As a young trust officer working for a
community bank in Oak Park, Ill.,
Ralph Mandell embarked on a business trip to Switzerland in the late 1970s.
He held periodic meetings with a private
bank there while working on behalf of a
trust.
He was struck by
the personal relationships that prompted
bankers to anticipate their customers’
needs. He thought
this model of private banking based
on highly personalized service, continuity and discretion
was a concept that would work in
Chicago.
In 1989, Mandell founded PrivateBancorp
Inc. and its subsidiary, PrivateBank and
Trust Co. The reasoning was clear: Fill a
void that was occurring as the industry
consolidated and customers were disenfranchised. The large banks had private
banking departments, but these were line
businesses within a big operation where
there was little continuity of people.
The business model that Mandell created
is based on three basic tenets: Focus on the
client, utilize a staffing model that is unique
in all of banking and execute better than
everyone else. Focusing on the client and
providing a unique experience, highly personalized service, continuity, confidentiality and discretion are all job No. 1.
By doing so, PrivateBank derives much
of its business from client referrals. Its
unique staffing model is efficient in the use
of people. Its assets per employee and net
income per employee far exceed that of its
peers.
The company spurns hype, does virtually
no advertising and has no display windows
at its offices with signs promising free
checking. The bank relies on its people and
execution to separate it from all its competitors.
HOW TO REACH: PrivateBancorp Inc., (312) 683-7106 or www.theprivatebank.com