The discreet charms of liveried doormen and bankers who are but a phone call away count for nothing when a private bank’s reputation has been undermined. Take Switzerland’s UBS, the European bank worst hit by the subprime crisis. Eye-watering losses racked up by its investment bankers have pulled the deep-pile rug from under its wealth management operation. UBS reported some SFr46bn of net outflows in its third quarter. Credit Suisse has meanwhile profited from some of its arch-rival’s misfortunes, sucking in SFr15bn over the same period.

What counts now for wealthy clients is a sense of a bank’s solidity as well as the usual bespoke service and long-term wealth preservation capability. UBS’s tier one capital ratio will almost hit a healthy 12 per cent after allowing for the Swiss central bank’s bail-out plan. Though UBS still trails the 13.7 per cent ratio recently reached by Credit Suisse, and is better placed to stomach future losses than before, the capital strengthening has come too late. Analysts expect UBS’s outflows to continue next year.