An 18-Year Client Review
Arbuthnot Latham: An 18-Year Client Review
This review reflects 18 years as a personal and corporate client of Arbuthnot Latham. The relationship ended in November 2025.
In September 2025, our company withdrew £20,000 in cash for hotel and staff tips at a major event, something Arbuthnot had accommodated for a decade. The following month, I asked to deposit around £8,000 in personal cash from the sale of a car. Shortly afterwards I received a standard email giving notice to close both accounts because they fell “outside of our risk appetite.”
I do not know whether either transaction influenced the decision because the bank did not tell me. I accept that banks can be constrained in what they disclose and do not dispute Arbuthnot’s right to choose its clients.
What surprised me was the handling. After 18 years, my private banker resent essentially the same standard communication. No meaningful explanation. No personal call. No meeting. Both accounts were in good standing, with no loans or overdrafts, and earlier that year I had offered Arbuthnot close to €1 million to manage.
This jarred with Arbuthnot’s promise that what sets it apart is “building real relationships” and providing a dedicated banker who understands what matters to you.
The closure prompted a broader question: what had this relationship added to my financial life?
At the beginning I had one banker who genuinely added value. After that came a succession who contributed surprisingly little. In 18 years I cannot recall a serious annual review of my wealth, objectives, risks or opportunities. A dedicated banker should offer context, judgement and curiosity — not merely be a name attached to an account.
In mid-2025 I gave Arbuthnot the opportunity to manage an additional €900,000. It took around three weeks to receive a proposal. The same day I met another adviser, TJ&P, who immediately identified a recommendation which, if acted upon within five days, offered a significant tax benefit. Unsurprisingly, they got the business.
Likewise, when I deposited US$100,000 almost on a whim, nothing followed. No conversation about other funds or whether the bank could help further. The money arrived and, apparently, that was that.
I also found Arbuthnot’s FX process cumbersome: call the admin team, who call the FX department, which provides a rate that might not be guaranteed because the currency was sourced through NatWest. Other providers let me execute online or speak directly to someone and honour the agreed rate. Quills and carrier pigeons occasionally came to mind — not what I expected from premium banking.
During the closure I asked for a breakdown of the fees I had paid over 18 years. I was told compiling them would “typically take around three weeks.” In a digital age, that seemed extraordinary.
It is important to be fair. The administrative team were, without exception, helpful and a delight to deal with. Ironically, some of Arbuthnot’s most personal service came from administration rather than private banking.
Only after leaving did I realise how much time Arbuthnot’s app and processes had cost me. My new bank handles in-app tasks that previously required calls, emails or manual intervention. Good private banking should offer excellent human and digital service.
I am grateful Arbuthnot closed the accounts. It forced me to compare what I was receiving with other private banks. The difference is substantial.
Arbuthnot’s service reminds me of the floors in its new Finsbury Circus offices: made to look like marble, but actually painted MDF. In my experience, the appearance and promise were more impressive than what sat underneath.
Most disappointing was the ending. Arbuthnot was entitled to decide I no longer fitted its risk appetite. But after 18 years, ending things with a standard email and no meaningful conversation struck me as remarkably graceless for a bank that puts “real relationships” at the heart of its marketing.
If you are considering Arbuthnot Latham, ask what it adds to your financial life that a modern private bank will not.