Banca Transilvania, the second-biggest banking group on the local market, is the only Romanian bank included in this year’s ranking of the 500 most valuable banking brands in the world, Brand Finance Banking 500.

Banca Transilvania is 486th worldwide and 142nd in Europe, with an estimated brand value of USD 174 million.

Banca Transilvania, which is controlled by Romanian and foreign investors, was launched in 1994 in Cluj-Napoca.

Romania was also represented in this ranking by BRD, from 2012 until 2014.

The first two positions in this year’s ranking are held by Chinese banks, namely ICBC (The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China) and China Construction Bank, while US group Wells Fargo comes third. The most valuable European banking brand is HSBC, on 9th place.

Of the international groups that operate in Romania, ING has the most valuable brand, on 26th place, followed by Societe Generale (33rd), Erste (100th) and UniCredit (115th).

Brand Finance is the biggest independent company for evaluation and brand strategy. The ranking was published by The Banker magazine.

editor@romania-insider.com