Bank targets gay Londoners

Nearly one in nine employees in London’s banking, finance and insurance sector is gay, according to an article in the Telegraph, and such consumers typically enjoy significantly higher salaries than their heterosexual counterparts. Little wonder, then, that one of London’s major banks has implemented a new banking service targeted specifically at the city’s homosexuals. Just launched this summer, Credit Suisse‘s new service is provided by advisors at the bank who are themselves openly gay, the Telegraph reported, and includes not just traditional banking offerings but also components tailored to such events as adoption and civil partnership. Stephen Connolly, head of the Credit Suisse service, explains: “Clients with us have no need to explain their lifestyles or–as we know happens in some cases–almost feel the need to justify the way they choose to live their lives.” We’ve already covered banks for women, and now gay banking–part of what our sister site trendwatching.com would call the Pink Profits trend–is further proof that catering to frequently sidelined segments of the population can be undeniably lucrative. Of course, fine lines separate the notions of “catering to,” “segregating” and “discriminating,” but given the size of the demographic segment at issue here, navigating those distinctions could be well worth the effort! Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen