globalbrandintelligencesince1996 march|2025

BuildingTrust,SecuringGrowth

TheNeweraofBraNdPoweriNBaNkiNg

March2025|BrandFinanceJournal|3

BrandFinanceJournal2025Banking500|Contents

Contents

BrandFinanceJournal2025Banking500

FOREWORD

5

byDavidHaigh,

Editor-In-Chief,Chairman,BrandFinance

INTRODUCTION7

byAnnieBrown,ValuationDirector,BrandFinance

MAINFEATURE:8

Top500BankingBrands

byJoyMacknight,EditorialContributor,BrandFinanceJournal

TOPBANKCEOS14

BrandFinance2025BrandGuardianshipIndex

byDavidHaigh,Editor-In-Chief,Chairman,BrandFinance

GLOBALTRENDSANDREGIONALINSIGHTS16

AFRICA:BanksPunchAbovetheirWeightwithStrongBrandGrowth18

byJennyMoore,Strategy&InsightConsultant,BrandFinance

BRANDSPOTLIGHT:Capitec22

byFrancoisViviers,GroupExecutiveMarketing&Communications,Capitec

BRANDSPOTLIGHT:Nedbank24

byTebogoMotsepe,ExecutiveHead,MarketingStrategy,GMCANedbank

ASIA&PACIFIC:BankingGiantsThriveAmidRapidGrowthandInnovation26

byAlexHaigh,ManagingDirector,BrandFinanceAsiaPacific

BRANDSPOTLIGHT:DBS30

byKarenNgui,ManagingDirector&Head,DBSFoundationandDBSGroupStrategicMarketing&Communications

BRANDSPOTLIGHT:KBFinancial32

byJongHeeYang,Chairman&CEO,KBFinancialGroupInc.

BRANDSPOTLIGHT:Maybank34

byDato’KhairussalehRamli,President&GroupCEO,Maybank

EUROPE:CautiousOptimismforaNewEraofBrandGrowthandInfluence36

byAnnieBrown,ValuationDirector,BrandFinance

BRANDSPOTLIGHT:BancaTransilvania40

by?merTetik,CEO,BancaTransilvania

BRANDSPOTLIGHT:BNPParibas42

byEliseHermant,HeadofGroupCommunications,BNPParibas

MIDDLEEAST:ABankingSectorDefinedbyOpportunityandStability44

bySavioD’Souza,ValuationDirector,BrandFinance

BRANDSPOTLIGHT:Mashreq48

byAhmedAbdelaal,GroupChiefExecutiveOfficer,Mashreq

NORTHAMERICA:AFinancialPowerhouseFacingTrustandGrowthGaps50

byLaurenceNewell,ManagingDirector,BrandFinanceAmericas

andAlfredDuPuy,Strategy&ValuationDirector,BrandFinanceAmericas

BRANDSPOTLIGHT:TD52

byTyrrellSchmidt,ChiefMarketingOfficer,TDBankGroup

SOUTHAMERICA:FintechandDigitalBankingFuelBrandValueGrowth54

byEduardoChaves,ManagingDirector,BrandFinanceBrazil

andPilarAlonsoUlloa,ManagingDirector,BrandFinanceSouthAmerica

SPONSORSHIPFEATURE:60

EmergingSponsorshipTrendsAmongBankingBrands

byScottMoore,SportsServicesSeniorConsultant,BrandFinance

TOP500BANKINGBRANDS

62

METHODOLOGY

72

March2025|BrandFinanceJournal|5

DavidHaigh|Foreword

DiveDeeperintoBrandValueandWhatDrivesIt

Theinsightinthisreport

isderivedfromourproprietarybrandequityresearchdataandbrandvaluecalculations.

MuchofthisisavailableviaBrandirectory,ouronlinebrandvaluedatabasewhereweranktheworld’sleadingbrandsbytheirvaluesacross31sectorsand41countriesandregions.

