Interesting article here on Private banks:-
How to open a private bank account | This is Money
An old friend of mine worked at The Bank of England. Only staff could hold accounts there and overdrawing wasn't an option. It was quite something seeing a cheque with Bank of England written on it.
Like I said earlier. Coutts isn't what it used be, it's a brand of RBS/NatWest.
Any member of HM armed forces can hold an account there no matter what their income (that's a traditional service as the Queens Bankers).
For the top level of service they require investable assets of £500,000, but you can open an account with them with an income of £75,000 a year. The amount of service you get is directly related to the amount of cash you have, their are tiers of service.
They also offer student accounts if you have what they consider a promising future.
You can hold a business account once the turnover is at around £0.5 million a year.
The idea that you have to have £250,000 in the account at all times is nonsense. That's the amount of cash you need to keep in their if you don't want to pay bank charges. (£150 a quarter + transaction fees) .
There was a time when it was exclusive, but now it's more about image, it's like a brand or bling if you like. That's why there seem to be so many people on this forum receiving their cheques.
