In 1796, Geneva’s merchant-bankers didn’t wait for clients to walk through their doors. Members of the Lombard Odier family traveled personally to Paris, Vienna, and London, carrying something more valuable than gold: letters of introduction from existing clients. This wasn’t marketing. It was relationship banking—and it was the only way to access elite financial services back in the days.
Two centuries later, that same system is experiencing a renaissance.
“Today, millionaires aren’t tied to their country of origin anymore,” explains Lorenzo Giberti – founder of GloboBanks, a modern banking introduction company. “They want global bank accounts, multiple jurisdictions, and institutions that understand cross-border complexity. But the front door is locked.”
The paradox of modern private banking is stark: while wealth has become increasingly mobile, access to elite banking services has become more restricted. In the US, CNBC reports that JP Morgan Chase rejected President Donald Trump as a customer. In the UK alone, over 1,000 accounts are closed daily—a 700% increase since 2017.
Aggressive compliance regimes have made banks increasingly risk-averse, often rejecting entrepreneurs with legitimate international businesses simply because their profiles don’t fit algorithmic risk models.
Enter the banking introducer—a profession that dates back three centuries but has never been more relevant. These intermediaries don’t just connect clients with banks; they vouch for them, lending their reputations and their own due diligence as guarantees. In Switzerland, where the profession evolved alongside private banking itself, introducers operate in a highly professionalized field, with many banks now requiring introducers to hold licenses or regulatory approval. The introducer’s role has evolved from simple matchmaking to client vetting and regulatory navigation.
The economics explain why banks champion this system: client acquisition costs through introducers run $1,000-$3,000 versus $5,000-$10,000 through traditional marketing channels. More tellingly, introduced clients have an 85-95% approval rate compared to just 13% for public applications on average.
But the value proposition extends beyond efficiency. As regulatory pressures intensify and élite banks close their public channels, introducers have become gatekeepers to a parallel financial system—one that operates on reputation, relationships, and personal guarantees rather than algorithms and automated rejections.
“In GloboBanks we’re seeing the re-emergence of a two-tier banking system,” Lorenzo notes. “One public, algorithmic, and increasingly restrictive. One private, relationship-based, and accessible only through personal introduction.”
For the globally mobile ultra-rich, the banking introducer isn’t just a convenience—it’s the key to accessing a tradition of discretion and service that predates modern nation-states, preserved and adapted for an era when wealth moves faster than regulation can follow.