Sounds a horrific process, probably some affluent folk might appreciate it but even if I was at the higher end, I’d still stick with Lloyds or whatever.
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Wanna know something funny!
I opened a Halifax Account on my laptop while on the phone to them. 
Was very speedy!
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Exactly, I couldn’t be fussed with such efforts. I’ll never really need a concierge type thing as I’d always need to see what I’m booking etc opposed to someone doing it for me.
I’m the same with group holidays, I’ll do it 
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That’s only because you’ve not gotten used to it. Wife’s boss, through relying on other people for so long, doesn’t know how to walk into a hotel and get a room. No, can’t do it online either and gets his emails printed out for him. He’s gonna have a problem when he retires and has to do stuff for himself
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I’d absolutely not enjoy someone doing something for me in that manner, it’s a whole level of laziness imo. Nobodies life is that busy.
And if it is, make time for yourself.
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Sorry everyone I forgot to update this.
Long story I did go for the interview which was honestly just a sit down chat. I have decided not to move forward with the account opening process.
Basically I was told that they would open the account but I needed to deposit the £250K by a certain date or they would look into closing the account. They also needed lots of documents from me and I mean like Investment document, proof of stock ownership, salary documentation. By the end of the chat I was over the account and decided it was too much hassle.
Maybe in the future I will look at them again when I can afford a £250K deposit. But at the moment I will stick with Natwest and Barclays for now
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So I work with Handelsbanken Business / Corporate Division often at work for the clients I have that use them.
Recently some of the business offerings have been made cheaper and better.
We are slowly getting to the point where we recommend Handelsbanken to are new clients if it fits their business needs.
So I wonder if they might take a look at the Personal offerings as well? Not sure but it would be nice to see.
I think trying to streamline their personal offerings and actually put a account opening criteria that every branch has to stick to would be a start
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Handelsbanken have changed their “Becoming a customer” page with some new information.
Also they now include
“We’re not a private bank so we don’t set minimum criteria for income, assets or mortgages.”
So maybe the £250K they asked for before is no more?
I Might try and apply again
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Maybe email an enquiry and feedback to everybody here.
It would be interesting to hear what they have to say now, as I recall they did prefer a minimum salary or savings before this change.
If you have a look above at my previous attempt to get a Handelsbanken account they wanted a deposit of £250K within a certain time frame and also a ton of documents about stock ownership and pension and stuff.
Salary was never a problem it was always this £250K deposit they wanted.
I wonder what they’ll say now.
I always thought if they could see future wealth potential they’d be happy to onboard as a customer.
Are you going to enquire for the team here? Haha
Just sent off the enquiry form 
I think that they used to (and still might be) a private bank in disguise. As £250K deposit is the level needed for Lloyds / Bank Of Scotland Private Banking and also Rothschild & Co
I thought Rothschild as a proper private bank would be more than that e.g. Arbuthnot Latham is £750k minimum.
LBG is not really any different from the normal club account but they qualify you with held stocks/investments too, you don’t have to hold a bundle of cash in a low interest savings account.
Yeah I assumed that as well but Rothschild & Co is £250K.
Hampden & Co as well is £250K deposit.
Weatherbys is £500K
Lloyds / Bank Of Scotland Private Banking doesn’t feel like a Private Bank to me. Just a nicer debit card and some lower fees?
What about C. Hxxre & Co. (a family business since 1672 though it gets flagged if I put their name correctly).
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C Hxxre & Co is min deposit of £1 million but they require you to have at least £10 million net worth and a large portion of your net worth needs to be liquid cash.
Plus to join CH&Co you need a number of recommendations from existing clients / funny handshakes / grandfathers went to school together etc.
Adam & Co I think no longer exist as NWG’s Scottish version of Coutts.
Apart from lombard loan facilities and fancier cards nothing appeals to me, so it all boils down to whichever platform works best as I like to DIY. For that reason Handelsbanken has never really been on my radar as I think they lean their banking heavily towards in-person or by phone.
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I knew they had all these requirements but I was just throwing them into the mix of all the Private banks available.
Correct, Adam & Co merged into Coutts and NatWest also sold the Adam & Co brand to Canaccord Genuity in a separate transaction; they later rebranded their investment services as Canaccord Wealth.
Yes, I don’t get the point of Handelsbanken really. A slightly more premium Metro Bank, with a branch focus and some level of specialist support basically?
For people who like going into branches for a chat and a sort-of relationship manager experience, I suppose. Paid for by uncompetitive rates generally.
Why does that appeal to people?