• Led by ICBC as the world’s most valuable banking brand (US$79.8 billion), China’s banks dominate top four spots of the ranking
• Chinese banks grow 28%, achieving US$407 billion in total brand value, over US$100 billion more than US banks
• All US banks, with the exception of Wells Fargo (-9%), Chase (-7%), and BankUnited (-6%), improve their brand value
• Growth of European banks is pedestrian, with German banks losing 24% of value
• Islamic banking sees 20% boost, led by Middles Eastern banks, with QNB the most valuable brand in the region
• Sberbank of Russia claims the title of the world’s strongest banking brand, with a score of 93.1 out of 100 and an AAA+ rating

China’s major banks dominate the top spots in the Brand Finance Banking 500 2019 ranking, published by The Banker magazine today. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) leads as the world’s most valuable banking brand, growing 35% to US$79.8 billion. It also fared well in brand strength as one of only three banks this year with an elite AAA+ rating. China Construction Banking comes in 2^ndplace (US$69.7 billion) with Agricultural Bank of China (US$55.0 billion), and Bank of China (US$51.0 billion) in 3^rd and 4^th respectively.

ICBC continued to expand beyond China with growth initiatives across Asia and entered into a joint venture with Standard Chartered around sustainable banking. With increased competition from financial technology firms, ICBC responded by establishing innovation labs and strengthening its “Smart Bank”, focusing on operations, IT management and technology research.

Brian Caplen, editor of The Banker, said:

"Banks defied the general economic gloom to grow their total brand value by 15% to US$1357 billion, overtaking last year's 10% increase. Chinese banks led the way and now hold four of the top five positions in the ranking. By contrast European banks fared less well and Germany saw a 24% drop in brand value." 

The growth trajectory of China’s banks, against a backdrop of trade friction and currency concerns, remains strong, thanks to a growing middle class and government support. China’s overall brand value growth was 28%, double the United States’ total growth. Furthermore, China’s presence and growth rate is underlined by the country’s total brand value of US$406.9 billion, more than US$100 billion higher than the United States’ total brand value (US$297.0 billion).

China drove Asia’s growth rate of 26%. The other regions trail Asia, with North America growing by 15% and Europe rising by just 4%. The United States, benefitting from strong fundamentals, has 81 brands in the Brand Finance Banking 500 versus China’s 48, and continued to grow, albeit less vigorously. All but three US banks saw their brand value rise, but two of those three are among the country’s largest brands.

US Banks Perception Woes

Wells Fargo, which experienced a number of challenges around reputation, is the highest-placed US bank in 5^th place, although brand value declined 9% to US$39.9 billion. Wells Fargo leads a cluster of US banks in the top 10, including Chase, the only other large US bank to decline (down 7% to US$36.3 billion).

Despite being in a healthier state due to early regulatory intervention in the global financial crisis, many US banks are hampered by perception issues. Proprietary consumer research conducted by Brand Finance revealed US banks fare badly in terms of reputation and providing value for money.

European Banks Struggle to Grow

While US banks have recovered, the European banking system is now experiencing significant hurdles due to a less active approach to the financial crisis. As a result, brand values have fallen and customer satisfaction is at an all-time low.

Germany, for example, has seen its banks lose 24% of overall brand value, with Deutsche Bank being the only German brand to make the top 100. The bank dropped from 47^th to 70^th and lost 30% of brand value to US$4.3 billion, due to sustained losses and management volatility. The plight of Germany’s banks is underlined by three of the country’s leading financial institutions languishing among the fastest declining brands by strength – Nord LB (-23%), Bayerische Landesbank (-19%) and Deutsche Bank (-13%). All three banks scored lowly for innovation, quality, value for money and reputation, although in the area of customer loyalty, Deutsche Bank and Nord LB retain relatively high scores of 58.13% and 55.79%, respectively. All three banks also dropped significantly in brand value.

Alex Haigh, Director of Brand Finance, commented:

“While the US has seen the benefit of a robust regulatory response to the financial crisis, in Europe we are now only seeing the full implications of a less proactive reaction by governing bodies. As a result, Europe’s leading banks are losing ground and brand value, notably in Germany, where Deutsche Bank has declined by 30% and fallen down the rankings.”

The UK banking landscape, with the added complication and long-term uncertainty around the country’s forthcoming departure from the European Union, is stagnant. A decade after the bail-out of the UK banking system, RBS lost 32% of its brand value dropping 52 spots to 234^th. Among the larger banks, the RBS subsidiary, NatWest, provides grounds for optimism, with brand value rising 19% to US$7.7 billion.

