Safety and security of a bank remains the most important factor for private banking clients, the latest research from Nedbank Private Wealth, the South African banking subsidiary of Old Mutual, has revealed.

Safety and security of a bank remains the most important factor for private banking clients, the latest research from Nedbank Private Wealth, the South African banking subsidiary of Old Mutual, has revealed.

It comes at a difficult time for wealth managers who are increasingly being forced to embrace online technology and become more transparent in their day to day business activities. But as the recent JP Morgan hack shows, moving into the digital world brings with it some serious dangers. The JP Morgan intruders reached deep into the bank’s infrastructure, silently siphoning off gigabytes of information, including customer-account data, until mid-August.

The Nedbank survey found that safety and security scored an average of 9.7 out of 10 with banking clients.

The research was conducted by the Leadership Factor, the UK’s leading customer survey specialist, and involved a sample of Nedbank Private Wealth’s high net worth private banking clients.

Other areas of high importance to private banking clients included keeping promises and commitments as well as the quality of their relationship with their private banker, indicating that the personal touch and attentive service are vital to client satisfaction in the wealth management industry today.