What we are 

1. Private Investment and Wealth Preservation Banks 

Definition and Mandate: 

Investment and wealth preservation banks, exemplified notably by entities like IFB Bank, are dedicated primarily to safeguarding, augmenting, and strategically administering high-value assets on behalf of affluent individuals, family offices, foundations, and institutional investors. These institutions focus predominantly upon long-term asset protection, capital preservation, prudent portfolio management, and discreet advisory services. 

Core Activities and Characteristics: 

• Capital Preservation and Risk Management: They prioritise maintaining the purchasing power of capital across generations, employing conservative asset allocation strategies with carefully balanced portfolios of cash, gold, bonds, prime real estate, equities in stable jurisdictions, and select alternative investments. 
• Privacy and Confidentiality: Distinguished by an elevated commitment to client confidentiality, these banks operate discreetly and often in jurisdictions recognised for their robust legal frameworks protecting asset ownership and privacy. 
• Personalised Advisory Services: Advisory services are deeply customised, often encompassing estate planning, tax mitigation, fiduciary services, intergenerational wealth transfer, and bespoke family office management. 
• Stable Jurisdictional Selection: Typically domiciled in countries renowned for political neutrality, legislative stability, sophisticated legal systems, and regulatory clarity, such as Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, or Singapore. 
• Conservative Profit Model: Revenues originate predominantly from management fees, advisory charges, custodial fees, and asset-based remuneration rather than speculative trading activities or aggressive lending practices. 

2. Private Bank 

Definition and Mandate: 
Private banks deliver personalised financial services and wealth management to high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) and ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI). Though similar in appearance to wealth preservation banks, private banks typically emphasise wealth growth alongside preservation and may offer broader and occasionally riskier asset management products. 

Core Activities and Characteristics: 

• Holistic Wealth Management: Offer comprehensive financial planning, wealth accumulation strategies, discretionary asset management, tax advisory, and sophisticated investment opportunities. 
• Balanced Approach to Risk: While asset preservation is vital, greater flexibility in risk-taking for potential asset appreciation distinguishes private banks from pure wealth-preserving institutions. 
• Personal Relationship Management: Highly personalised services with dedicated private bankers responsible for individual client portfolios. 

3. Investment Bank (Corporate Finance-oriented) 

Definition and Mandate: 
Investment banks (distinct from wealth preservation banks) specialise in raising capital for corporations, governments, and institutional entities, facilitating mergers and acquisitions (M&A), underwriting securities issuances, and trading financial instruments in both primary and secondary markets. 

Core Activities and Characteristics: 

• Corporate Finance and Advisory: Expertise in mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, and initial public offerings (IPOs). 
• Trading and Brokerage: Actively trading equities, bonds, commodities, and derivatives; offering prime brokerage services. 
• High-Risk, High-Reward Model: Revenues significantly depend upon market fluctuations, trading profits, advisory fees, and commissions derived from underwriting securities. 

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What we are not 

4. Traditional Commercial and Retail Bank

Definition and Mandate: 
Traditional commercial and retail banks offer financial services to mass-market retail and business clientele, emphasising transactional accounts, credit provision, and everyday banking facilities. Their primary goal is short-to-medium-term profit maximisation through interest margin generation, fees, and commissions derived from lending and deposit-taking operations. 

Core Activities and Characteristics: 

• Mass Retail Focus: Provision of basic banking products such as current and savings accounts, personal loans, mortgages, credit cards, and consumer finance. 
• Volume-Driven Revenue Model: Revenues predominantly arise from the differential between lending rates and deposit rates (net interest margins) alongside fee-based income streams (transaction fees, overdraft charges, etc.). 
• Branch Network and Digital Channels: Extensive physical presence through branches complemented by digital banking services aiming at mass accessibility and convenience. 
• Moderate Risk Exposure: Risk management focuses primarily on credit risk assessment and liquidity management, typically with less emphasis on sophisticated wealth management or asset preservation strategies. 

5. Universal Bank 

Definition and Mandate: 

Universal banks combine retail, commercial, investment, and private banking services under a single organisational structure, catering to diverse clientele ranging from mass-market consumers to large corporations and wealthy private clients. 

Core Activities and Characteristics: 

• Diverse Revenue Streams: Revenue generation from lending, deposits, fee income, capital market operations, wealth management, and investment advisory services. 
• Comprehensive Product Offering: Wide-ranging financial services tailored to multiple segments, leveraging economies of scale and scope. 
• Complex Risk Management: Necessitates advanced risk management frameworks due to the variety of financial activities undertaken, balancing retail, investment, and wealth management risks simultaneously.