Islamic Banking Experiences Boost

In the Middle East, Qatar’s QNB is the leading bank by brand value, rising 19% to US$5.0 billion, while Emirates NBD is up 14% to US$4.0 billion and First Abu Dhabi, the fastest-growing among Middle Eastern banks, rose 25% to US$3.9 billion. The Middle East has played a pivotal role in Islamic banking, as the segment enjoyed a 20% growth in brand value this year. According to consumer research conducted by Brand Finance, the region is also the best-performing for banking services in terms of reputation and quality.

Russia’s Sberbank becomes banking industry’s strongest brand

Apart from calculating brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance. According to these criteria, Moscow-headquartered Sberbank has claimed the title of the world’s strongest banking brand for the first time this year, with a score of 93.1 and the elite AAA+ rating. With over 14,000 branches, assets of US$446 billion and 45% of all deposits in Russia, Sberbank’s brand enjoys phenomenal success in the country. The bank boasts high scores across familiarity (92.9%), loyalty (94.6%) and consideration (92.7%). Importantly, in an age when many banks fare poorly in reputation rankings, Sberbank achieves a remarkable 7.99 (out of 10) score and also a relatively high score (3.93 out of 5) for quality.

Majority-owned by the Russian Central Bank, Sberbank’s position in the Russian financial system is unrivalled. The bank has around 2.5 million corporate customers and is building an ecosystem through which its customers are able to access e-commerce, e-government, e-trade, and other professional, mass digital, and offline services.

David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance, commented:

“Sberbank’s high-quality services and products create the kind of loyalty that results in long-term customer relationships. Unparalleled within Russia, the bank can deepen its relationship with customers and extend into new products, services and even industries.”

It appears that many organisations will begin the New Year by reviewing their security infrastructure and taking a ‘back to basics’ approach to information security. This is according to the latest in a series of social media polls conducted by Europe’s number one information security event, Infosecurity Europe 2019.

Asked what their ‘security mantra’ is for 2019, more than half (55 per cent) of respondents say they plan to ‘go back to basics’ while 45 per cent reveal they will invest in more technology. According to Gartner, worldwide spending on information security products and services is forecast to grow 8.7 per cent to $124 billion in 2019[1].

When it comes to complexity, two-thirds believe that securing devices and personal data will become more (rather than less) complicated over the next 12 months. With Forrester predicting that 85 per cent of businesses will implement or plan to implement IoT solutions in 2019[2], this level of complexity is only set to increase with more connected devices and systems coming online.

However, many organisations will be looking to reduce complexity in their security architecture this year by maximising what they already have in place. According to Infosecurity Europe’s poll, 60 per cent of respondents say that maximising existing technologies is more important than using fewer vendors (40 per cent).

Victoria Windsor, Group Content Manager at Infosecurity Group, admits: “CISOs are managing increasingly complex security architectures and looking to streamline operations and technology in the wake of a growing skills crisis, rising costs and a myriad of compliance requirements. With many of us starting the New Year with well-intended ‘new year, new you’ resolutions, it seems that many security professionals are doing the same.”

Attracting 8,500 responses, the Infosecurity Europe Twitter poll was conducted during the week of 7 January, the first week back for many workers, and a time when many take stock of both their personal and professional goals for the year. 

Infosecurity Europe also asked its community of CISOs about their focus for 2019 and discovered that complexity is major headache regardless of industry or size of operations.

Stephen Bonner, cyber risk partner, Deloitte highlights new and impactful challenges and advises security leaders to see the ‘big picture’. “It's often said that complexity is the enemy of security, and this remains as true today as it was twenty years ago. The difference today is that, in addition to technical complexity, companies now have to grapple with overlapping cyber security regulations, legacy technology, and intricate supply chains that stretch around the globe.

“These challenges can no longer be managed with point solutions. Security and IT leaders must consider how their technology fits into – and interacts with – the wider business and beyond. In other words, they must integrate ‘systems thinking’ into business as usual. Cyber security is now a core operational risk for many organisations, and an ability to see the big picture has rarely been so valuable.”

