Private banking in Luxembourg, structure first, then be well introduced.
Luxembourg private banking serves structured wealth. We organise the structure upfront (holding, SPF, family office) and the file, then introduce you to suitable private banking institutions. FSL prepares the file and introduces you to partner banks; account opening and banking services are the bank's decision and responsibility.
Private banking covers the banking and management services for high-net-worth individuals and their wealth structures (custody, Lombard lending, management). Our role is to organise the wealth structuring upfront and prepare a qualified introduction; the relationship and services remain provided by the bank.
Key takeaway
- Private banking presupposes structured, documented wealth.
- Upfront structuring conditions the quality of the introduction.
- FSL structures and introduces; the relationship stays with the bank.
What are the minimum assets for private banking in Luxembourg?
Institutions publish no official threshold and reserve the right to assess each file on its own merits. In practice on the Luxembourg market, onboarding becomes a realistic conversation from 250,000 to 500,000 euros of financial assets under custody for a standard offering. Desks that open access to Lombard lending, dedicated discretionary management and wealth engineering typically start from 1 to 5 million. These are observed market ranges, not commitments: each bank sets its own criteria.
The amount is never the only criterion, and rarely the deciding one. A family holding 800,000 euros through a clear, documented and fiscally coherent structure clears onboarding more easily than a three million file whose source of wealth still has to be reconstructed. This is why we address private wealth structuring before the introduction, not after it.
How much does private banking cost in Luxembourg?
Pricing rests on three blocks. Custody fees remunerate safekeeping of the securities and usually sit between 0.15% and 0.50% per year of assets deposited, tapering by bracket. Management fees apply on top when the portfolio is placed under discretionary management, generally between 0.50% and 1.20% per year. Transaction costs and account maintenance complete the picture. An advisory mandate costs structurally less than a discretionary one, but transfers the decision burden back to you.
Two items are routinely underestimated at signature. Foreign exchange spreads, when the portfolio is multi-currency, and retrocessions on third-party funds, which do not always appear on the fee statement yet weigh on net performance. We recommend systematically requesting a full ex ante cost statement in the MiFID II format, then comparing it across two or three targeted institutions before deciding.
How to choose a private bank in Luxembourg: the criteria that matter
Five criteria genuinely separate institutions. The ability to handle your holding structure, since not every bank accommodates SPFs, financial participation companies or trusts with equal ease. Geographic coverage of your tax residence and of your assets, which conditions acceptance. The depth of the Lombard lending offer, decisive if you plan to pledge the portfolio. The quality of consolidated reporting, which becomes critical as soon as wealth is spread across several entities. And the real level of contact: a private banker running thirty relationships does not deliver the same service as one running two hundred.
The most overlooked criterion is the stability of your contact. A private banker changing every eighteen months forces you to re-explain your situation each time, and slows down any non-standard transaction. That information appears in no brochure: you ask for it in the meeting, and you cross-check it.
Private banking for non-residents and expatriates: what changes
Luxembourg has always hosted non-resident relationships, but the file is more demanding. The bank must establish your tax residence, document the source of wealth across its full chain, and verify consistency between your declared profile and the expected flows. Automatic exchange of information under the Common Reporting Standard applies: holdings are reported to the tax authority of your country of residence. Luxembourg private banking offers no opacity, and has offered none since 2015.
What Luxembourg does offer remains substantial: the stability of a AAA-rated financial centre, a depth of management and Lombard lending capability unmatched in a country of this size, the ability to hold several currencies and several asset jurisdictions under a single reporting line, and a deposit and financial instrument protection framework applied rigorously. For an expatriate likely to change country of residence, that portability is often the deciding factor.
Source of wealth: what the bank actually verifies
Source of wealth, distinct from source of funds, is the number one blocking point in onboarding. The bank is not content to know where the transfer came from: it wants to reconstruct how the wealth was built. Business disposal, accumulated professional income, inheritance, real estate gains, dividend distributions. Each origin calls for its own evidence: sale agreement and valuation report, tax assessments across several years, inheritance declaration, notarial deeds, distribution minutes.
A prepared file is immediately distinguishable from an improvised one. We build a structured source of wealth memorandum, organised chronologically, backed by supporting documents and consistent with the proposed holding structure. That memorandum cuts down the back and forth with the compliance department and, in complex cases, makes the difference between a refusal and an acceptance. It connects directly to the AML and KYC compliance workstream.
Structure first, then introduce: SPF, SOPARFI or family office
The choice of vehicle precedes the banking meeting. The family wealth management company suits passive holding of financial assets by individuals and their wealth structures, with no commercial activity. The SOPARFI becomes necessary as soon as there are operating participations, intragroup financing or a need for treaty access. The family office is a layer of organisation rather than a tax status: it coordinates several vehicles, consolidates reporting and centralises banking relationships.
Structuring first does not lengthen the timeline: it shortens it. A bank receiving a file where ownership, taxation and governance are already settled processes in weeks what takes months when the structure is being built alongside onboarding. We prepare that foundation, then introduce you to institutions targeted to your profile. The decision to open and the relationship itself belong to the bank.
Who this is for
- High-net-worth individuals and entrepreneurial families
- Family offices and wealth structures (SPF, holding)
- International investors settling in Luxembourg
- Owners preparing a disposal or succession
What we do
- Upfront wealth structuring (holding, SPF, family office)
- Preparation of the KYC file and source of wealth
- Targeting of private banking institutions
- Introduction and onboarding support
- Articulation with accounting and compliance
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Preparation checklist
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Frequently asked questions
Is FSL a private bank?
Why structure before opening?
Do you work with several banks?
Do you also handle wealth structuring?
How long does private banking account opening take in Luxembourg?
What reporting should a family office expect from a Luxembourg private bank?
Does Luxembourg banking secrecy still exist?
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