A BANK has said it remains committed to Bournemouth ahead of the grand opening of only its fourth new bank in 'living memory'. 

HSBC has given a first glimpse at its new Bournemouth town centre branch in Commercial Road following the recent closure of its Old Christchurch Road site. 

Monday, October 9 saw the closure of HSBC after 130 years on the site, having first opened as Midland Bank in 1893. 

But, on Thursday, October 19, the new branch in the former Ann Summers unit will open with a design which follows in the footsteps of a flagship branch. 

Read more: HSBC will close Bournemouth site and relocate to sex shop Ann Summers

Featuring a new, open design, inside the branch are seaside-themed electronic images on the wall along with three privacy booths and three meeting rooms for customers and bank assistants. 

One room, called the ‘safe space’ room, is designed for victims of domestic violence or abuse and anybody can come into the branch and ask to speak to a staff member, who have all been trained to deal with the matter. 

There has also been an investment worth “hundreds of thousands” of pounds in new technology and equipment, all designed to make banking in person easier but also more attractive. 

Rachel Hill, HSBC UK’s local director, said: “This building is our new layout that we will be seeing across HSBC, it’s the design of our flagship branch. 

“We have designed the new branch to be more fluid for our customers who want to come in for quicker enquiries and support. 

“But we also have the booths offering privacy for the customers who need to sit down and have longer interactions.” 

She added: “It was a really big point for us to show the commitment and the investment into Bournemouth, which is a full-service branch. 

“This is also only the fourth new branch that has opened in living memory, another one was in Poole where it moved from Longfleet to High Street. 

“Footfall in branches reduced when we announced our last set of closures over a year ago; regular custom had reduced by 65 per cent in five years and 98 per cent of transactions the bank sees as a whole are digital. 

“The way branches are used are changing and over the years we will see more pop-up branches.”