"What's your bank ever done for you?" Well, there were the aqueducts... wrong script…read more.. Having a Private banking account with Natwest has offered lots of benefits over the years. Lately it seemed costs were rising & benefits getting trimmed. I was beginning to question whether this was value for money. With the opening of the private lounge at the well-placed grand central branch, the benefits look much more attractive. It's truly a lovely space in which customers can have a coffee, do some business before they catch a train, or even stay for a couple of hours and do their work. It also has a small meeting room that seats around six people which you can book out. Well done NatWest! You had me at the espresso machine, but those tasty treats as well...

Perhaps it isn't as modern as many of the other branches on New Street (and trust me it's a lot)…read morebut this HSBC store, located right before the crossing where you can turn left for the Grand Central, or carry on across the road for the Apple Store heading towards Colmore Row, it still is a pretty decent branch consisting of probably the most banking machines (paying in/withdrawing money) I've seen in a bank. The store is pretty large and it does offer a good deal of basic facilities, while the emphasis on digital banking is low - but considering the amount of newer and more digital banks nearby that's ok. The opening hours of 9 am to 6 pm every-day, other than Tuesday's where they open half an hour later for training and Sunday's where obviously they don't open are also amongst the best in the area. The staff seemed friendly enough. While this HSBC store doesn't really do anything that makes me scream "Wow" and it isn't overly impressive, it merely does the job with a decent range of basic facilities in a good, central Birmingham location. 3*

I have been a customer of HSBC bank for a long, long time. I originally started my account before…read morestarting University (in the days forgotten when they offered either a free railcard or a £50 cash bonus when you opened a Student account) in Newport Pagnell. My local branch was small, personal and welcoming in the little town that I grew up in; nothing like the megabank monstrosity that is on New Street. This bank had a refurb a couple of years ago to make it more "modern", but in reality they took away a good 90% of counter services and replaced it with automated ATM's and paying in machines (to minimise staffing) and add a new "business banking" section (as business customers must make them much more moolah than personal ones). This all sounds very negative, but it's a bank... It's all about money. I popped in for the first time in ages last week to pay some physical cash into my account. As I had coins, I couldn't go down the machine route and had to use counter services instead. First things first, I was greeted and aided by a member of staff (as I probably looked a little bewildered) and even though it was lunchtime, it wasn't jam packed. I duly filled in my paying in form at one of the many counters (with working pens, I might add) and mooched on over to counter services. Again, it was lunchtime, so there was a queue. That being said, I was at the counter within about 10 minutes; so no complaints there! The young lady who served me was helpful, polite and very pleasant to deal with. I had counted out the various denominations of coins and notes and she duly recounted (not being annoyed that I had made an error on my paying in form) and efficiently dealt with my enquiry. I was in and out in around 20 minutes. This was at about 1pm in the afternoon, so hat's off to the staff who kept things moving swiftly whilst still being helpful and offering service with a smile. I'm not going to tell you to use this bank necessarily (I'm sure other banks offer much better personal accounts), but if you do have cause to enter this huge temple to capitalism on New Street; it's A OK with me.

Most definately the best branch of Natwest in Birmingham. Central to everything and everyone,…read moreclean, calm and organised. Of course you have to queue - it wouldn't be a bank otherwise! However you never have to wait too long here as you nearly always get served by friendly staff within 10 minutes at busy times and 5 minutes at off peak times, which as I'm sure most of you will know is pretty great for a bank. If you happen to be in the city centre and are in need of a Natwest then do visit this one!