Coutts To Advertise Services For First Time In 309 Years

by Carla Johnson, Investors Offshore.com

05 September 2001

One of the United Kingdom's most exclusive private banks announced recently that it will advertise its services for the first time since its establishment in 1692.

Coutts, which looked to the Saatchi advertising agency earlier in the year to rid it of its slightly stuffy 'Queen's bank' image, said that from next month, advertisements depicting 'dream teams' such as Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes and Philip Marlowe, designed to reflect the expertise of Coutts' investment managers, would be appearing in publications such as the Daily Telegraph, the Economist, Harpers and Queen, and Country Life.

However, wary of alienating existing clients, the bank has written to them all in advance to warn them. 'I hope our clients won't choke on their cornflakes,' said Andrew Fisher, the bank's chief executive. 'If we were simply saying anyone can join Coutts, they would be quite rightly shocked.' However the bank's clients, who include around 70,000 of the world's wealthiest people, can probably rest easy, as there is unlikely to be a massive influx as a result of this bold new move; the bank still prefers prospective clients to have liquid assets of at least £500,000, and to keep a quarterly average of £3,000 in their accounts to avoid charges.

Mr Fisher insisted recently that despite a recent broadening of its client base to include pop stars, footballers, and lottery winners, Coutts is not suffering as a result of the economic downturn, and is simply seeking to broaden its investment management role.

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