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The Transparency index

One question per bank: will you tell a stranger what it costs to be your client? Read from each bank's own pages on 1 and 2 November 2026. Points for saying the number. 5 of 22 private banks state no minimum at all. None of the twelve investment banks publishes a fee, a minimum deal size or retainer terms for capital markets or M&A. Citigroup publishes three different minimums on three of its own pages. Barclays says £3 million in the text and £5 million in the code.

Pages read168bank pages, saved

Sites that refused the script43 of them read in a browser instead

State no minimum5of 22 private banks

Private banking Capital markets M&A advisory Deals Rankings Transparency index

#	Bank	Minimum stated	Fee schedule	Eligibility	Points
1	Barclays	Yes	Yes	Yes	6/6
2	HSBC	Yes	Yes	Yes	6/6
3	Lloyds Banking Group	Yes	Yes	Yes	6/6
4	Arbuthnot Latham	Yes	Yes	Yes	6/6
5	Schroders Personal Wealth	Yes	Yes	Yes	6/6
6	Brown Shipley	Yes	Yes	Yes	6/6
7	Goldman Sachs	Yes	Partly	Yes	5/6
8	Bank of America	Yes	Partly	Yes	5/6
9	Citigroup	Yes	Partly	Yes	5/6
10	Coutts	Yes	Partly	Yes	5/6
11	Santander Private	Yes	Partly	Yes	5/6
12	NatWest Premier	Yes	Partly	Yes	5/6
13	Investec	Partly	Yes	Yes	5/6
14	Rathbones	Yes	Partly	Yes	5/6
15	BNP Paribas	Yes	No	Yes	4/6
16	JPMorgan Chase	No	Yes	Partly	3/6
17	Morgan Stanley	No	Partly	Partly	2/6
18	Deutsche Bank	Partly	No	Partly	2/6
19	C. Hoare & Co	No	Yes	No	2/6
20	Weatherbys	No	Yes	No	2/6
21	Hampden & Co	No	Yes	No	2/6
22	UBS	Partly	No	No	1/6

Two points for a stated figure, one for a partial, none for 'it depends'. UBS, Investec and BNP Paribas would not serve their pages to the script; a browser read them the next day, and every figure carries its date on the Sources page.

Rankings are mine. Any dispute should be addressed to the table.