Harder than ever, banks are currently fighting for rich private customers.
Whether foreign banks like JP Morgan attracted by Brexit or domestic institutes like Commerzbank that have been revived – they all sense opportunities, especially to win company founders and company owners as private customers.
This competition is putting even more pressure on margins, which are already shrinking as a result of increasingly regulated investment advice and the trend towards low-cost index funds (ETFs).
He's forcing private banks like Metzler, HSBC and now Bethmann to cut back.
All three private banks have announced a simplification of their structure in recent months.
Even if the three cases are not comparable in every detail and Bethmann also creates new scope for growth by renouncing the German banking license, the three private banks are still acting from a defensive position.
Hauck & Aufhäuser is an exception in this respect: This private bank not only bought Oetker-Bank Lampe in 2021, but also impresses with new ideas and high inflows of funds.