Can Family Office Revenue Replace Debit Card Fees?

Government regulators, general public … nobody likes bank fees relating to credit cards or debit cards. Can megabanks replace this  revenue with fees for managing megawealth?

Wells Fargo will give it a try with Abbot Downing, a bank for the super rich. Formed from Wells Fargo Family Wealth and its Lowry Hill Investment Advisor, Abbot Downing will be headquartered in Chicago with branches nationwide.

 Let's see, BofA's infamous $5-a-month fee would have brought in $60 per customer per year.  Assuming an annual fee of 0.5% of assets under management, a multifamily office should bring in $250,000 per $50-million customer per year. Is Wells Fargo on to something?

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The name of the new family-office brand comes from a famed Concord, New Hampshire company of the 19th century.  Abbot Downing made the almost indestructible Concord Stagecoach.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Buffalo soldiers guarding a Concord stagecoach, 1869