BrandEquityData

Industryandregionalcomparisonsofbrandstrengthfromourannualglobalresearchstudyofover6000brands

toinformstrategicbranddecisions

/research

BankingSector

ValueTables

Ourrankingtablesofthetop500bankingbrandsinthe

worldbyvaluefrom2007to2025

/banking

SustainabilityPerceptions

Ourreportonthecontributionthatperceptionsofsustainabilitymaketothevaluesoftheworld’s

Foreword

byDavidHaigh,Editor-In-Chief,Chairman,BrandFinance

Theglobalbankinglandscapestandsatacrossroadsshapedbyunprecedentedgeopoliticaltensions,rapidtechnologicaladvancements,andchangingconsum-ertrustdynamics.Thesefactorsmeanthatmeasuringbrandvalueandbrandstrengthintheglobalbankingindustryismoreimportantthaneverbefore.

InourlatestBrandFinanceBanking500report,weexplorenotonlywhichbankingbrandsleadinvalue,butcriti-cally,howthesebrandsareadaptingtoashiftingglobalorder.

Traditionalbanks,confrontedwithregulatorycomplexities,digitaltrans-formationimperatives,andintensemarketvolatilityareconsolidatingtheir

Meanwhile,newdigital-firstbanksareperceivedasofferinganexcellentuserexperience.

Thismeansthatthereisariskforsometraditionalbankstogetcaughtinthemiddle,losingcustomersinbothdirec-tions.Meanwhile,therearebrandrisksatstartupbankscausedbycorebankingerrors,whileexperiencedbankbrandsfacegreaterriskoftechnicaldisruption.Inearly2025,Barclaysbanksufferedsuchdisruption,andDeutscheBank’sintegrationwithPostbankcausedchal-lengesforoveradecade.

Geopolitically,weseetheMiddleEastemergingasapivotalintermediarybe-tweenEastandWest,boostingthevalue

Brandirectoryisthegatewaytomuchdeeperinsighttowhatdrivesbrandstrengthandbrandvalue.

enquiries@

leadingbrands

/sustainability

BrandGuardianshipIndex

OurmeasureofthecontributionthatCEOsmakeas“guardians”ofthevalueoftheirbrands

/

brand-guardianship

BrandValueReports

Requestyourowncustombrandvaluereport,providingadetaileddiagnosisofbrandstrengthandvaluerelativetocompetitorswithroyaltyratesandcostofcapitalcalculations

/

request-a-valuation

strengthsandrefiningtheirbrandarchi-

tectures.Changesininterestratelevelsaremakingthisurgentformanybank-ingleaders.

Inthefaceofrisingonlinebankingscamsandgeopoliticaluncertainty,theimpor-tanceoftrusthassurged.Brandsabletodeliverrobustsecurity,seamlessdigitalexperiences,andclearcommunicationarepoisedtodominateretailbanking.Increasingly,someconsumersareplac-ingtheirconfidenceinlarger,well-estab-lishedbankscapableofnavigatingregula-torylandscapesandleveraginginnovativefinancialadvisoryservices.Whileothersareswitchingtodigital-firstneobankssuchasRevolut,whichhasincreasedinbrandvaluefromUSD216milliontoUSD1.9billionthisyear.

Bothendsofthebankingmarketof-fersignificantstrengths:experiencedbankingbrandsareperceivedashavingstrengthandreliabilityinofferingcorebankingproducts.

"Banking

brandstodayarenotjustfacilitatorsoffinancialtransactions;

theyarecornerstonesofglobaltrade,trustedadvisorsinwealthmanagement,andcriticalplayersinshapingtheeconomicfuture."

ofbankingbrandsinthatregion.Mean-

while,theglobalexpansionofChinesebankscontinues,particularlyacrossdevelopingnations,reflectingChina'sincreasingsoftpowerandstrategicin-vestmentininnovationandintellectualproperty.

