There are more financial companies on this year’s Top
100 Global Brands than last year’s – but some big names have been
hit hard by the credit crunch and may not even be around for 2009.
The consultancy behind the list, Interbrand, says AmEx, HSBC, ING
and Citi remain the most valuable consumer banking
brands.
In terms of the financial
services brands included in the list, two things stick out from
this year’s Top 100 Global Brands run-down from consultancy
Interbrand: the high rankings of some deeply troubled groups such
as insurer AIG and investment bank Merrill Lynch; and the lack of
any Asia-headquartered financial services groups in the list.
Branding in markets like China and India is rapidly growing in
importance – and with domestic markets measured in billions of
people, the value of strong brands will become ever more important.
Bank of China, for instance, said last month it had benefit ted
enormously from its exclusive marketing and branding programme
during the Beijing Olympics (see RBI
598).
Go deeper with GlobalData
For this year’s Interbrand ranking, American Express, Citi and
HSBC retain their top three positions as the financial services
groups with the most valuable brands – though Citi’s has fallen by
14 percent from the 2007 list.
Indeed, Merrill Lynch (which is in the process of being acquired
by Bank of America), Citi and Morgan Stanley were among the
companies that have slipped dramatically down the list, though
Interbrand adds that some “strong industry leaders” have performed
well, namely HSBC, Visa and American Express, “which have all been
able to transcend the credit crisis due to their trusted
brands”.
Despite losing billions in the US market and being one of the
fist major banks to suffer the effects of the US sub-prime lending
crisis, HSBC has seen strong international growth, said the
consultancy, with a number of acquisitions under its belt and an
increasing presence in Asia helping to “stabilise its brand”.
Recent research by RBI showed that HSBC now has around
110 million retail banking customers in 85 countries – making it
the largest international retail banking group in terms of
customers. Only the Chinese state-owned giants boast more –
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China says it has around 153
million retail banking clients.
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By GlobalDataPrime and affluent customers 
The consultancy said that even in the context of the wider
market turmoil, American Express’s business focus on prime and
affluent customers could help it through the chaos. The issuer
increased its marketing and card-member spend by 20 percent from
the year before, launching new initiatives like the Plum card in
the US and furthering its aspirational status by investing in big
celebrity advertising campaigns in the US.
And Visa, in the list for the first time – and coming months
after its March IPO (see RBI
589) – has barely been affected by the US credit crunch,
according to Interbrand. Visa carries no consumer debt itself and
the brand’s global nature makes it the perfect sponsor for
international sporting events such as the Beijing Olympics,
“beaming its brand name into the homes of millions of people the
world over, many of whom may be taking their first steps with
credit”.
“The current credit crisis, the growth of emerging markets and
the increased emphasis on sustainability are all key trends that
resulted in brands rising or failing on the list,” said Jez
Frampton, CEO of Interbrand. “The increasing complexities of the
global economy reinforce the importance of protecting and growing a
brand.”
Google, Apple, Amazon.com, Zara and Nintendo are among this
year’s top gainers in Interbrand’s annual ranking. Coca-Cola (No.
1) remains the best global brand for the eighth year in a row; IBM
has taken over the No. 2 position from Microsoft (No. 3) while
Google moved into the top 10 after ranking at No. 20 in 2007.
