Private banks need to be innovative and to increase transparency, say 90 per cent of London’s private bankers, asset managers, wealth experts, trustees and lawyers polled in a survey by Family Bhive, a member-based website for wealth owners and the private client industry.

The survey, which polled nearly 100 figures from London’s banking, trustee and advisory communities, showed 90 per cent agreed with the statement that private banks “should be used to develop investment opportunities across the risk range, but care should be taken by the bank that these investment opportunities are appropriate and transparent for its customers.”

“Our survey clearly indicates that private banking faces serious challenges but exciting opportunities ahead,” said Caroline Garnham, a partner at Lawrence Graham and the founder of Family Bhive.

“Clients are increasingly demanding a more diverse and complex range of financial products to suit their needs but they’re also insisting, quite understandably, on ever higher levels of transparency and customer service,” said Garnham.

Furthermore, 70 per cent of those surveyed said they “would prefer a private bank which has never been owned or partly owned by a government.”

Almost two-thirds (61 per cent) still believe that exceptional service and a personalised approach to managing wealth is the most important consideration when selecting a private bank – ahead of the ability to spot wealth management opportunities (16 per cent) or a fortress balance sheet (9 per cent).

On the topic of remuneration, 54 per cent of those surveyed believed fixed annual fees were the best form of remuneration while 23 per cent preferred an ad valorem approach based on the value of their customers’ investments.