Retail banks are expanding luxury services and perks to attract clients who have millions of dollars in cash, trusts and sometimes even art collections. Among the amenities being dangled in front of the upper-income consumers are daily tea service, doormen and even Mini Coopers to run financial errands. In addition, some banks are making specific efforts to tailor services to the elderly with concierge services and advisory services.
Oak Brook Bank in the Windy City is offering the car and tea service and recently opened two new branches in neighborhoods with an average household income of $200,000. In its effort to be different, CFO Rose Bauman said the two branches have pulled in $86 million in deposits.
Even large banking operations such as Citigroup are offering high-end personal service by offering to manage pricey, private art collections, hire estate managers and housekeepers, or even assisting in managing ranches, farms and vacation homes around the world.
Bank of America plans to open up an office in New York for customers with more than $50 million in assets to invest, The American Banker said. Once the bank opens up its first ultra-high-net-worth office in New York, it plans additional offices in Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas and in Southern Florida, said Alan Rappaport, who heads the Charlotte-based bank's wealth advisors group.