Hey, big spenders

These clients are hoped to bring are estimated at zł.700 million. "Currently we have close to one hundred customers," said Piotr Łakomski, director of the bank's private banking department.

The bank's offer is directed at those who could, in the long-term, bring in assets of a minimum of EUR 1 (zł.3.9) million. As Łakomski explained, this threshold is based on Western standards and not Polish, according to which the term "private banking" applies to clients with zł.100,000 at their disposal. Fortis' customers would have access to private banking centers in Luxembourg, Singapore or Dubai and thus could invest their money abroad.

Łakomski stressed the need for more personal relations between clients and financial advisors. He added that the department employs three advisors, but a further three are being recruited. "We want each advisor to have no more than 60-80 clients," Łakomski disclosed, adding that it is not uncommon for one expert to advise a few hundred clients.

According to the director, most of his clients are businesspeople whose companies do business with Fortis' corporate department. "A few accounts are very attractive even by Swiss or Luxembourgian standards," Łakomski said.