Equity and KCB Named Among Top 500 World Lenders

Equity and KCB the largest lenders in Kenya by asset size have been named among the world’s top 500 lenders by brand value by a global brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance.

The lenders were ranked in positions 338 and 366 respectively. The ranking was attributed to positive sentiments from their customers who rated them on factors like quality, reputation, and customer satisfaction.

The global brand assigned Equity and KCB a value of $388 million (Sh44.1 billion) and$338 million (Sh38.4 billion) respectively. Brand value is the net economic benefit that owners would achieve by licensing their brand in the open market. It is, very different from the valuation of a company’s hard assets.

“The growth in brand value of Kenyan banks is the result of their strong performance in Brand Finance’s original market research, which was introduced in the country for the first time this year. High scores from the consumer survey have boosted the overall brand strength evaluation of the Kenyan brands, which in turn has boosted their brand value,” said Brand Finance.

The lenders were measured on perceptions among different stakeholder groups, where customers are the most important, and business or financial performance.

Both banks have been growing their reach regionally, expanding to new markets in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan while establishing a large footprint locally cutting across corporate, retail, and SME banking.

Among the 20 African banks from five countries on the list, Equity and KCB were ranked ninth and 11th respectively. South Africa dominates with seven lenders —including the top six— led by Standard Bank which has a brand value of $1.583 billion. Nigeria has five lenders on the list, but each ranks lower than Equity and only one is ahead of KCB. Egypt and Morocco each have three lenders on the list.

Globally, Chinese and US lenders dominate the brand ranking, with the Asian economy producing the top four led by ICBC with a brand value of $75.1 billion (Sh8.53 trillion). The US accounts for the next five lenders, with Bank of America its top entry at $36.7 billion (Sh4.2 trillion) in brand value.