Roughly 30 banks operate in Monaco, most of them subsidiaries or branches of Swiss, French and international groups. Assets under management in the Principality exceed EUR 150 billion. For a new resident, a Monaco bank relationship is not optional: the residency application requires a bank attestation of financial means, and property purchases are routinely financed or collateralised through a local institution.
The banks with a meaningful Monaco presence include CMB Monaco, Julius Baer, UBS, HSBC Private Banking, Barclays, Rothschild and Co, and Societe Generale Private Banking, among others. The distinction that matters is between a booking centre with local discretion and a representative office that refers decisions to Geneva or London.
Monaco banks are supervised by the French ACPR under a bilateral convention, with anti-money-laundering oversight from the Monaco authorities. Onboarding is thorough; source-of-wealth documentation is expected to be complete before an account is opened.
What to Look For in a Monaco Private Banking Professional
- Whether Monaco is a booking centre for the bank or a representative office
- Lombard lending terms against securities portfolios, commonly used to finance property
- Willingness to issue the bank attestation required for residency applications
- Minimum relationship size, which at the larger houses starts in the low millions of euros