Private offshore banking can open up a world of opportunity for the private investor. Although you don't have to be super-rich there's no denying that private offshore banking only makes sense for those with substantial sums to invest. A guideline could be U$S250,000-1,000,000 as the minimum you need to get a private banking account with your personal wealth adviser, although each bank will have its own criteria.

Here are just some of the benefits you can expect from a private bank account.

- A direct line to a private wealth manager (no waiting in line).

- No tax or a deferred tax on interest-bearing instruments.

- Access to trading facilities from a confidential, tax-free base and the ability to purchase financial instruments normally only available to "institutional" investors.

- Privileged access to the best resources of the bank and (often) a wealth manager who can draw up long-term plan for your finances.

- The better private offshore accounts will offer enhanced privacy for those private clients who desire it. This may include limiting access to financial records to a select group of employees, the use of trusts and companies to restrict knowledge of the account to bank, client and other persons the client chooses to advise.

Private banking clients may often need more than your average banking services. Some may have their wealth spread over different countries and multiple sources of income. They need one account that will be able to integrate all these income streams so that they are allocated in the correct manner, and not subjected to double taxation or other needless expenses. A good private banking service will let you hold accounts in all the major world currencies through one master account so that you can make payments or receive them with maximum efficiency.

Furthermore an excellent private banking account will ensure that your account remains confidential between you and the bank regardless of changes in bank secrecy and geo-political maneuvering. This has become all the more important as high-tax countries set their sights on removing bank secrecy in "traditional" offshore jurisdictions.

What will a private bank account cost?

While you don't have to be fantastically rich to benefit from Private Banking, fees are higher than those for a "standard" domestic account. For an all inclusive "wealth management" service including a hotline to your private banker, you can count of fees of around 1% of the account balance per year. If private banking is right for you, the personal service, tax benefits and enhanced confidentiality of private bank accounts easily outweigh these fees many times over.