Brand Finance 500: Google is the world’s most valuable brand – Lego is the most powerful brand
Apple has for the last five years held sway as the world’s most valuable brand. Six years after it last held the title in 2011, Google is now number one with a value of US$109 billion, according to Brand Finance 500, the annual report on the most valuable brand worldwide.
After tech, banking is the largest sector by brand value. Financial services brands comprise 20% of the Global 500. 
Chinese banks’ brand value growth has been rapidly outpacing that of European and North American competitors since the study’s inception. Not only has China’s ICBC claimed the title as the most powerful banking brand, it also dethrones Wells Fargo as the most valuable financial brand in the world.
Wells Fargo fell 6% after a turbulent year for the brand. The company has suffered due to the recent scandal where over 2 million accounts and credit cards were opened/applied for without customer knowledge or consent.
Seems like American payment service providers have a better position than any other competitor. Visa and Mastercard enjoyed an 81% and 58% increase in brand value, respectively. As their core markets continue to move towards a cashless society, consumers become increasingly reliant on the services they provide.
Visa is in top 10 of the most powerfull brands and ranking 57 in top 500 (compared to 101 in 2016) of the most valuable brands. Paypal is 102 (125 in 2016) while MasterCard is 110 (compared to 165 in 2016).
Anders Olofsson – former Head of Payments Finastra
Banking 4.0 – „how was the experience for you”
„So many people are coming here to Bucharest, people that I see and interact on linkedin and now I get the change to meet them in person. It was like being to the Football World Cup but this was the World Cup on linkedin in payments and open banking.”
Many more interesting quotes in the video below:
