Private banking in the context of "Barclays"

Credit Suisse Group AG (French pronunciation: [kʁe.di sɥis], lit. 'Swiss Credit') was a global investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. According to UBS, eventually Credit Suisse was to be fully integrated into UBS. While the integration was yet to be completed, both banks are operating separately. However, on May 31, 2024, it was announced that Credit Suisse ceased to exist. Headquartered in Zürich, as a standalone firm, it maintained offices in all major financial centres around the world and provided services in investment banking, private banking, asset management, and shared services. It was known for strict bank–client confidentiality and banking secrecy. The Financial Stability Board considered it to be a global systemically important bank. Credit Suisse was also a primary dealer and Forex counterparty of the Federal Reserve in the United States.

Credit Suisse was founded in 1856 to fund the development of Switzerland's rail system. It issued loans that helped create Switzerland's electrical grid and the European rail system. In the 1900s, it began shifting to retail banking in response to the elevation of the middle class and competition from fellow Swiss banks UBS and Julius Bär. Credit Suisse partnered with First Boston in 1978 before buying a controlling share of the bank in 1988. From 1990 to 2000, the company purchased institutions such as Winterthur Group, Swiss Volksbank, Swiss American Securities Inc. (SASI), and Bank Leu.

UBS Group AG (stylized simply as UBS) is a Swiss multinational investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland, with headquarters in both Zurich and Basel. It holds a strong foothold in all major financial centres as the largest Swiss banking institution and the world's largest private bank. UBS manages the largest amount of private wealth in the world, counting approximately half of The World's Billionaires among its clients, with over US$6 trillion in assets (AUM). Based on international deal flow and political influence, the firm is considered one of the "biggest, most powerful financial institutions in the world". UBS is also a leading market maker and one of the eight global 'Bulge bracket' investment banks. Due to its large presence across the Americas, EMEA and Asia–Pacific markets, the Financial Stability Board considers it a global systemically important bank and UBS is widely considered to be the largest and most sophisticated "truly global investment bank" in the world, given its market-leading positions in every major financial centre globally.

UBS investment bankers and private bankers are known for their strict bank–client confidentiality and culture of banking secrecy. Apart from private banking, UBS provides wealth management, asset management and investment banking services for private, corporate and institutional clients with international service. The bank also maintains numerous underground bank vaults, bunkers and storage facilities for gold bars around the Swiss Alps and internationally. UBS acquired rival Credit Suisse in an emergency rescue deal brokered by the Swiss government and its Central bank in 2023, following which UBS' AUM increased to over $5 trillion along with an increased balanced sheet of $1.6 trillion.

Banking secrecy, alternatively known as financial privacy, banking discretion, or bank safety, is a conditional agreement between a bank and its clients that all foregoing activities remain secure, confidential, and private. Most often associated with banking in Switzerland, banking secrecy is prevalent in Luxembourg, Monaco, Hong Kong, Singapore, Ireland, and Lebanon, among other off-shore banking institutions.

Otherwise known as bank–client confidentiality or banker–client privilege, the practice was started by Italian merchants during the 1600s near Northern Italy (a region that would become the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland). Geneva bankers established secrecy socially and through civil law in the French-speaking region during the 1700s. Swiss banking secrecy was first codified with the Banking Act of 1934, thus making it a crime to disclose client information to third parties without a client's consent. The law, coupled with a stable Swiss currency and international neutrality, prompted large capital flight to private Swiss accounts. During the 1940s, numbered bank accounts were introduced creating an enduring principle of bank secrecy that continues to be considered one of the main aspects of private banking globally. Advances in financial cryptography (via public-key cryptography) could make it possible to use anonymous electronic money and anonymous digital bearer certificates for financial privacy and anonymous Internet banking, given enabling institutions and secure computer systems.

Julius Baer Group Ltd. (German: Julius Bär Gruppe AG) is a Swiss multinational private banking and financial services firm headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Specializing in wealth management, investment advisory services, real estate financing, and selective trading services, it is one of the world’s largest dedicated private banks, with CHF 497.4 billion in managed assets as of 2024. It is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ticker: BAER) and is a constituent of the Swiss Market Index Mid (SMI MID).

Founded in 1890, the bank originated as a family-run exchange office and later evolved into a public company. It operates in 28 countries and employs more than 7,500 staff globally. Julius Baer is noted for its traditional Swiss banking values, including a strong emphasis on client confidentiality.

Bank Leu AG (/lɔɪ/; LOY; formerly Leu et Compagnie respectively Leu & Co.) was a Swiss private bank which was headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. Since 1990 it operated as subsidiary of Credit Suisse and has been the oldest Swiss bank. In 2007, Leu merged with other private banking units, to form Clariden Leu.

In the United States, banking had begun by the 1780s, along with the country's founding. It has developed into a highly influential and complex system of banking and financial services. Anchored by New York City and Wall Street, it is centered on various financial services, such as private banking, asset management, and deposit security.

The beginnings of the banking industry can be traced to 1780 when the Bank of Pennsylvania was founded to fund the American Revolutionary War. After merchants in the Thirteen Colonies needed a currency as a medium of exchange, the Bank of North America was opened to facilitate more advanced financial transactions.

Rothschild & Co SCA is a multinational private and alternative assets investor, headquartered in Paris, France and London, England. It is the flagship of the Rothschild banking group controlled by the French and British branches of the Rothschild family.

The banking business of the firm covers the areas of investment banking, restructuring, corporate banking, private equity, asset management, and private banking. It is also known to serve as the advisor and lender to governments and major corporations. In addition, the firm has its own investment account in private equity.

J.P. Morgan & Co. is an American financial institution specialized in investment banking, asset management and private banking founded by financier J. P. Morgan in 1871. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the company is now a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase, the largest banking institution in the world. The company has been historically referred to as the "House of Morgan" or simply Morgan.

For 146 years, until 2000, J.P. Morgan specialized in commercial banking, before a merger with Chase Manhattan Bank led to the business line spinning off under the Chase brand.