As the Banking Standards Board considered its first regional visit, Board members Bishop David Urquhart, Bishop of Birmingham, and Antonio Simoes, Chief Executive of HSBC Bank plc, were keen that the BSB team should go to Birmingham to talk with and listen to those who help make it such a rich and vibrant city.

Bishop David hosted breakfast with leading figures from the local community and a skills and employment roundtable with banks, building societies, trade unions and local education providers. Pinsent Masons and the Birmingham Chamber hosted a lunch event with a cross-section of local employers and the afternoon featured a big debate at Birmingham University Business School focused on how banking can help achieve a dynamic regional economy. Overall, we engaged with 200 people from many different walks of life.

The shared passion for Birmingham and the West Midlands was striking and the growing financial services sector was seen as a major positive for future employment and opportunity. There was a strong sense of optimism and evidence of a local banking sector striving to forge and maintain close community links. However, it was also clear that parts of the community were yet to feel the benefits of economic growth, which brought home the need for businesses in Birmingham to be driven by wider social values, not just the bottom line.

An emphasis on the importance of a return to relationship banking as the foundation for rebuilding business and public trust was evident throughout a fascinating and very thought-provoking day.

Business Quarter reviews the BSB’s inaugural visit to Birmingham, see page 15 of the magazine’s Winter 2015 West Midlands edition.

Read Bishop David Urquhart’s summary of the day.