Work to refurbish one of Guernsey’s banks has finished with the Economic Development President cutting the ribbon as it reopened.
Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller was guest of honour at the reopening of the St Martin’s branch of HSBC at Manor Stores yesterday.
It’s been closed for five months for the refurbishment with the staff now given state-of-the-art technology to use, with “considerably enhanced customer facilities”, said the bank.
HSBC said, as part of the refurbishment the branch’s facilities have received a significant upgrade to provide a modernised customer area, a new suite of private meetings rooms and a counter service, alongside a full range of cutting-edge automated equipment.
Alvaro Teixeira, Head of International Wealth and Premier Banking at HSBC in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, said he was pleased to see the branch reopen.
“We’re continuing to update, improve and invest in our branch network across the Channel Islands and the new-look St Martin’s branch will give our customers a modern banking service, enabling them to do their day-to-day banking quickly and easily, while also providing a face-to-face, personal service we know our customers still want.
“St Martin’s forms an important part of our branch infrastructure in Guernsey alongside our flagship St Peter Port branch, which recently celebrated its 125th anniversary and marked our rich history of banking in the island.
“We’re really pleased with the refurbishment, and we look forward to welcoming customers back into the branch over the coming weeks.”
St Martin’s is the latest HSBC branch in the Channel Islands to undergo significant investment, following Jersey’s King Street branch, which re-opened last year, and the island’s St Brelade branch, which is doubling in size and will re-open later this year.
However, customers in the north of Guernsey are not seeing investment in their branch, with HSBC due to close the St Sampson’s counter next month.
When HSBC announced the refurbishment of the St Martin’s branch, and the closure of the St Sampson’s one, it said there wouldn’t be any job losses while Mr Teixeira said there would be benefits for customers.
“The way people bank is continuing to change and we know from our review that the majority of customers have a preference to do much of their day-to-day banking digitally.
“While we have seen a decline in the number of customers using our branches, we’ve developed a model that provides islanders with both the opportunity for face-to-face servicing as well as online banking products and services.”
The changes will mean HSBC will have a St Martin’s and High Street branch in Guernsey, along with a branch in Sark.