In Investing to Grow, Sabadell Expands Its Private Banking Footprint
In 2023 Sabadell attracted a record number of high‑net‑worth clients, surpassing its own target by a wide margin. The private banking division finished the year with an active client base near 110,000, and a majority of these clients were located in Catalonia. The total assets managed by the unit reached about 54.7 billion euros, marking an 11.4% rise. This growth translated into a substantial contribution to the group’s profits, with the private banking arm delivering roughly 132 million euros in profit, more than doubled from the previous year, and representing about 9.9% of the group’s overall net profit for the year. The strong performance indicated that the two‑year growth plan for private banking was on track, especially as the unit began to increasingly account for the group’s earnings.
Following these results, Sabadell in early 2024 formalized a strategy to accelerate growth in private banking within the broader corporate restructuring led by the chief executive. Executives highlighted that the early results of the new model were encouraging, with expectations to maintain the growth pace into 2024. The shift aligns with the broader goal of reinforcing the bank’s wealth management capabilities as part of its ongoing transformation.
Looking back to 2022, Sabadell served about four million retail clients, around 300,000 in personal banking aimed at high‑to‑mid‑income clients, and about 30,000 in private banking. In early 2023 the lender adjusted its segmentation by consolidating a portion of its mid‑tier clients into the private banking bucket. The private banking client base was then split into two subsegments: those with wealth levels ranging from half a million to one million euros, and those with more than one million euros. This reorganization reflected a focus on deeper client relationships and more tailored service offerings for wealth holders.
The growth in private banking also meant a larger investment in its personnel. The division expanded from about 175 advisors to 482 and finished the year with 503 advisors actively serving clients. In 2024 Sabadell planned to broaden its support infrastructure, with Amundi providing a technology‑driven advisory platform and a discretionary portfolio management tool for private bankers. The bank also signaled plans to broaden investment opportunities in alternatives such as infrastructure, cybersecurity, and energy transition projects, aiming to offer a wider range of sophisticated options to wealthy clients.
For high‑net‑worth clients, Sabadell emphasizes premium products and services, including enhanced coverage on cards and more favorable lending rates. The private banking proposition also features specialized investment and savings solutions. One senior executive emphasized that while the core products stack is important, the real differentiator lies in how the bank handles client exceptions and resolves problems. Sabadell has committed to making bankers more readily available to its wealthy clients and to shortening response times for requests related to credit and other services, underscoring the emphasis on service quality as a differentiator in wealth management.