There was a time when anyone could speak to their bank manager but, for customers of the big banking groups, those days have long gone. And now even the branches are disappearing. According to Which?, there have been 6,500 bank and building society branch closures in the UK since January 2015, prompted by a surge in cost-cutting and digitisation across Europe’s biggest banking groups.

Sell, sell, sell
In addition, many of the group-owned private banks (and several of the independent ones) focus on trying to sell their clients wealth management products. This is another reason why many clients are jumping ship, and it’s also why Hampden Bank concentrates purely on banking. We believe it’s better for our clients if we, as their trusted banking adviser, work closely with their other trusted advisers – be it their wealth manager, accountant or lawyer.

As a result of all this upheaval, many of the people turning to us perhaps don’t fit the stereotype of a private banking client. They’re often younger business owners who, as well appreciating the benefits of direct access to their personal banker, value the convenience of our complementary digital banking service.

Many of these new clients tell me that they simply weren’t receiving the service they needed and expected from the mainstream banks. Prompted by increasing fees and lack of service, many have reviewed their personal and business financial affairs and decided that they’d had enough of call centres, waiting times and virtual assistants. Instead, they want to entrust their money to a bank where there would always be someone at the end of the telephone who understands them and can help them out.

No anonymous call-centre workers

I’ve been working with clients who have come into a significant sum of money, often through the sale of a business. Many of them have told me that they feel the high street is fine for day-to-day banking, but with larger sums, they want to meet the person who is going to look after their money. For them, and for other clients with complex or unconventional finances, waiting 20 minutes for an anonymous call-centre worker to pick up the phone is not an acceptable option.

Many are also pleased to hear that we don’t have hard and fast rules about the amount of money that someone must put down as a deposit or seek to borrow for them to become a Hampden Bank client. Every case is unique, based on the person’s individual circumstances. For instance, someone who might not fit our perceived criteria today may be planning to sell their business next year, in which case we may be able to help them now. Private banking does cost a little more, but our clients stay with us because they quickly appreciate the benefits.

In these uncertain times, I expect we’ll continue to see more clients making the switch to escape the world of call centres and enjoy the value of true private banking.

Matthew Nimbley is a Banking Director at Hampden Bank.