As F1 roars into town and private banks get to wine and dine their clients, a growing number of millionaires are realizing who actually is footing the bill.

According to the 22nd September 2011 report on Bloomberg (Millionaires Form Family Offices to Avoid Private Banks), successful Asian families are setting up family offices and avoiding private banks. According to the managing director of a Singapore-based wine and spirits distributor, “Private banks try to sell you everything and not necessarily what’s best for your family office or for yourself“.

According to the PwC Global Private Banking and Wealth Management Survey 2011, the reason for more than half of the relationship managers leaving is due to encouragement from the banks for under-performance. The cost-to-income ratio for private banks in Hong Kong and Singapore stands at 97% for 2010. With the sky high salary needed to poach bankers ...