I loved this on Reuters:

GENEVA (Reuters) - Increasing demands from tax authorities around the world are challenging traditional private bankers while opening opportunities for niche players who can help rich clients pay less taxes in a legal way.

Which is tantamount to saying private banking has to date been pretty much about tax evasion. You don't believe that interpretation? This is how the article continued:

Managing off-shore, often undeclared funds in bank secrecy strongholds such as Switzerland and Luxembourg has been a traditional activity of many private banks.

Reuters mean it. Tax evasion is the stock in trade of private banks. And where was this said? At the Reuters Wealth Management Summit in Geneva.

I couldn't have made that up.

Nor could I have made up the list of participant private bankers, including:

UBS

Credit Suisse

ING Private Banking

Surely, none of them could have been associated with such a trade, could they?