BRD-SocGen has opened an office in Bucharest that specialises in services for wealthy clients in need of solutions to manage their money as profitably as they can.
Given its line of business, the office is located in the Primaverii neighbourhood, and is BRD's first private banking unit. Sorin Popa, vice-president of the bank and also the man behind this project prefers to use the French term "haut de gamme" to define the business of the new office, dedicated to top clients and their specific needs. The opening of the new office is based on the expertise of the bank's majority shareholder, the French Societe Generale Group, whose specialised unit, SG Private Banking, provides full personalised wealth management services. Its motto: confidentiality, access to investment instruments that are not available on the Romanian market and preferential treatment.
A discreet sign reading the name of the bank is the only clue to what kind of business is conducted on the ground floor of a building that does nothing to stand out. A security camera is the first thing that greets customers. When inside one can immediately see that the atmosphere there couldn't be further from that of a regular bank - dim lights in colourful tones, furniture in warm shades and discreet booths, all intended to gain the customers' confidence that they are in a place where their money is being well taken care of and where they will be treated with according respect.
"We target a niche client segment, customers we selected very carefully before introducing them into our database. We don't want any surprises that might affect our image," Sorin Popa, BRD-SocGen's vice-president stated.
The minimum requirement for a client to use the services of BRD's new office is to have $50,000-$100,000. The bank does not merely take cash into account but also considers the entire relatively liquid wealth.
The products, which the bank offers directly, are not particularly sophisticated because of the nature of the domestic market, which lacks variety of investment options. However, clients may be directed towards the products of the Societe Generale Group.
"The clients of this office may have direct access to the Societe Generale services in Luxembourg or Zurich, where they can use financial instruments that cannot yet be created in Romania. We can also bring experts from our centre in Geneva to directly provide the necessary investment consultancy," Sorin Popa explained.
razvan.voican@zf.ro
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