Commonwealth, Westpac and Credit Suisse have topped the Australian Private Banking Council Awards for 2012.
Commonwealth Private was named Outstanding Institution in the $1 million to $10 million client segment, in awards compiled for the APBC by research group RFi.
Westpac was named top private bank in the $10 million to $30 million segment, and and Credit Suisse was named best in the $30 million-plus segment.
NAB received recognition for an outstanding philanthropic offering, and Macquarie Private’s Jay O’Neil has been named the industry’s thought leader for 2012.
In addition, RFi recently ranked Commonwealth Private number one on 21 out of 21 client satisfaction measures. The executive general manager of Commonwealth Private, Adrian Hondros, says the rankings reflect the work the bank has done to keep its relationships with clients strong.
“One of the key things we did was we decided we needed to make sure we were measuring and managing the frequency of contact with our clients, and ensuring we were contacting all clients on a regular basis, rather than the ones that just were kind of the favourites, or the ones that relationship mangers got on with naturally,” he says.
Hondros says running a private bank is more challenging than running a stand-alone wealth management business “because you’re dealing with both banking and wealth management, and that has its challenges in itself”.
He says great service depends on being able to define a strong value proposition, and delivering it to clearly defined customer segments. Hondros says, like most wealth managers, one of the segmentation tools Commonwealth uses is a client’s investible assets.
“We also look at it from the point of view of what their source of wealth is,” Hondros says. “So we have particular services for business owners, particular services for medical specialists, particular services for legal professionals or accounting professionals.
“It’s about having a deep understanding of that segment and understanding what it is that makes those clients tick.”
To watch a short interview with Adrian Hondros, click on the video below.
Australian Private Banking Council Awards – 2012
1. Commonwealth Private – Outstanding Institution ($1 – $10 million HNW segment)
2. Westpac Private Bank – Outstanding Institution ($10 – $30 million HNW segment)
3. Credit Suisse – Outstanding Institution Ultra HNW service offering ($30 million+ segment)
4. NAB Private Wealth – Outstanding Philanthropic Services Award
5. Jay O’Neil (Macquarie Private) – Outstanding Thought Leader Award
6. Rob Fasano (Commonwealth Private) – Outstanding Relationship Manager Award
7. Willis Phong (Westpac Private Bank) – Outstanding New Relationship Manager Award (0-2 years)
8. Catherine Wong Doo (NAB Private Wealth) – Outstanding Wealth/Investment Adviser Award
9. Mark Elding (Westpac Private Bank) – Outstanding New Wealth/Investment Adviser Award (0-2 years)
10. Philippa Barnett (Westpac Private Bank) – Outstanding Associate Award
11. Nick Reid (Westpac Private Bank) – Outstanding Analyst Award
