Wells Fargo Stays Number 1 For Brand Value Rankings

Tom Burroughes

4 February 2014

Wells Fargo remains the world's most valuable banking brand, while a number of other North American banks stay high up the charts, according to an annual survey of 500 firms by Brand Finance.

The top bank for brand value is Wells Fargo, retaining the same position as a year before; HSBC is second, up one place; Bank of America is third, also up a place, and Citi is fourth, up one; Chase is fifth, down from second, while ICBC is sixth, up one; BNP Paribas is seventh, up from ninth; Santander is eighth, down from sixth; China Construction Bank is 9th, down from 10th.

Other banks of note are Agricultural Bank of China ; MUFG ; Bank of China ; Barclays ; JP Morgan ; Deutsche Bank ; Royal Bank of Canada ; Sberbank ; Toronto Dominion ; UBS and Bradesco .

The Brand Finance Banking 500 survey is an annual study conducted by Brand Finance, a brand valuation firm, and published in The Banker. The world’s biggest banks are ranked by their brand value, with the results reflecting industry trends and indicating future developments.

The report noted that Australian banks have fared well in the charts; almost all of them saw their brand value go up. Australia’s top bank brand, ANZ, has added $93 million to its value, resulting in a total brand value of over $5.9 billion and a rank of 39th in the world. Westpac has also had a successful year. It has grown its brand value by 19 per cent, a rise of $793 million, bringing its total to $4.9 billion.

The fastest gains have been made by the lower ranked bank brands, however. BT Financial Group has grown by a whopping 94 per cent to a total brand value of over half a billion dollars. This means it places 203rd globally, having jumped 93 places up the global rankings. Suncorp is up 28 per cent while Bankwest has also seen an increase of over 20 per cent.

Wells Fargo, the top firm in the charts, had a total brand value of over $30 billion. HSBC’s brand value has grown by $4 billion, while UBS’ is up $3.35 billion, a 46 per cent rise.

There have been reverses, however, such as in BRIC countries - namely Russia, India and Brazil. Brazil, Russia and India national brand value totals are down 6 per cent, 13 per cent and 23 per cent respectively. China, however, continues to grow strongly. Its banks have added a total of nearly $19 billion and there are now three Chinese bank brands in the global top ten, the report said.

QNB is the Middle East's most valuable bank brand for another year, with a brand value of $1.8 billion. However, banks from the UAE represent the greatest total brand value of any Middle Eastern country, with a combined brand value of nearly $6 billion.

In the ASEAN region, DBS is the most valuable brand, moving up to 54th place in 2014 from 58th place.