Best exchange rates for Euros, Sterling and Dollars is through BMI right in the Gulf Air HDQ. Yes, the service is perhaps not quite as good as HSBC, however it is extremely convenient and GF employees qualify for a no annual fee Visa card. There is an ATM just a few foot steps from Ops which dispenses various currencies.
Get a Diners Club card through BMI and it opens the doors to hundreds of Airport Lounges around the world (including all the Middle Eastern ones) for free. At 40BD per year, it offers a great value to fritter away the time in a more civilized manner as you sit around with your ID90 or Leave Ticket. While the other plebs are paying extortional prices for refreshments and nibbles and bits or trying to cozy up on the institutional-like seating in airports like Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, London, Frankfurt, Bangkok, etc., you can be enjoying a glass of wine, a light snack, surfing the free internet or even taking a shower before your connecting flight.
I used to be an HSBC customer for over 5 years in Bahrain but finally got fed up with their fees. Yes, it is a global bank but it is only as good as the employees at the local branch.
Had an auto-loan when I joined with Standard Charter. All I can suggest is stay far, far away from these BANDITS!!!
I defected to Khaleeji Commercial Bank with which I am EXTREMELY pleased. They only have a few branches but they make me feel like a VIP whenever I go visit their branch at the Financial Harbour. I can use any ATM machine in Bahrain at no fee. For squirling away money, I get about 4%-4.5% annual interest on one of their Mudarabah Accounts, as long as I maintain a minimum balance of at least 10,000 BHD throughout the period.