By Yakubu LAAH InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Access Bank Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Ltd, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc are among the world’s top 500 banks, according to a report by The Banker magazine of Financial Times and Brand Finance, London in its annual 2015 ‘The Top 500’ banking brands unveiled on Monday.
The report revealed that First Bank for the fourth consecutive year has ranked number one banking brand in Nigeria.
Kunle Ogedengbe, the Country Representative of The Banker magazine in a statement said First Bank moved from being number 382 in 2014 to 336 in 2015.
Zenith Bank moved to number 388 from 453 in 2014, GTBank moved to 417 from 422 while Access Bank made first entry into the ranking.
It affirmed that the brand value of First Bank increased to $300 million in 2015 from $228 in 2014. Silvia Pavoni, Economics editor of the magazine, noted the brand value is the licensing rate that a third-party would need to pay to use that company’s brand.”
Pavoni commenting on the methodology of the ranking said Brand Finance obtained brand-specific financial and revenue data; modelled the market to identify market demand and the position of individual banks in the context of all other market competitors; established the royalty rate for each bank; calculated the discount rate specific to each bank, taking account of its size, geographical presence, reputation, gearing and brand rating and discounted future royalty stream (explicit forecast and perpetuity periods) to a net present value which is the brand value.
According to him, this approach is used for two reasons: it is favoured by tax authorities and the courts because it calculates brand values by reference to documented third-party transactions and it can be done based on publicly available financial information.
The report affirmed that globally, Wells Fargo of the United States retained the number one banking brand in the world for the third consecutive year and was followed by banks in China, United Kingdom and Spain in the first ten.
It said Wells Fargo’s brand value for 2015 is $34.9 billion as against $30.2 billion in 2014, an increase of $4.7 billion.
The ranking named the first ten banks in the world include Well Fargo (USA); ICBC (China); HSBC (UK); China Construction Bank; Citibank, Bank of America, Chase (USA); Agricultural Bank of China; Bank of China; and Santander (Spain).
Bryn Anderson, chief operating officer (COO) of Brand Finance commenting on the rise of Chinese banks, that the Chinese economy has been doing well for a number of years but think’s this has been the first year, in terms of brand value, when Chinese banks have climbed up the tables and stood out.
The Banker’s Top 500 Banking Brands ranking measures the value of financial services firms across the world, analysing specific sectors and geographies, and identifying the brands that have improved the most, as well as those that have suffered the greatest setbacks.
