Convert a First Direct Statement to Excel

First Direct statement conversion, its HSBC-derived layout, and the day-level balance verification that layout requires.

First Direct is part of HSBC, and its statements inherit HSBC UK conventions — including the one that matters most for verification.

The balance appears once per day

Like HSBC UK, First Direct prints the running balance against the last transaction of each day rather than on every row. Intermediate rows leave it blank.

The consequence is that a per-row chain check fails immediately, not because the data is wrong but because most rows have nothing to check against. Verification has to work at day level.

How day-level verification works

Take the closing balance for a day. Apply every debit and credit dated the next day. The result should equal that next day's printed closing balance. Repeat across the statement.

If a day fails, the error is in that day's transactions — which on a typical account narrows the search to a handful of rows. That is nearly as useful as a per-row check.

Balance printed	Verification available	Precision
Every row	Per-row chain	Identifies the exact wrong row
Once per day	Per-day chain	Identifies the wrong day
Opening and closing only	Totals comparison	Identifies that something is wrong
None	None	Cannot verify

What the First Direct export contains

In the file	What you get
First Direct's own columns	Every heading as printed, in the same order, type code included where printed
Dates	Exactly as printed, with nothing reformatted
Descriptions	In full, with continuation lines joined into one cell
Paid out and Paid in	Each figure in the column First Direct printed it in
Balance	Where First Direct printed one, and blank where it did not — never a zero it did not print

Reconstructing a daily balance

If you need a balance on every row — for a minimum-balance check, for example — you can compute one rather than relying on the printed column.

Start from the opening balance and apply each transaction in order. That gives a complete series, and you can then check it against the day-end balances the statement does print. Where they agree, the reconstruction is sound.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my balance column mostly empty?

That is how First Direct prints it — once per day. The cells are deliberately left blank rather than filled with zeros.

Can I get a balance on every row?

You can compute one from the opening balance and the transactions, then confirm it agrees with the day-end balances the statement does print.

Does this affect accuracy?

It affects how precisely a failure can be located, not whether the extraction is correct. Day-level checking still catches errors reliably.

Convert a statement now

Bank Statement PDF to Excel, or see every format. More in the guides.