The regional bank, Equity Group beat its African peers to emerge the strongest banking brand on the continent and second in the world, according to the 2024 Brand Finance rankings.
Globally, there were two other African brands, First National Bank and Kenya Commercial Bank, in the top five, alongside Romanian Banca Transilvania, all earning AAA+ ratings.
This shows how strong and resilient the banking industry, not only in East and Central Africa but on the continent, is, says Equity Group Managing Director, James Mwangi.
However, the dent in Africa was the fall of Nigeria as a banking jurisdiction, according to the country rankings by Brand Finance.
Only 11 of the top 50 countries experienced decreases in aggregate value, led by Russia which fell by 69 percent, Malaysia by 20 percent, and Nigeria by 14 percent.
Analysts say Russia’s decline is not surprising because of the international sanctions on its economy and the banking industry in particular over its invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
Subsequently, the country’s two largest bank brands – VTB and SBER – have suffered the biggest falls in brand value by percentage, with 91 percent and 63 percent plunges, respectively.
The index ranking 500 brands globally, features corporations across all sectors.
Equity climbed from 4th position in 2023 to 2nd position in the World’s Top 10 Strongest Banking Brands with a Brand Strength Index score of 92.5 out of 100 and an elite AAA+ brand strength.
Equity also saw its brand value rise from last year’s 428 million to 450 million dollars, earning it the tenth position as the most valuable banking brand in Africa.
“Our strong governance structures, practices, core values, commitment to customer centricity, performance focus, organizational culture of excellence and execution continues to be the foundation on which the brand is sustainably evolving, building and developing,” said MD and Chief Executive Officer, Mwangi.
He said the bank focuses on transforming lives, giving dignity, and expanding opportunities for wealth creation, which continues to prove to be relevant to their customers, industry and stakeholders.
“We are further excited to see that 4 of the top strongest 10 banks in the ranking are also from Africa. As we continue to anchor our business on our purpose and support the day-to-day lives of our customers, it fuels our commitment to innovation and excellence, driving us to redefine standards and pioneer transformative solutions in the financial industry.”
Every year, leading brand valuation consultancy, Brand Finance, puts 5,000 of the biggest brands to the test and publishes nearly 100 reports, ranking brands across all sectors and countries.
The World’s Top 500 most valuable and strongest banking brands are included in the annual Brand Finance Banking 500 ranking.
In 2023 there were marked improvements in performance across Equity’s subsidiaries with Equity BCDC (DR Congo), Equity Bank Rwanda and Equity Bank Tanzania making strong strides.
“The Group remains committed to South Sudan as seen in its offering of new lending products while bolstering the Uganda entity which has gained strong traction in market share and significance,” the bank said in a statement.
Brand Finance also observed that Chinese banks dominate the global rankings in terms of value, far ahead of the closest rival USA.
The combined value of the world’s top 500 most valuable banking brands reached a record level of 1.44 trillion dollars, almost double what it was a decade ago, according to the Brand Finance report.
The Chinese banking sector demonstrates a notable recovery, with the ‘big four’ banks remaining well ahead of their US counterparts.
ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China) maintains its position as the world’s most valuable banking brand for the eighth consecutive year, boasting a brand value of 71.8 billion dollars.
The other top performers were China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China, following single-digit percentage increases in each of their brand values.
Despite a minor decline in brand value, Bank of America remains the leading US banking brand and is ranked fifth position overall, with a value of 37.3 billion dollars, while Wells Fargo comes sixth overall.
Overall, technology company Apple was the top value brand, more than doubling to 516.6 billion dollars.
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