Russian firm Sberbank has been ranked Europe’s fifth most valuable bank, with its brand equated at $14.16 billion.
American company Wells Fargo, topped the global study, conducted by consultancy firm Brand Finance. The survey found that the worth of the 500 global banks analyzed in 2012, rose by 15%, a record growth. Russia’s top bank Sberbank, is ranked 13th in the world and fifth among its European counterparts, following HSBC, Santander, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank. Eight Russian banks have been included in the list this year, evaluated at a cost of $19.5 billion, increasing in value by 5.5 times compared to data taken in 2011 gains that have the Russian market outperforming any other. Sberbank alone has shown a 31% growth of its brand value since the last survey. In September 2012 the Economist magazine named Sberbank the world’s second greatest company by return of equity in the last ten years, after Apple Inc.To evaluate the cost of a brand the company considered a bank’s current financial results, estimated indices for the coming five years, its geographical reach, market share and client loyalty. 2012 saw many global banks successfully recovering from the financial crisis and adding to their value, Brand Finance Chief Executive, David Haigh said, commenting on the results.In another rating of the most trusted banks of Central and Eastern Europe, put together by Global Finance Company, three Russian banks have been included – Vnesheconombank, Sberbank and VTB ranked eight, ten and eleven respectively. The findings are based on data collected by Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s and Fitch ratings agencies.