Anyone that doubts the ability of private banking and wealth management to not only generate high returns but also to outperform other elements of the financial services universe should take a look at the slides that accompanied Barclays’ latest 2023 results presentation.

Slide 42 clearly shows that the newly constituted private bank and wealth management division generated an average statutory return on tangible equity of 31 percent over the period 2021-23.

Thi...