A new report by The Banker magazine of the Financial Times and Brand Finance, London, has ranked four Nigerian banks among ‘Top 500 Banking Brands’ in the world.
The Banks listed include FirstBank of Nigeria Limited, Zenith Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) and Access Bank PLC.
According to a statement by the Country Representative of the magazine in Nigeria, Mr. Kunle Ogedengbe, Zenith Bank moved from 453 in 2014 to 388th position; First Bank moves from being number 382 in 2014 to 336 this year; Guaranty Trust Bank from 422 to 417; while Access Bank made its first entry into the ranking.
The Economics Editor of the Magazine, Silvia Pavoni noted that the Brand value of FirstBank increased to $300 million in 2015 from $228 in 2014 and the licensing rate that a third-party would need to pay to use that company’s brand.
While explaining the methodology used for the ranking, Mr Pavoni said the Brand Finance obtained brand-specific financial and revenue data; modelled the market to identify the demand and the position of individual bank 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.
This approach, the Economics Editor said, “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.”
Wells Fargo, ICBC, HSBC, China Construction Bank and Citi were the first five.
Wells Fargo’s brand value for 2015 was put at $34.9bn as against $30.2bn in 2014.