Women make headway in private banks' male world

By Lisa Jucca

GENEVA (Reuters) - The high-powered world of looking after money for the ultra-rich remains dominated by men, but women are playing an increasingly bigger role, both as bankers and clients.

The vast majority of private banks' clients remains male, but female customers are becoming more actively involved in investment decisions at family level, private bankers told Reuters Wealth Management Summits in Geneva and Boston.

"It's still more male than female, more patriarchs than matriarchs but that has certainly changed," said Reinhard Krafft, head of private banking at Sal Oppenheim jr. & Cie.

"If we service a family, you not only have a patriarch, you have the mother, daughter, son at the table. Whom are you talking to? Whole families."

Mark Cunningham, managing director of private banking at Bank of Ireland (BKIR.I: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)(BKIR.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), said less than 10 percent of the private bank's clients were female.

But such figures can be misleading as family accounts may not reflect the involvement of other family members.

As men get older we see more couple decisions and family decisions, Cunningham said.

Rich women, often widows or heirs, are seen as taking a larger role, but their involvement varies across countries.  Continued...