Bankingbrandstodayarenotjustfa-cilitatorsoffinancialtransactions;theyarecornerstonesofglobaltrade,trustedadvisorsinwealthmanagement,andcriticalplayersinshapingtheeconom-icfuture.Navigatingthesecomplexitiesdemandsaclearunderstandingofyourbrand’scurrentpositionandfuturepo-tential.

Thisnewreport,baseduponBrandFi-nance’sownextensivemarketresearchandanalysis,shouldbethefirststepinprotectingandbuildingyourbankingbrand.BrandFinancestandsreadytomeasureyourbrand'struevalue,helpyouleverageiteffectively,andsecureyourplaceinthefutureofbanking.

Introduction|AnnieBrown

AnnieBrown|Introduction

6|BrandFinanceJournal|March2025

March2025|BrandFinanceJournal|7

Introduction

byAnnieBrown,ValuationDirector,BrandFinance

TheBankingindustryisthelargestandmostsignificantindustrygloballyandrepresents13%ofglobalbrandvalue.Banksfacilitatetheeconomicgrowthallpeople,businesses,andcountriesseekinacompetitive,complex,andpossiblyre-cessionaryworld.

Tonavigatethis,choosingtherightbankasatrustedpartnerandadvisorisamis-sioncriticalexerciseforallsegments:individuals,smallandmediumsizeden-terprises,largecorporates,andanyenti-tiesinbetween.Theubiquityandgravityofthischoicemeansbanksmustengen-dertrustbyfocusingontheattributeswhichareimportanttoeachcustomergroup.Ensuringtheirbrandidentitiesarealignedwiththoseattributesishowbankswillsatisfytheircustomersandgrowtheirmarketshare.

Thisreportmarksthe19thiterationofBrandFinancerankingtheworld’smostvaluablebankingbrands,whichwelaunchedpartiallyinresponsetotheglobalfinancialcrisisin2007.

Significantregulatoryandtechnologicalchangehasensuedsincethen,andwebelieve2025willmarkthebeginningofaneweraofbanking,inwhichbrandstrengthbecomesevenmorefundamen-taltosuccessforbanks.

Thisyear,wehavelaunchedanupdated,statistically-testedapproachtoevalu-atethestrengthofbrands.OurevolvedBrandStrengthIndexidentifiestheatti-tudesandbehaviourswhichdrivechoiceandvalueinthishypercompetitivein-dustry.

ThiscommerciallygroundedapproachisindispensabletoallbankCMOswhendevelopingtheirmarketingandbrandstrategiestonavigatethenexteraofbanking.

MainFeature|Top500BankingBrands

Top500BankingBrands|MainFeature

8|BrandFinanceJournal|March2025

March2025|BrandFinanceJournal|9

Top500BankingBrands

Challengerbanksmadesignificantadvancesinthisyear’sranking,successfullybuildingcustomertrustinadigitalenvironment,whileEuropeanbrandsexperiencedaresurgence.

byJoyMacknight,EditorialContributor,BrandFinanceJournal

F

day,customer-exclusiveexperiencewasdesignedtodeepenengagementandthankcustomers.“Theeventsetanewprecedentintheindustry,demon-stratingourdedicationtoputtingourcustomersatthecentreofeverythingwedo,”headds.

Inanothermeteoricleap,Dutchchallengerbunqhasenteredtherankingforthefirsttime,jumpinginat309thplaceandjoiningnationalheavyweightsING,RabobankandABNAmro.

“Wewanttobuildabankthatpeoplelovetouseandarewillingtopayfor,notbecausetheyhavetobutbecauseittrulymakestheirlifeeasy.Assuch,brandvalueisabouttherealimpactwemakethroughourproductsandfeatures,”saysBiancaZwart,chiefstrat-egyofficeratbunq.

