The private banking customer portfolio of HVB Tiriac doubled last year, reaching an asset volume worth 540 million RON (almost 160 million euros), according to the data published in Bucharest, which take into account a minimum asset threshold of 100,000 euros per customer. The threshold is applied by most domestic banks providing private banking services, but in the West, this is as high as several hundred thousand euros and even one million euros.

However, Bank Austria, supervising the Romanian operations of UniCredit group, took into account a minimum threshold of 500,000 euros for the private banking customer class, applying the UniCredit standard.

This is why the assets managed by the private banking department of HVB Tiriac are put at only 45 million euros in 2006 in the annual report published last week, against the 83 million euros included in the 2005 report. Yet, Bank Austria points to a 48% customer base increase.

The private banking department of HVB Tiriac was set up more than three years ago.

In late 2005, Liliana Damianov, who had launched these operations, left the bank to create a similar department within Bancpost, controlled by EFG Eurobank Greek group. This category of services develops on close banker-customer ties, with confidence being a vital element in the building of a long-term relationship. In fact, the banks' private banking offers are not that different from each other, especially in terms of investment alternatives, with the difference being made by elements related to services quality, such as confidentiality, accessibility, promptitude.

Amid the merger between HVB Tiriac and UniCredit Romania, in the wake of the process that is unfolding at a continental level, all the banks part of the group, including the Romanian ones, should take over the business model developed in Italy, which would drive down co