ASB’s South Island Regional Centre to open at The Crossing

Friday, 20 November 2015, 9:35 am
Press Release: ASB Bank

November 20, 2015

ASB will open a new Christchurch central city branch and South Island Regional Centre within The Crossing retail and hospitality precinct, when it opens in 2017.

The tenancy at the site, cornering High St and Cashel St, marks the return of a permanent base for ASB in central Christchurch. Since the city’s earthquakes, ASB has been supporting customers from a temporary portacom branch in Cashel Mall and regional centre on Colombo St.

The new, purpose-built 200 square metre CBD branch will support customers through multiple digital channels and offer the latest digital banking services including 24-hour automated ‘express banking’ transactions, business banking, Smart ATMs and video access to banking experts alongside the friendly, local branch team.

Immediately above the branch on the prominent north-eastern corner of The Crossing, the new ASB South Island Regional Centre will provide a 1,637 square metre, two-level office space for more than 130 people from the ASB retail, commercial, wealth and insurance and rural banking teams. The centre will employ the latest in workplace design and technology and operate on the principles of activity-based working – similar to ASB’s head office in Auckland.

With a development cost of $140 million, The Crossing is the largest private development currently underway in central Christchurch.

ASB Executive General Manager of Corporate, Commercial and Rural Steve Jurkovich says ASB is pleased to be a major tenant within The Crossing.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

“We are pleased to be returning to the heart of Christchurch city and to be playing a role in the regeneration of the area with the development of this exciting new precinct,” Mr Jurkovich says.

“We are confident The Crossing will be the new vibrant heart of inner city Christchurch and ASB is pleased to be based there.”

Philip Carter, the Christchurch businessman behind The Crossing, says he’s pleased to welcome ASB just a few weeks after UK mega-brand TOPSHOP TOPMAN announced it will site its flagship South Island store within The Crossing’s contemporary retail and hospitality precinct.

“The strong retail position that ASB has taken reinforces our confidence in the project,” Mr Carter says.

“We’re developing The Crossing from the perspective that ‘the city really does start here’. It’s incredibly heartening to see things taking shape commercially in central Christchurch.

“The Crossing will be an outstanding development, the quality of which has never been seen before in the South Island,” Mr Carter says.

An integrated 630-space carpark building is an important component of the overall precinct, which covers a one-hectare block between Cashel Mall, Colombo, Lichfield and High Streets.

Mr Carter describes The Crossing as an architecturally striking commercial hub, incorporating feature laneways and courtyards that blend retail, business and hospitality with culture, fashion and art.

ASB was the first bank to return to the Christchurch CBD following the city’s earthquakes, supporting customers from a temporary portacom branch in Cashel Mall as part of the Re: START initiative, and also re-establishing the current regional centre on Colombo St.

ENDS

ASB Bank

Helping you get one step ahead.

In 1847, ASB opened as the Auckland Savings Bank with the pledge: 'to serve the community; to grow and to help Kiwis grow'. And that is very much what ASB is about today.

ASB is a leading provider of integrated financial services in New Zealand including retail, business and rural banking, funds management and insurance.

ASB strives to consistently provide its customers with outstanding service and innovative financial solutions. They're dedicated to providing simple financial products that allow their customers to bank with them how and when they want.

We all have our own ways to measure progress, and our own stories about the things that matter to us. Whatever way you choose to measure progress, and whatever your goals, ASB is there to help you get one step ahead.