Thebankorganisesliveeventstounveilitslatestfea-

Global10byBrandValue(USDm)

Brand

Country

BrandValue

2025

BrandValue

2024

1

ICBC

China

$79,073

$71,828

Brand

Country

BSI

2025

BSI

2024

1

BCA

Indonesia

97.1

93.8

2 ChinaConstructionBank

China

$78,389

$65,604

3 AgriculturalBankofChina

China

$70,198

$60,398

4 BankofChina

China

$63,842

$50,469

5 BankofAmerica

UnitedStates

$45,041

$37,256

6 Chase

UnitedStates

$44,177

$35,807

7 WellsFargo

UnitedStates

$36,031

$35,807

8 Citi

UnitedStates

$35,652

$31,401

9 J.P.Morgan

UnitedStates

$32,397

$30,762

10 ChinaMerchantsBank

China

$28,279

$26,644

Global10byBrandStrengthIndex

?BrandFinancePlc2025

?BrandFinancePlc2025

orthefourthyearrunning,theaggregatebrandvalueoftheTop500BankingBrandshasregisteredgrowth,butit’sthefirsttimeinthosefouryearsthattherankinghasmanagedadouble-digitincrease.Afterafew

lacklustreyearsofaround2%rise,totalbrandvalueofthe2025listhasswelledby13%–thehighestexpansionratesince2019whenitgrewby15%.Thetotalbrandvaluenowstandsat$1.6trillion.

“Thehighinterestenvironmentseeninmanymajoreconomieshasundoubtedlycontributedtobrandvaluegrowth,andmoregenerallyprofitandsharepricevaluegrowthin2024,”saysAnnieBrown,valuationdirectoratBrandFinance.“Butlongerterm,brandvalueisbeingdrivenbyanacceleratingundercurrentoffourkeyfactors:regulation,digitalinnovation,increasedemphasisonfees-basedincomeversusinterestmargins,andafocusonbrandbuildingtoholdacompetitiveedge.”

Brownreportsamultitudeofstrategiesandtacticstobuildbrandvalueandretaintrustinthelightofcurrentchallengesfacingbankingbrands.“It’sexcitingtoseehowmuchinnovationthereisinthisspace.Fromdigitallyenabledcustomerexperienceimprovementstomajormassmedia,or‘a(chǎn)bovetheline’,campaignstofinancialinclusion,bankingbrandsareworkinghardtomaintaincustomers’trust,”shesays.

RISEOFTHENEOBANKS

Continuousinnovationisbecomingincreasinglyim-portanttostaycompetitive,asdigital-firstchallenger

bankscontinuetomoveuptheranks.Forexample,thetwofastestgrowingbrandsbypercentagethisyearareneobanks:Revolut,whichsurged795%toreacha$1.9billionvaluation;andNubank,whichgrew195%to$4.0billion.

Impressively,Brazil’sNubankclimbed83positionsto90thplace,enteringthetop100forthefirsttime.It’snowthefourthbiggestbankingbrandinLatinAmerica,rapidlyexpandingitscustomerbasedo-mestically,aswellasinColombiaandMexico.

Joiningthetop500forthefirsttimejusttwoyearsago,Revolutnowsitsin144thposition.Itjumped327spotsduetostrongrevenuegrowthandcustomerex-pansion,aswellasanupgradedbrandstrengthrat-ingfromA+toAA.Thebankmadegainsonthebackofsignificantmarketinginvestmentandits‘FutureofMoney’campaign,whichlaunchedacross17mar-ketsandspannedTV,print,social,radio,andout-of-homechannels.

“In2024,weinvestedheavilyinmakingRevolutahouseholdnamethroughmultiplelarge-scalebrandcampaigns,astrongpresenceinkeytravelhubsandengagingmajorconsumereventsinFrance,Spain,theUKandHungary,enablingustoconnectwithtargetedaudiencesatscale,”saysAntoineLeNel,whowaspromotedtoRevolut’schiefgrowthandmarket-ingofficerinmid-2024.

