US Banks Suffer ‘Brand Value Loss’ from Pandemic

Two-thirds of the world’s most valuable banking brands have suffered a severe decline in brand value following the pandemic, a new report has found.

Brand Finance’s Banking 500 report, published this week, has highlighted the dramatic downturn the banking industry has experienced over the past year in comparison to previous year-on-year performance.

Bank of America, despite its brand value having fallen 7% to $32.8 billion, has reclaimed the title of most valuable US banking brand for the first time in 10 years.

Joining it in the global top 10 were Citi, Wells Fargo, Chase and JPMorgan. Citi experienced a 3% decrease to $32.2 billion, while Chase’s value fell 8% to $28.8 billion.

Citi, the third-largest US bank by assets, climbed one place in the ranking to 6^th position, following a rapid rebound in its profits in the third quarter of last year.

Wells Fargo’s brand value was down 22% to $31.8 billion after a year dominated by regulatory fines and an ongoing restructure. It experienced the biggest decline in brand value, and also holds the lowest reputation score across all US banks.

JP Morgan was the only US bank in the top 10 to buck the trend with an increase in value, up by 3% to $23.6 billion.

The 74 US banks in the report had a cumulative brand value of $274.6 billion.

Chinese banks cemented their dominance, accounting for one-third of total brand value and seven of the 10 top climbers by absolute brand value.

While two-thirds of brands in the ranking experienced losses, Chinese banks recorded a healthy 3% average brand value growth.

David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance, said: “This is undoubtedly an effect of China’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has allowed its economy to continue functioning relatively unscathed, allowing space for banks to grow further.”

China’s response to the pandemic included regulatory policy adjustments for asset management, wealth management, and inter-banking, as well as increased investment into digitalization.

“Chinese banks have scored extremely well in Brand Finance’s Global Brand Equity Monitor research this year, ranking highly for attributes such as recommendation,” Haigh said.

Brand Finance calculates a company’s brand value using data on brand royalties, market and consumer research, and market share information.