hi, currently i have scbb and cimb priority banking. looking for another good priority banking service. any recommendation pls?

scbb is serving my need quite good as well and cimb doing not so good in priority. any recommended priority banking?

HSBC Premier

r u their premier customer? how is yr experience with them?

HSBC is well known for their customer service. It is great if you happen to travel overseas a lot. There is no other bank, not even Citibank Citigold can offer you all the perks that are associated with HSBC Premier Banking. If you need more informations on HSBC Premier Banking, i suggest you call them up and they will help you to make an appointment with a Premier Relationship Manager.

okay, tx for telling me this. i just want to survey more before i walk in for detail consultation. will find it out soon.

That's not right. Private Banks worldwide require a minimum of USD 1 million to open the account. But of course, you'd be a small fry with the private bank with this kind of amount. Most have at least USD 5 million in their accounts.

In Malaysia, HSBC used to have its Private Bank business in Damansara Heights but closed down due to limited products theyre able to offer (Bank Negara regulations).

Citigroup still has its Private Bank business in Malaysia in their Jalan Ampang office.

Note however Private Banks do NOT have transactional banking services which means no current account / savings account / credit cards / loans etc. They specialize in investments and structured products.

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Added on October 17, 2009, 10:42 amEven if someone is a CIMB Private Bank client, they are still accorded the CIMB Preferred status at branch level as CIMB Private Bank doesn't provide retail and transactional banking at branch level.

To be a CIMB Private Bank customer, you need to start with RM 1 million ringgit in investments.

This post has been edited by rockefeller: Oct 17 2009, 10:42 AM

But the minimum requirement of USD1 Million is subject to management approval and as far as i am concerned, the well knowns ones have all turned down on such application. UBS, Credit Suisse and J.P.Morgan come to mind. The minimum requirement is USD10 Million (not written publicly) and that too is subject to the management approval as if USD10 Million is sometimes still deemed not enough But i guess that is what make Private Banking so prestigious.


This post has been edited by MilesAndMore: Oct 17 2009, 05:15 PM

At current market condition, most private banks are more than willing to welcome new clients even with just USD 1 million to start with. Now is not the time for them to hold their head so high.

The private banks i meant here include UBS, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, HSBC Private Bank and Citi Private Bank. Based in Singapore.

This is not quite so the case. The mentality hasn't changed. Retail banking is not so or not profitable at all. Investment banking is still ripping in a huge net profit for these giant financial houses quarter after quarter by relying solely on their existing customers.

One can start with an initial investment of US$1 million but then you always have to prepare for the worst case scenario. In case you lose money you might default on payment and all and eventually go bankrupt and this is going to be the private bank's worst nightmare. When you lose money you might need to pay the private bank's tenth of millions of dollars and where exactly are you going to get those money ? This is the very reason why these big private banks are aiming only a very high and ultra-high net worth individuals and not someone with only US$5 million of cash.


Smaller banks with private bank division may be but definitely not the big players. Very pompous private banks such as UBS (especially UBS), HSBC Private Bank, Citi Private Bank and J.P. Morgan are all very selective with the kind of customer they feel are eligible to become a client. Very often they will quote you a higher than usual minimum required amount to be their client and that too, is subjected to management approval. They will also ask for your net worth statement.

HSBC Private Bank and Citi Private Bank will at least still entertain you when you go looking for them. UBS however, will not. In fact they seem so disinterested in having you as their client unless you're a friend or relative of their existing customers with flawless records. It takes them forever to return your call. Credit Suisse is not such a saint either.

For Cit Private Bank Singapore, your net worth must be at least US$10 million to be a client. As for how much you want to start your investment with them you can always negotiate with them. With US$1 million of deposit, one is only eligible for Citigold Select membership but not Citi Private Bank Singapore.

As for HSBC Private Bank, their requirement is US$2 million (or was it SG$2 million i can't remember) but it applies only to HSBC Group existing customers. For those new to HSBC Group, the requirement is much higher and is also subjected to management approval.

For someone completely new to private bank with tight liquidity, forget those big names. There are so many small private banks but smaller doesn't mean they are not any better or don't go for it at all. You are more than welcome to enquire about their service from these pompous big private banks but if you want to join the club, it is a whole different matter. It is as if you want to apply for Yale and a huge chance you are going to be disappointed.