LastyeartheUKbankhosted‘TheRevolutionaries’,amilestoneeventcelebratingits50millioncustomers

–“oneofourbiggestmoments”,saysLeNel.Thetwo-

tures.UsersflytoAmsterdamfromacrossEuropefortheupdates,whichhavebeeninstrumentalinbuild-ingastrong,engagedusercommunityformorethanadecade,accordingtoZwart.

bunq’smostsuccessfulcampaignin2024wasthelaunchofa3.36%bonussavingsratefornewcus-tomersinJuly.“WhentheEuropeanCentralBankstartedraisinginterestrates,wepassedthatbenefitontousersinourcoremarkets.Customerswereat-tractedbytheclearpromiseandthensawotherben-efitswhenusingtheproduct,”sheexplains.

Brownbelievesthatdigitallynativebankswillcontin-uetoperformwell.“Additionally,largerbankswithdeeppocketswillthrivewithnewdigitalinnovationstoenhanceefficienciesandlowercosts,aswellasim-provecustomerexperienceandbuildbrandloyalty,”shesays.“Thismeansthatsmaller,regionalbanksmayfalltothewaysideiftheystruggletokeeppacewiththerateofinnovationatthetopofthemarket.”

CHINESELENDERSTOPTABLE

Therewaslittlemovementattheapexofthe2025ranking.ThefourChinesemegabankshaveen-trenchedtheirleadingpositions,withIndustrialandCommercialBankofChina(ICBC)remainingthepremierbrandfortheninthyearrunning.

ICBC,whichcelebratedits40thanniversaryin2024,expandeditsbrandvalueby10%,to$79.1billion.It’salsotheforemostbrandincommercialbanking,apo-sitionithasheldformorethanadecadeandplacedinthetop10forinvestmentbankingandretailbanking.

Nubank Brazil 95.3 85.8

BancaTransilvania Romania 95.3 92.3

Vietcombank Vietnam 95.3 89.1

5 BankofSingapore Singapore 94.7 -

6 CapitecBank

SouthAfrica

94.6

89.1

7 KenyaCommercialBank

Kenya

94.4

91.5

8 JPBank

Japan

93.9

79.0

9 DiscoverBank

UnitedStates

93.9

-

10 ChinaConstructionBank

China

93.7

88.3

Thebrandstrengthandvaluefiguresreferredtointhisarticle,alongwithourannualrankingsfrom2007to2025areavailablevia

/banking

MainFeature|Top500BankingBrands

Top500BankingBrands|MainFeature

10|BrandFinanceJournal|March2025

March2025|BrandFinanceJournal|11

ClimbersbyPercentageChange2025 ?BrandFinancePlc2025

Brand

Country

BrandValueChange

1

Revolut

UnitedKingdom

795.1%

2 Nubank

Brazil

194.7%

3 CaixaGeraldeDepositos

Portugal

163.2%

4 AlliedIrishBanks(AIB)

Ireland

158.2%

5 NationalBankofGreece

Greece

147.6%

6 VTBBank

Russia

123.5%

7 BancoMacro

Argentina

113.8%

8 CathayUnitedBank

China(Taiwan)

102.4%

9 CapitecBank

SouthAfrica

99.9%

10 PiraeusBank

Greece

99.3%

11 SouthStateBank

UnitedStates

97.5%

12 BancoBPI

Portugal

97.2%

13 MB

Vietnam

86.6%

14 BancaMediolanum

Italy

85.6%

15 BankofKyoto

Japan

79.2%

16 Spuerkeess

Luxembourg

77.0%

17 BankAustria

Austria

69.8%

18 PKOBankPolski

Poland

65.1%

19 CaliforniaBank&Trust

UnitedStates

65.0%

20 FultonFinancial

UnitedStates

64.8%

Inthefaceofthesevereandcomplexexternalenvi-ronmentoverthepastyear,theChinesemegabankfocusedonbank-wideservicesforitsfivepriorities:technologyfinance,greenfinance,inclusivefinance,pensionfinanceanddigitalfinance,accordingtoitsinterimresultsbriefinginAugust2024.

