Each bank gets one rating out of 100, written for ultra-high-net-worth families and their advisers. It is the editorial view of our research desk: public research on the areas below, weighed together with what clients tell us and the service they receive.
We consider only what matters to these families. Retail products, branch networks and apps are left out on purpose, and lending counts as a service, not on price. The editorial board decides how much each area weighs.
Final decisions of regulators, prosecutors and courts against the licence holder in recent years, considered by their seriousness, how recent they are and whether they repeat; decisions not yet final, claims and investigations are shown as such. Sources: regulators' enforcement publications, court records and the authorities' own press releases.
Whether the law of the booking centre keeps custody assets apart from the bank's own estate, whether deposits are covered by a protection scheme, and whether the custody terms can be read before signing. Sources: statutes, deposit protection schemes and the bank's general conditions.
The private banking services the bank publishes for the booking centre: mandates, lending against portfolios and property, multi-currency accounts, trust and structuring, family office and wealth planning, consolidated reporting and work with external asset managers. Sources: the bank's own pages for that centre.
Whether a prospective client can read the tariff and the bank's policy on third party payments before asking. Sources: the bank's published fee schedules and disclosures.
Who owns and controls the bank and whether that is public; the official assessment of the anti-money-laundering regime of the home jurisdiction of any significant owner; and whether a politically exposed person holds a significant stake. The same rule applies to every bank, whatever the owners' nationality. References: Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision, principle 6; FATF Recommendations 12, 24 and 26; EU Joint Guidelines on the prudential assessment of acquisitions of qualifying holdings. Sources: annual reports, stock exchange notifications, registers and FATF mutual evaluations.
The experience of clients and their advisers, submitted in confidence on each bank's page and read by the editor, and the level of service the bank offers to families. Names and contact details are never published or shared with the bank.
A bank is marked Under review while we check a significant matter with the original source, and Rating in preparation until its rating is published.
The PPLI.com Private Bank Rating and all content of PPLI Bank Intelligence express the editorial opinion of PPLI.com, operated by Talniri Ltd, on the date shown. They are based on publicly available information, on the experience and intelligence shared with PPLI.com by clients and their advisers, and on editorial judgment. They are not statements of fact about any bank, not a credit rating, not a forecast of the solvency or failure of any institution, and not investment, legal, tax or financial advice, nor a recommendation to open, keep or close any account or relationship. The information is provided as is; it may be incomplete or out of date and is not guaranteed to be accurate or complete. Readers should verify it with the bank concerned and with their own professional advisers before making any decision. Bank names and logos are used for identification only and imply no affiliation with, or endorsement by, any bank. To the fullest extent permitted by law, PPLI.com, Talniri Ltd and their editors accept no liability for any loss or damage arising from the use of, or reliance on, this content. Ratings are reviewed every quarter and may change at any time. A bank or reader who believes any information is inaccurate may write to [email protected]; verified corrections are published promptly.
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