Nigel Stanley, Chief Technology Officer - Global OT and Industrial Cyber Security CoE at TÜV Rheinland Group, points to the challenges in the complex world of operational technology (OT), which covers everything from manufacturing plants through autonomous vehicles and power stations, and where control equipment is often old in terms of IT and often overlooked when it comes to corporate cybersecurity. “The good news is that having a New Year stock take and further considering these security systems will help you understand the key areas of business risk and help to formulate a plan to address it. In my experience the uncomplicated process of changing default passwords, screen locking the engineering workstation and educating a workforce will be time well spent in 2019. My OT security world is getting more complicated each day as fresh challenges arise. As we run fast it seems the bad guys run even faster. I plan to get some new running shoes for 2019!”

For Paul Watts, CISO at Dominos Pizza UK & Ireland, the speed of IoT development will become increasingly challenging: “Accrediting the security posture of IoT devices is challenging for enterprises, particularly in the absence of any regulatory landscape. I welcome the voluntary code of practice issued by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport late last year. However whilst the market remains deregulated and global manufacturers not compelled to comply, it will not go far enough given the speed these products are coming onto the market coupled with the insatiable appetite of consumers to adopt them at break neck speed – usually without any due consideration for the safety, security and interoperability in so doing.”

Infosecurity Europe, now in its 24^th year, takes place at Olympia, Hammersmith, London, from 4-6 June 2019. It attracts over 19,500 unique information security professionals attending from every segment of the industry, as well as 400+ exhibitors showcasing their products and services, industry analysts, worldwide press and policy experts, and over 200 industry speakers are lined up to take part in the free-to-attend conference, seminar and workshop programme - https://www.infosecurityeurope.com.

Sphera, the largest global provider of Integrated Risk Management software today announces that Petrotechnics, a Sphera company, has been named a leader in the Verdantix ORM Green Quadrant benchmark report. 

The Verdantix ORM Green Quadrant report follows Sphera’s recent acquisition of Petrotechnics to enhance its end-to-end Operational Risk solution. The report highlights the strength of the now combined offering. 

Verdantix is an independent research and consulting firm that delivers insights on innovative technologies to optimize business operations. Released today, its Green Quadrant ORM report analyzed capabilities and brand momentum for 17 industry-leading software vendors with technology offerings including permit to work, process safety barrier management, emergency response and more that could enhance a company’s capability to identify, assess and mitigate risks associated with physical assets.

In the report, Sphera was named a leading specialist in the field of ORM, and Sphera also scored very well in the mobile app, relational database and incident management categories.

Petrotechnics was deemed the most robust ORM solution on the market in the report. The technology delivers a real-time view of all Operational Risk essential to managers and frontline workers across global assets. Petrotechnics was also awarded high scores for its industrial system integration and achieved the highest ranking in ORM digital twin technology. 

“The Verdantix Green Quadrant report shows how both Sphera and Petrotechnics are already leaders in the field of Operational Risk Management,” said Paul Marushka, Sphera’s president and CEO. “Together we will achieve unprecedented results in helping companies keep their people safe, their products sustainable and their operations productive."

Sphera has the most advanced and varied solutions for ORM, and its global customers will benefit from the addition of the Petrotechnics platform and its ORM digital twin offering.

Malavika Tohani, a principal analyst at Verdantix said: “Sphera’s acquisition of Petrotechnics is another move in the union of environmental health and safety risk management with industrial operational risk management. This will provide Sphera with a more comprehensive offering and allow them to gain advantage in the market.”

PSD2 and GDPR are making their presence felt in Europe.  As a result European banks are prioritizing how they respond to changing customer behavior and demands (56%), new technologies (49%) and regulatory fines (46%), according to an in-depth study released today by Temenos (SIX: TEMN), the banking software company.

The report, written by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) on behalf of Temenos, explores the theme: “Whose customer are you? The reality of digital banking in Europe”. This regional report derives from the global report conducted for Temenos by the EIU, and examines in-depth Europe’s retail banking environment. European bankers’ top strategic priorities are developing their digital engagement strategies (cited by 43% of respondents) and improving product agility (51%). And in this new world of open banking, it is clear that retail banks need to build rich functionality in their apps if they want to avoid becoming  only product manufacturers and suppliers of balance and transaction data.

Renée Friedman, editor of the report from the Economist Intelligence Unit, said: “European banks need to quickly adjust to the realities of open banking if they are to remain truly competitive. They also need to find ways to better use the data they have amassed.”

