Chinese financial institution ICBC has knocked HSBC off the second spot in a ranking of the world’s biggest banks.
The Brand Finance Banking 500, conducted by leading brand valuation and strategy consultancy Brand Finance plc, and published in the February edition of The Banker, is an annual league table of the world’s biggest banks, ranked by their brand value.
US banking institution Wells Fargo retained the top spot from last year’s rankings. But Chinese banks illustrated the growth of financial services in developing economies with ICBC and China Construction Bank rising from sixth place to second place, and from ninth place to fourth place, respectively.
According to the analysis, the brands of UK banks collectively lost 3% of their value this year. But there were individual winners and losers among UK institutions. For example, between 2014 and 2015, Lloyds saw its value rise by 16% (from $5.9bn to $6.9bn), while Coutts had 42% of its brand value wiped out in the past 12 months, plummeting from $340m in 2014 to $197m in 2015.
Reflecting the ongoing turmoil in the eurozone, bank brand values in Spain fell by 2% and those of Italian institutions dropped by 5%. Meanwhile, the brand value of German banks tumbled by 6% and those of French institutions by 19%.
Alongside the growth of Chinese banks, other developing nations saw a strong rise in the brand value in their banking institutions.
The top five fastest-growing countries were Morocco (with a total bank brand value increase of 98%), India (rising 61%), Nigeria (growth of 52%), the United Arab Emirates (increasing by 45%) and Colombia (rising by 44%).
David Haigh, CEO, Brand Finance, said, “A strong brand builds loyalty, helping to reduce churn. As switching becomes easier, and with nimble competitors emerging, some banks may have to rely on the power of their brand ever more heavily to hold on to customers.”