ChinaConstructionBank(CCB),AgriculturalBankofChinaandBankofChinahavemaintainedsecond,thirdandfourthspots,allwithdouble-digitgrowthrates.ChinaMerchantsBankhasremainedintheglobaltop10,despiterecordingonly6%growthinbrandvalue.

Thetotalvalueofthe70Chinesebrands(includingHongKongandTaiwan)grewbyonly6%in2024,yetthisstillcontributed$26.7billionadditionalvaluetotheranking.Ofthe68thatwereinlastyear’srank-ing,only20sawanincreaseinbrandvalue.Taiwan’sCathayUnitedBankledthepack,witha102%riseinvaluation,andjumped67placesto186th.

Whileeightofthetop10Chinesebanksincreasedtheirbrandvalue,institutionslowerdowntherank-inghaveseensignificantcontractions.Chinesenamesmadeup10outthetop20fallersbypercent-age,includingBankofZhengzhou,Tianjin-basedChinaBohaiBankandChongqingRuralCommer-

billion.Maintainingitsglobalpositionoffifth,italsoplacesinthetop10brandsinretailbanking,com-mercialbankingandinvestmentbanking.

ChaseovertookWellsFargotoreachsixthplace–theonlychangeintheglobaltop10positioning.Chaserecordeda23%jumpinbrandvalueversusWellsFargo’sanaemic1%increase.CitiandJ.P.Morganhaveretainedeighthandninthspots,respectively.

EUROPE’SREBOUND

Afterseveralyearsinthedoldrums,the125Europeanbankingbrandsappearinginthetop500haveseenan24%aggregateincreaseinbrandvalue,thebiggestregionalrise.Thisisanimpressiveturnaroundcom-paredtothe2.4%growthseeninlastyear’sranking.

Mostbanksintheregionsawsolidgrowth–only18ofthe118thatappearedinthe2024rankingrecord-edadropinbrandvalue.

Inthecountrytable,UKovertookCanadatoplacethirdwitha27%increaseintotalbrandvalue,whilePortugalsawthebiggestsurge(123%)ofthetop50countries,addingtwonewbanksBancoMontepioandNovoBanco.

