown by more than 20% globally in the past five years and by more than 90% in the past decade. The report also highlights that the emerging market economies like India, China and the Middle East have outperformed the developed economies in terms of increase in the number of HNIs. The number of dollar millionaires in India has grown to 83500 in 2005. These emerging “newly rich” individuals lack the time to manage their serious money and will increasingly delegate it to professional wealth managers. This has stimulated the private banking business in India, attracting the attention of global majors like UBS and Credit Suisse. Private banking is the means of managing private clients’ money by providing various services like efficient wealth management, savings, inheritance and tax planning. These banks promise to maximize returns and minimize risk along with the tax burden of the clients through careful allocation of their money. Against this backdrop, this book seeks to focus on the emerging opportunities for private banking in India. It highlights the factors driving the growth of private banking in the country and the region, debates the sustainability of domestic and foreign private banks and analyzes the performance of private banks.