First Bank of Nigeria has been ranked number one banking brand in the country for the fourth consecutive year by The Banker magazine of Financial Times and Brand Finance, London, United Kingdom in their annual 2015 The Top 500 Banking Brands.

According to a press release by the Country Representative of The Banker magazine, Nigeria, Kunle Ogedengbe, First Bank moves from number 382 in 2014 to 336 this year.

Other Nigerian banks that made the ranking equally moved up. They are Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank and Access Bank. Zenith Bank moves to number 388 from 453 in 2014, Guaranty Trust Bank moves to 417 from 422 while Access Bank made first entry into the ranking.

Brand value of First Bank increases to $300 million in 2015 from $228 in 2014 and, according to the Economics Editor of the magazine, Silvia Pavoni, the brand value is “the licensing rate that a third-party would need to pay to use that company’s brand.”

Commenting on the methodology of the ranking, Pavoni said: “Brand Finance obtained brand-specific financial and revenue data; modeled the market to identify market demand and the position of individual banks 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 noted, “is used for two reasons: it 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.”

Globally, Wells Fargo of the United States of America retains the number one banking brand in the world for the third consecutive year. It is followed by banks in China, United Kingdom and Spain in the first ten. Wells Fargo’s brand value for 2015 is $34.9 billion as against $30.2 billion in 2014.

The first ten banks in the world, according to the ranking, are Well Fargo (USA); ICBC (China); HSBC (UK); China Construction Bank; Citibank, Bank of America, Chase (USA); Agricultural Bank of China; Bank of China; and Santander (Spain).

On the rise of Chinese banks, the Chief Operating Officer of Brand Finance, Bryn Anderson, noted: “The Chinese economy has been doing well for a number of years but I think this has been the first year, in terms of brand value, when Chinese banks have climbed up the tables and stood out.”

The Banker, a publication of Financial Times newspaper which is regarded as the most influential newspaper in the world, is a global financial intelligence magazine published since 1926. It is the definitive publication that provides guide to bank ratings and analysis globally and the definitive reference on international banking for finance experts, governments, chief finance officers, CEOs, Central Bank Governors, Finance Ministers, and other decision makers globally.

The Banker’s Top 500 Banking Brands ranking measures the value of financial services firms across the world, analysing specific sectors and geographies, and identifying the brands that have improved the most, as well as those that have suffered the greatest setbacks.

•Photo shows First Bank GMD Bisi Onasanya.

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