Steen Jensen, Managing Director – Europe at Temenos, said: “We are facing a once in a generation shift in banking, with fintechs, challenger banks and big techs challenging the way business is done in our industry. With open banking now a regulatory mandate, it’s no surprise that 51% of respondents are making it a priority to improve product agility in order to respond to the changing market.  Banks must invest in technology that will empower them with a modern, agile, secure and robust platform to not only survive, but be nimble and thrive in an industry in flux.”

Key report highlights:

• Retail banks across Europe are focusing their digital investment on cyber security (81% vs 71% globally) and individual delivery capabilities, such as through internet and mobile channels (53%).
• European retail bankers think the most valuable use for AI will be in customer fraud detection (25%) and improving the using experience through greater customer personalization capabilities (22%). 
• European bankers see the biggest impact coming from payment players (61%) and technology and e-commerce disruptors (35%).
• Respondents expect new entrants to gain the most market share in the payments space (62%) and savings and deposits (43%).

For many businesses – especially those operating in the financial services sector – anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) processes are crucial in ensuring that companies are maintaining regulatory compliance and monitoring for suspicious activity. To stay on top of AML and KYC requirements, organisations must ensure they have the ability to adequately plan and manage resource and capacity, so that staff efficiency and impact is maximised in what is a closely scrutinised area of business operations. This is according to ActiveOps.

The recent fiasco at Danske Bank, which involved millions of Kroner being laundered through the company’s Estonian branch, is considered as one of the biggest scandals of its kind in history and resulted in a huge public backlash and a devastating drop in customer satisfaction and trust. While solving this particular issue will take a huge amount of cross-European collaboration and a detailed review of current regulations, it should serve as a warning for any organisation not doing everything in their power to minimise the risk of falling into the money laundering trap.

Kuljit Bawa, Managing Director, EMEA at ActiveOps, said: “AML and KYC are areas where banks and other organisations clearly need to tread very carefully – the Danske Bank scandal is an example of what can happen if suspicious activity is allowed to slip through the net. Ultimately, it’s the responsibility of each individual company to make sure they are compliant, so it is vital that they have the processes and technologies in place that reduce the chances of being compromised to an absolute minimum.”

For Bawa, one way to assist is to carefully manage capacity in a way that is both transparent and intuitive, as this ensures that time and employee resources are always invested in the right areas and on the right tasks. This should also include being open to automating processes where possible.

He added: “AML and KYC requirements can only be met with a well-functioning back office, where operations managers are easily able to balance resources and work, enabling them to make better informed decisions about what skills to deploy and when and where to deploy them. By implementing digital operations management technology, businesses can identify capacity shortfalls in advance, meaning that they can avoid compromising service performance, which in turn reduces exposure to regulatory failures and enables compliance to be achieved at optimum cost.

“Such technology also assists in maximising the impact of automation and balancing its presence with the ongoing role of human staff. By gaining a better understanding of the demands that automation places on the organisation and how best to implement it, managers can reap the rewards of capabilities such as robotic process automation (RPA) without reducing the quality of service.”

He concluded: “Regulations may well change in the wake of the Danske Bank situation, but banks and other companies juggling AML and KYC requirements should realise that there’s plenty they can do in the here and now to remain compliant. Getting on top of back office operations can be a strong place to start.”  

Accuity, the leading global provider of financial crime compliance, payments and Know Your Customer (KYC) solutions, announced that it is working with DEGIRO, the fast growing FinTech and largest online broker in the Netherlands, to automate customer account screening using a comprehensive range of sanctions and watchlist data sets.

DEGIRO has quickly become one of the largest brokers in Europe, which has gained the business significant attention. The FinTech firm is subject to the same anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing legislation as banks and financial institutions. 

To help improve risk management and streamline the customer on-boarding experience, DEGIRO is using Firco Compliance Link to automate account screening, allowing the business to continue to scale its on-boarding process and keep pace with its fast expansion. DEGIRO will also benefit from Global WatchList™ data from Accuity which, when used in conjunction with Firco Compliance Link, will reduce false positive matches and effectively uncover potential risks.

COO of DEGIRO, Esmond Berkhout said, “We are committed to upholding the highest financial crime compliance standards and are continually reviewing our compliance processes to meet regulatory requirements, but also to help streamline our operations and offer the best service to our clients.” 

Berkhout continued, “Firco Compliance Link has a long history and a good reputation in the market in relation to KYC solutions. We can now create more meaningful screening matches and still give our clients a good on-boarding experience. It also provides an automatic online audit trail, which is required by regulators, and gives us confidence in our financial transactions.”

