Some UniCredit Tiriac bank clients worth up to Euro30 mln

The minimum threshold to access UniCredit Tiriac's private banking services tripled this year to €300,000, as the bank is adjusting its strategy on this segment "to meet the higher degree of sophistication of high income clients," according to the lender's Private Banking Department head, Monica Ionescu.

The decision leads to further segmentation of the market, as other lenders are also more interested in the wealth of their clients than their number. The local subsidiary of ING and BRD-Societe Generale have a minimum €100,000 threshold. Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) has the largest client portfolio and a minimum threshold of €75,000, while Raiffeisen Bank targets an increase in its client database, and has set €40,000 as minimum client investment.

The largest private UniCredit Tiriac bank accounts increased some 20-30 percent in the past four months. "We have some clients whose portfolios amount to €25-30 million. We believe this is the right time for such a strategy change to raise the access threshold," Ionescu added. "To make better and more profitable investments, with better diversification, one needs more funds, especially abroad," she added. Furthermore, according to Ionescu, this guarantees better client selection. The wealth of private banking clients is significant for all lenders.

"One cannot enter a foreign market with small investments of €10,000-30,000, and there cannot be proper diversification, including on foreign markets, for example in eurobonds, with €75,000-100,000," Ionescu said. In the case of BCR and Raiffeisen, the largest accounts exceed €10 million. Of the total 2,000 Raiffeisen private banking clients, several hundred have assets in excess of €1 million. Assets managed by private banking services exceeded €3.1 billion at the end of 2008, some 40 percent higher year-on-year.

Business Standard