This post has been edited by MilesAndMore: Oct 18 2009, 08:18 PM

StanChart priority banking giving a Samsung netbook for new signups. Worthwhile?

How is Stanchart service compared to say, Citi or Hsbc? Hsbc has a very interesting service where you are able to access ALL your Hsbc accounts overseas from one site. I've considered opening with them but i had bad experience using their Partner service years ago, and don't feel like going back with them just now.

Used to be a Standard Chartered regular banking customer. As always they are slow. A friend of mine who is a Standard Chartered Priority Banking customers also complained they are slow but then the interest rate for the range of bank accounts they offered are one of the highest in Malaysia.

HSBC Premier is especially useful only if you travel a lot and you need many overseas bank account.


Wow ! Partner account existed like a really long time ago My dad was a Partner customer in the 90s but then Partner service was abruptly cancelled and all existing Partner account holding was automatically converted to PowerVantage account. My dad told me last time there was a private dedicated lane for Partner account holder to carry out any sort of transaction over the counter without having to get a ticket number prior. But i guess too many people were qualified for Partner account which is why they decided not to offer that product anymore

yeah but not really that long la. i think it closed in 2003/04? it was kind of ahead of it's time and is really a precursor to all the priority services that is common now. i think at that time 100k was the qualifying level.

but yeah, i was quite pissed when they abruptly ended the service. worse thing is after conversion to powervantage my charges actually increased! so i told them to f.o. and never banked with them since.

anway stanchart claimed on their website they are coming out with a "global link" account soon. somewhat similar to hsbc's global access facility. so there's one more reason now to give them a try.

the samsung netbook looks really good. and i think so far is the "best" gift i've come across for new priority accounts for any bank.

It was cancelled in 2001, when they introduced Premier banking.


The "global link" is already out. Just that only a few countries are available in this "global link" at the moment. But then you can't expect the same level of global reach HSBC and Citibank can offer you.

By the way, HSBC was the first global bank to introduce this "global link" thingy which HSBC called "global view" in their online banking portal back in 2006 or 2007. Citibank then also followed suit and introduced a similar feature to their Citigold account last year but just like Standard Chartered, only a few countries have adopted this feature. HSBC is the only bank that offers this kind of feature globally, be it in Asia, Europe or North/South America.

no it's not out yet. only in dec09 according to the website http://priority.standardchartered.com.my/e...alServices.html

anyway it's not big deal, with communication levels nowadays it's not like it's impossible to add this feature. only a matter of demand. now that cimb is trying to rebrand itself as a regional bank with the just launched preferred, i'm quite sure they too will be adding such a feature in the not too distant future.

Opps ! Did not notice the fine prints

This "global link" is available only in countries where Standard Chartered offers traditional retail banking which mean only in certain parts of Asia and Africa. Standard Chartered do not have retail banking services in other continents.


Hmm ... CIMB ... Poor and dismal service is all i can think. Most of their staff are clueless and not professional at all They do have one hell of a credit card program though But the big boss' brother is screwing it all up



This post has been edited by MilesAndMore: Oct 26 2009, 03:18 PM

Here's a list of countries in which Standard Chartered is offering traditional retail banking services :
(ASIA)
- Afghanistan
- Bangladesh
- Brunei Darussalam
- China
- Hong Kong
- India
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
- Nepal
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Sri Lanka
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Vietnam

(ASIA - Middle East)
- Bahrain
- Jordan
- Lebanon
- Oman
- Qatar
- United Arab Emirates

(AFRICA)
- Botswana
- Ghana
- Kenya
- Nigeria
- The Gambia
- Uganda
- Zambia

This post has been edited by MilesAndMore: Oct 26 2009, 03:19 PM

yes i used scbb priority banking would say their service is rather slow.

planning to try hsbc soon. my friend who works in hsbc telling me that they are now having a promotion for ppl with annual income abv198k will be entitled to open premier account with no condition *meaning no required to deposit any fund into the account* sound quite funny but shall try it out soon

That's sound like CIMB as they accept customer with just 75k CL of their credit card holders to become their CIMB Preferred member.

haha serious??? interesting to know that too

Remember to read the fine prints. This is similar to STATUS account offered by HSBC in the middle-east. You will be eligible to join under certain conditions but you will need to pay RM150/month in order to enjoy the service. If you are not willing to pay for the account service fee than you must maintain at least RM200,000 of deposit or investment with HSBC at all time.