Commonwealth Private introduces new policy carveouts for professional partners

Commonwealth Private’s national head of professional services, Cassandra Crawford, unveils a forward-looking approach to how it supports professional services clients.

Promoted by Commonwealth Private • 25 February 2025 • Big Law

Tell me about your role and how you work with the legal community?

This is a newly created role within Commonwealth Private that sits at the national leadership level – demonstrating the importance of the professional services segment to our business. The role has two components. The first is quite strategic, evolving policy, processes and pricing to enhance our offering alongside working with our national teams to support their clients’ needs. The second involves building relationships across the legal community and building awareness of our offer and how we can meet their financial needs. I sometimes feel we’re a best-kept secret, because lawyers often face time constraints and aren’t fully aware of the benefits a Private Banker can provide. We offer comprehensive support, including residential and commercial lending, as well as guidance on wealth creation for their families.

How does Commonwealth Private address the challenges legal professionals face when it comes to banking?

For me, it’s simplifying the complexity of banking by offering tailored policies for the industry and the service of a dedicated Private Banker. We have a deep understanding of the nuances of income splitting and a core of the private banker’s skill is problem solving and analytical thinking. We start with a true appreciation of our clients’ personal and professional landscape and believe that the personal connection is one of the benefits that sets private banking apart in a digitally dominated world.

Where the private banking craft comes in, is by making it easy for our professional services clients to access what they need from a banking perspective, whether they are buying a dream home, holiday home or investing in a commercial venture.

We offer tailored home lending solutions, supports with passive commercial investments and tax-effective structures that allows lawyers to maximise their income.

How does Commonwealth Private’s policy carveouts and customised processes support the banking experience for partners at boutique and large law firms?

We’ve recently enhanced our policies specifically for our professional services clients by introducing new parameters around the way we source income information. By doing this, our private banking team removes unnecessary hurdles, allowing lawyers to achieve their financial goals while focusing on their careers and clients.

In some circumstances we can take into consideration future income when assessing their financial situation. This is just one of the ways we can demonstrate our longstanding partnership with the legal sector because we understand their unique financial situation. We have private bankers who are located throughout the nation and in every region who understand this.

Looking ahead, what can your legal sector clients expect from Commonwealth Private?

We continue to look at our policies to build simple ways to meet our legal clients’ complex requirements. We focus on both sides of the balance sheet. This means we offer support during their lending and growth phase, and we also support their wealth creation needs.

The intergenerational wealth transition is key for our clients and their families, especially those in a senior partner role. Having a dedicated, trusted Private Banker during this process is one of the main ways we stand alongside our clients through their journey. It’s all part of our commitment to going beyond traditional banking to offer a one-of-a-kind experience with priority service through our on-call, national dedicated private banking team.

The information provided is general in nature and does not take into account any of your objectives, your financial situation, or your needs. You should consider whether the information is appropriate for you, having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs before you act on the information. You should also consider the relevant Terms & Conditions, Product Disclosure Statement, Financial Services Guide and Target Market Determination before making any decision about any of our products and services.