2

UnitedStates

$359,462

8.3%

3

UnitedKingdom

$85,003

27.6%

4

Canada

$71,289

-0.1%

5

France

$46,152

20.2%

6

India

$43,353

16.7%

7

Spain

$43,254

22.7%

8

Japan

$42,337

24.2%

9

Australia

$32,568

22.5%

10

Singapore

$30,600

41.4%

11

Brazil

$28,576

15.4%

12

SouthKorea

$26,662

17.9%

13

Netherlands

$25,197

20.1%

14

Italy

$24,915

31.5%

15

Switzerland

$21,883

5.5%

16

Indonesia

$20,458

31.2%

17

SaudiArabia

$20,398

17.1%

18

Germany

$19,967

22.9%

19

UAE

$19,835

14.5%

20

Sweden

$16,515

25.4%

21

Vietnam

$12,977

-2.9%

22

Austria

$12,082

44.5%

23

Qatar

$12,008

5.8%

24

Malaysia

$11,507

24.7%

25

Philippines

$10,913

49.2%

26

Thailand

$10,906

17.9%

27

Belgium

$9,550

25.8%

28

SouthAfrica

$9,313

23.9%

29

Poland

$7,703

37.7%

30

Israel

$5,586

-21.3%

31

Norway

$5,529

49.0%

32

Russia

$5,524

3.5%

33

Portugal

$5,153

123.5%

34

Denmark

$5,003

7.8%

35

Ireland

$4,772

82.2%

36

Kuwait

$4,059

8.4%

37

Chile

$4,040

17.3%

38

Turkey

$3,875

-4.4%

39

Mexico

$3,440

31.4%

40

Hungary

$2,810

108.4%

41

Colombia

$2,765

-20.1%

42

Nigeria

$1,567

16.1%

43

Morocco

$1,517

20.8%

44

Romania

$1,506

32.9%

45

Egypt

$1,483

8.1%

46

NewZealand

$1,342

-0.6%

47

CzechRepublic

$1,221

-5.2%

48

Greece

$1,196

95.4%

49

Kenya

$1,182

48.8%

50

Argentina

$1,174

76.3%

HSBCremainsthebiggestbankingbrandinEurope,

Global50BrandValuebyCountry(USDm)?BrandFinancePlc2025

Country

BrandValue

2025

Change

1

China

$476,356

5.9%

Brand

Country

Change

inRank

1

Revolut

UnitedKingdom

+327

ClimbersbyRank2025

?BrandFinancePlc2025

cialBank.

2 NationalBankofGreece

Greece

+150

3 VTBBank

Russia

+137

4 BancoMacro

Argentina

+133

5 PiraeusBank

Greece

+131

6 BancoBPI

Portugal

+124

7 Spuerkeess

Luxembourg

+110

8 BankofKyoto

Japan

+99

9 CaixaGeraldeDepositos

Portugal

+92

10 CaliforniaBank&Trust

UnitedStates

+92

11 CapitecBank

SouthAfrica

+91

12 FultonFinancial

UnitedStates

+87

13 Nubank

Brazil

+83

14 AlliedIrishBanks(AIB)

Ireland

+82

15 BancaMediolanum

Italy

+79

16 BTGPactual

Brazil

+79

17 IBCBank

UnitedStates

+76

18 SouthStateBank

UnitedStates

+74

19 HBL

Pakistan

+70

20 AlphaBank

Greece

+70

AccordingtoBrown,scalecontinuestobeakeyfac-torindrivingthehighvaluationsofChinesebankingbrands,asthelargerbankscontinuetoexpandintointernationalmarkets,targetingexpatsandinterna-tionalbusinessfacilitation.

“Domestically,brandslikeCCBandICBCcontinuetohaveexcellentcustomerperceptions,loyaltyandreputation.Thisisaidedfurtherbytheirheavyfocusintoinnovativedigitaltechnologies,whichisoneofthemostimportantdriversofchoiceamongChineseconsumerswhenconsideringabank,moresothaninanyotherregion,”Brownsays.

TheUSalsosawmutedaggregategrowth,withthe75USbankingbrands(includingPuertoRico)seeinganincreaseof8%,toreach$359.7billion.Morethanhalfofthe70banksthatwerealsointhepreviousrankingincreasedtheirbrandvalue.

BankofAmerica(BofA)hasretaineditspositionasthepremierUSbankingbrandforthefifthyearinarow.Itgrewitsbrandvalueby21%in2024,to$45.0

apositionithasheldformorethanadecade,andplaces11thintheglobalranking.TheUKbank,whichcelebratesis160thanniversarythisyear,expandeditsbrandvalueby39%,to$27.8billion.Italsoplacesinthetop10brandsincommercialbankingandinvest-mentbanking.

Afterasix-yearhiatus,DeutscheBankisonceagainamongthetop50bankingbrands,movingup14placesto48th.Itexpandeditsbrandvalueby47%,toalmost$8.0billion,thethirdhighestgrowthrateamongthetop50.

AccordingtoTimAlexander,DeutscheBank’schiefmarketingofficer,theGermaninstitution’smostsig-nificantinitiativehasbeentheimplementationofacomprehensiveglobalbrandandpurposeframe-work.

“Thisframeworkservesasastrategiccompass,guid-ingtherealignmentofourbrandidentity.Itensuresthatallcustomertouchpointsresonatewithourbrandvaluesandempowersouremployeestodeliv-erexceptional,customer-centricexperiencesintheirdailyinteractions,”heexplains.

