State banks top brand ratings

Bank of Ceylon (BOC) People's Bank and National Savings Bank have been the most valuable brands in the country, brand valuation and strategy company, Brand Finance, said.

Last year's top two brands BOC and People's Bank have been joined by a third State bank, NSB, to be the three most valuable brands in the country.

This needs to be viewed against a difficult business environment, where the war was at its peak and GDP growth dropped to 3.5 percent.

In addition to the top three slots, there is a noticeable shift in the rise of other banking brands with as many as six now within the top ten, the company said in a press release.

In justifying the status of the State banks Brand Finance Managing Director Lanka Ruchi Gunewardene, said in recent years BOC, People's Bank and NSB, have shed their government bureaucracy and sharpened their business orientation through managing costs, more prudent lending policies and acquiring skills in management and marketing, thus leveraging their extensive reach and building brand equity to accelerate the growth of these huge enterprises, creating immense value in the process".

"Also, in the context of the financial uncertainties, such as the Golden Key debacle, Government backed enterprises provide security to customers," he said.

"By building brands a company begins to hold itself accountable to its consumers and stakeholders and the value it derives is through the reputation it builds over time.

This forces companies to adopt a holistic effort to managing its business with good governance playing a crucial role, which we have taken into account in our methodology this year," Gunewardene said.

This approach to measuring the strength of the brand has also established several triple A brands for the very first time.

Meanwhile, in a separate index, the brand that emerged top amongst companies not listed on the stock exchange was Sunlight, which displaced last years top brand Panadol.