I shook my head in puzzlement and re-read the news article on the BBC News website. My first reading was correct though:
A BBC News article was holding up the North Shore Credit Union, a small, local cooperative financing organization in North Vancouver, one that I happen to know quite well, as an example for the mighty British banks to follow. The photograph shows the pleasant interior of a branch and the text reads:
After being met by a
concierge as you step through the door, you can help yourself to a
cappuccino and a hot towel, and dispatch the children to the Kids' Zone
while you relax by the granite rock garden fountain.
Welcome not to a high-end hotel, but to the Financial Spa. It
is, in fact, a branch of the North Shore Credit Union in Vancouver,
Canada.
There are displays of local artists' work and among the
aromatherapy candles, you can discuss loans and insurance in what the
credit union describes as a "cosy, semi-private lounge" with soft music
playing in the background.
It is all a far cry from the stereotype of a branch of a UK
bank, with its long queues, poorly staffed counters and freezing cold
drafts from the overused entrance.
Is this boutique, sofa-clad destination modelled in Vancouver the bank branch of the future?
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