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BANKPRIVAT is the premium brand of the Bank Austria Creditanstalt Group. It is BA-CA’s Private Banking specialist and serves high net worth individuals with disposable assets of a minimum € 1 million or gross annual income of at least € 150,000, as well as private foundations. It is one of Austria’s leading private banks in this segment. In 2006, total financial assets grew by 11%, from € 4.4 bn to € 4.9 bn.
BANKPRIVAT’s activities are guided by the principle of maintaining close relationships between the financial adviser and the client, the creation of exclusiveness, providing comprehensive, efficient services, and, most importantly, working through the client’s wishes and objectives. This philosophy is best expressed by BANKPRIVAT’s guiding principle: “There are no standard investment strategies. It is the client who gives us the full picture”.
Clients of BANKPRIVAT are served by highly-qualified financial advisers, and they have access to a well-established range of products and services. BANKPRIVAT is represented in all Austrian federal provinces. A further competitive advantage is BA-CA’s comprehensive branch network, providing BANKPRIVAT clients with specialists for all financial issues. BANKPRIVAT clients can moreover use the international network provided through BANKPRIVAT’s inclusion in one of Europe’s largest banking groups.
Aside from the entire range of private banking products and integrated investment advisory services, high net worth individuals and private foundations are invited to use the services of the Family Office (see box).
The Family Office of BANKPRIVAT
helps high net worth individuals, business owners and companies with complex ownership structures to find the optimum portfolio structure. To this end, issues such as future heirs, the successor to a company’s previous owner, or the setting up of a private foundation are taken into account.
The Family Office coordinates an external network of lawyers, tax consultants, public accountants, real estate specialists and art experts, as well as the comprehensive services offered by Bank Austria Creditanstalt.
Austria’s private banking market is expected to experience further expansion as the number of high net worth individuals continues to grow. BANKPRIVAT will respond to this trend by offering clients enhanced customised services, thereby meeting their clients’ expectations. With its country-wide coverage and BA-CA’s branch network, BANKPRIVAT is well-placed for the future. BANKPRIVAT is moreover also responding to the international requirements of the private banking market in terms of the qualification standards of its financial advisers (CEFA, CFP or the first private banking study course with an academic qualification) with ongoing training programmes.