Bank branches out to Havelock North village

The HBS Bank has opened a Havelock North branch.
It continues a busy period of growth for the bank after its merger with Southland's SBS Bank and the rollout of everyday banking services.
Located at 1 Napier Rd, the new branch joins existing Hastings and Napier branches.
HBS Bank manager Blair Cross said the Hawke's Bay community would continue to benefit from the bank's increased activity.
"We are extremely proud of our rich heritage in the Bay and what we have achieved during the past year," Mr Cross said.
"As Hawke's Bay's local bank and a customer-owned New Zealand bank, we are committed to ensuring the benefits of our success flow directly to our customers and our communities. That's why we're giving back $100,000 to the Hawke's Bay community through sponsorships every year for the next five years.
"Whether they're little grassroot groups like bowling clubs and preschools, or major sponsorship partners like the HBS Bank Hawks and HBS Bank Christmas in the Park, every sponsorship is of equal importance to us," Mr Cross said.
Opening the Havelock North branch was another proud moment in a monumental year for the bank which included a merger that had grown the business, bank registration, the expansion of products and services and more recently the major refurbishment of the Hastings branch, he said.
The bank now offered everyday transactional banking, free transactional banking for non-profit groups, savings and investment options and insurances.
"We have a long and proud history in Hawke's Bay and we're looking forward to continuing to help our communities grow into the future."
The Hastings Building Society merged with SBS last year.
Under the agreement, all staff and management were retained and the 125-year-old HBS brand continued locally.
Frank Spencer, former chairman of the former Hastings Building Society, said last year that he became interested in the merger because SBS was also a mutually owned organisation. That meant all depositors and borrowers automatically became an owner with one voting right. HBS members voted 98 per cent in favour of the merger.