The US is losing out to China in the fight to establish lucrative, stable brands.
China’s top banking brands have had another stellar year, adding more than 20% to the country’s aggregate valuation in The Banker’s Top 500 Banking Brands 2018 ranking. Three out of the top five banks are Chinese: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has maintained its position as the most valuable brand in the world, while China Construction Bank and Bank of China moved up one position each to second and fourth place, respectively.
Their advance has come at the expense of the US banks. The country’s top three brands – Wells Fargo, Chase and Bank of America – each fell one position in the ranking, despite increasing their brand valuation.
While strong brands in China are a big part of Asia-Pacific’s growth story, other countries in the region, including Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, are also seeing notable progress.
After several years of disappointing results, brands across Europe have rebounded this year, with an aggregate growth rate on par with North America. But this overall positive picture masks unevenness across the region. For example, France and Spain saw double-digit growth in total brand valuation, whereas the UK’s and Italy’s recovery has been much weaker.
While the fines for poor conduct, such as mis-selling and market manipulation, that have plagued predominantly Western banks over the past few years seem to be winding down, other brand challenges are coming to the fore across the globe, such as changing customer expectations and new market entrants.
This means that banks need to provide consistency across all touch points – from new offerings to the customer service delivery that their brand promises – to attract and retain customers. Many banks are taking this opportunity to rethink their brand messaging and how it relates to their purpose in society, emphasising the important role they play in everyday lives.
