KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 3): Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd again emerged among the top 10 bank brands in Asean.

They were also ranked the top two of just seven Malaysian banks that made the cut for 2017’s most valuable bank brands, according to data published by global brand valuation and strategy consulting firm, Brand Finance.

The top three brands in Asean were Singapore banks.

In a statement today, Brand Finance said there were a total of 36 Asean bank brands in its ‘Brand Finance Top 500 Banking Brands 2017’ rankings, up from 31 last year.

“The 2017 rankings saw CIMB fight back to regain their number one spot. They increased their brand value by 10% and also improved their brand value to market cap ratio, making them the highest in Malaysia and fourth highest in Asean.

“Maybank, however, increased their lead over CIMB both in terms of brand value and brand strength rating to retain their title of the number one most valuable bank brand in Malaysia,” it said.

It said Maybank had a strong and positive brand value growth of 24% amid stiff competition from other banks, and gained 11 places to be ranked amongst the top 100 most valuable bank brands in the “Brand Finance Top 100 Global Banking Brands 2017” rankings.

The 20% brand value increase compared to a near zero increase in market cap improved Maybank’s brand value to market cap ratio to 15%, showing the importance of the brand and its ability to contribute to the business success.

“Maybank has been striving for the number one bank brand spot in Malaysia for some time and it is good to see that their marketing and brand efforts are delivering on their agenda,” said Brand Finance Asia Pacific managing director Samir Dixit.

CIMB’s brand value grew by US$178 million, helping it get closer to the US$2 billion mark and to Maybank.

“We believe that CIMB will fight back hard. They are still a very strong brand and have the highest brand value to market cap ratio indicating the competitiveness of the brand and its ability to contribute to business growth,” he added.

Brand Finance’s research showed that Asean consumers’ growing affinity for brands and branded goods is helping set a solid foundation for competitive brands from the region.

“It’s the strong growth of the Asean region as a whole coupled with a consumer preference for home grown brands that are driving the phenomenal increase in brand values of the Asean bank brands which the western banks cannot hope to match,” it said.

Samir said that Malaysian bank brands are more competitive compared with global banks and are positioned to grow and expand into regional markets.

“Their crucial regional foot print is enabling good growth and helping establish their reputation with potential clients across the world,” he said in the statement.

Brand Finance values the brands of thousands of the world’s biggest companies and the results of this analysis are then ranked with the world’s 500 most valuable banking brands featured in the Brand Finance Banking 500.