MainFeature|Top500BankingBrands

Top500BankingBrands|MainFeature

12|BrandFinanceJournal|March2025

March2025|BrandFinanceJournal|13

AkeymilestoneforDeutscheBankin2024wastherecruitmentandempowermentof3,700colleaguestoactaspurposeambassadors.

DIGITALENGAGEMENT

Whetheranincumbentorchallengerbrand,bankswillneedtonavigatebusinessandtechnologytrans-formation,aswellasbuildcustomertrustinanin-creasinglydigitalenvironment.

Inresponsetothegrowingimportanceofdigitalchannels,AlexandersaysthatDeutscheBankiscom-mittedtodeliveringa“seamless,compelling,andconsistentbrandexperience”acrossallplatforms.

Theinstitutionisalsoleveragingartificialintelli-gencetostreamlinetheproductionofcreativeas-sets,makingclientprocessesfasterandmorecosteffective.“Thistechnologicaladvancementnotonlyenhancesourefficiencybutalsoenablesustofostermorepersonalisedandrelevantdialogueswithourcustomers,”hesays.

Heismindfulthatgenuinehumanexperiencesarecrucialforbuildingtrust.“Wefocusoncreatingau-thenticconnectionsthroughevents,branchinterac-tions,anddedicatedadvisors.Byensuringthatweengagewithourcustomersattherighttouchpoints,wehelpthemfeelpersonallyvaluedandunderstood,”saysAlexander.

“Thisholisticapproachcombinestheefficiencyofdigitalsolutionswiththewarmthofhumaninterac-tions,reinforcingourcommitmenttotrustinanin-creasinglycomplexdigitallandscape.”

bunq’sZwartbelievesthattrustisearnedthroughbe-ingreliable,transparentandgivingpeoplefullcon-trolovertheirmoney.“Ourcustomersliveagloballyconnectedlife,sotheyneedabanktheycanrelyonandthatmoveswiththem.

Soitstartswithlistening–weareindailycontactwithourusersandbuildtheexperiencearoundtheirneeds,sotheycanbankwithconfidencewherevertheyare,”shesays.

AccordingtoLeNel,Revolutchampionstransparen-cyandsecurity,whichisvitalforbuildingtrust.“Astheworldbecomesincreasinglydigital,consumerswanttoknowthattheirmoneyanddataissecure.AtRevolut,securityisn’tjustalayer–it’sembeddedinourDNA,”hesays.

Whileexpansionremainsapriorityin2025,Revo-lut’sfocushasshiftedtowardincreasingawarenessofitsdiverseproductofferingsandcreatingastrongerbondwithitscustomers,withastrongemphasison“emotionalstorytelling”.

Whilemanybrandsareconcernedaboutlosingclose-nesswithcustomers,asbankinginteractionsarein-creasinglydigitalandtechplatformsaremoppinguptraditionalbankingrealestate,Brownseesthisasanopportunitytoresetpriorities.“Banksshouldlookatwherenottooperateaswellaswheretooperateandtransformtheirpositionasautilityintoanessentialtrustedadvisor,”shesays.

Shepointstomovesbybrandstoaddresstheseissues.“Somearefocusingonadvisoryandhigh-touchser-viceswherecustomerswanttospendtimegettingtherightadviceandneedreliablesolutionsandadvisors.

Additionally,manyareexploringAI-enabledadvi-soryandclientinsightsbuiltintodigitalplatforms,apotentiallyexcitingavenue,”Brownsays.“Usingemo-tivemarketingappealingtothehumansideofmoneyappearstobeasuccessfulapproach.Forexample,weareseeingbanksutilisesportssponsorshipstocon-tinuetofosterasenseofcommunityengagementandtoembedtrustinfuturepotentialcustomers.”

14|BrandFinanceJournal|March2025

March2025|BrandFinanceJournal|15

TopBankCEOs|BrandFinance2025BrandGuardianshipIndex BrandFinance2025BrandGuardianshipIndex|TopBankCEOs