Firco Compliance Link is an automated and comprehensive solution providing a consolidated view of all account, transaction and trade screening activity. The product provides a complete audit trail and can be installed either as a SaaS solution or as an on-premise installation.

Nick Wilson, EMEA Director at Accuity, said, “We are excited to be working with DEGIRO and to be part of its journey of rapid expansion. The business is breaking boundaries through its diligent attitude and approach to financial crime compliance. By working with FinTechs like DEGIRO, we are able to support their growth through our ability to scale, whilst providing a proven solution that has been trusted by global financial institutions for many years.”

Global ICT services provider Getronics has partnered with UK charity Social Business Trust (SBT) in an initiative intended to promote Getronics’ staff development and engagement while addressing the growing need for technology support and digital transformation in social enterprises.   

According to Chairman and Group CEO of Getronics, Nana Baffour, “Our aim of making Getronics the world’s preferred partner for business transformation requires the very best staff in the world.  This, in turn, depends on us having a world-class working environment and a world-class workplace culture, both to attract and retain the very best people. This partnership with SBT supports our objectives in a socially responsible, very fulfilling way for everyone involved.”

Deborah Exell, Global Head of Human Capital & Change at Getronics, added: “We are investing heavily in training and developing staff, providing the right tools and the right environment for them to grow in their careers. By joining the SBT family as ICT/digital transformation partner, we’re enabling staff to apply their extensive skillsets to genuinely help society, while simultaneously providing opportunities to expand personal networks, acquire new skills and broaden their perspectives. It’s the perfect combination of professional development and personal fulfilment – transforming lives by doing what we do best.”

Getronics plans to engage in comparable partnerships in as many of its locations as possible across the USA, Europe, LatAm and APAC, having already initiated a project to identify suitable opportunities. Initiatives are already in progress in Spain and the USA. 

Adele Blakebrough MBE, CEO of Social Business Trust, said: “There’s a growing global need for technology support for charities, social enterprises and other not-for-profit organisations; it’s increasingly difficult for them to operate efficiently and competitively without skills that are, frankly, hard to come by and are often out of normal financial reach.  We’re absolutely delighted that Getronics and SBT plan to address this through our partnership, with the aim of developing a model that has the potential to be scaled up globally to help other social enterprises.”

Hertfordshire Independent Living Service (HILS), a social enterprise working with SBT, can already see the potential benefits from the Getronics partnership. Its chief executive, Sarah Wren MBE, said: “To deliver future services, build on our work to date and provide cost-efficient and excellent services, modern IT is vital.  We look forward to the insights and knowledge that the Getronics’ volunteers will bring to our business, and, most importantly, to the positive impact this will have on the thousands of older, disabled, and vulnerable people we support every year.”

In partnering with SBT, Getronics joins a group of world-class companies including Bain & Company, Clifford Chance, EY, Permira, Permira Debt Managers, and Thomson Reuters.

The social enterprises helped by SBT tackle some of society’s biggest challenges, including educational disadvantage, elderly isolation and workplace mental health. They are typically the most innovative, successful and ambitious social enterprises in their field, selected from reviews of over 1,000 organisations.

Founded in 2010, SBT is a charity which supports high-growth potential social enterprises (non-profit organisations which mainly fund their work by trading rather than fundraising) to scale up their impact. SBT does this by investing cash grants and professional support from corporate partners in a carefully selected portfolio of social enterprises. To date, SBT, with the support of its partners, has already transformed 1.9 million lives.

German start-up Vonmählen presents its new cutting-edge tech accessory. High Five®, the 5in1 charging cable, eliminates the need to carry several charging cables for different smartphones and end devices. Vonmählen has just launched a crowdfunding campaign in order to introduce the charging cable to an international audience. Vonmählen's campaign can be found on Indiegogo and Kickstarter.

High Five® can charge all common mobile devices and is specifically designed to attach to any key ring. The in-house design team at Vonmählen was able to engineer High Five® to provide five different connection options in one compact cable, including a 2in1 connector and a hybrid circuit board. 

The 30-day campaign aims to make the tech accessory well-known to all mobile device users worldwide and to ensure the final stages of production, distribution and logistics around the world. Vonmählen wants to raise €15,000 on each platform. The public can benefit from exclusive deals available only on Kickstarter and Indiegogo.

Vonmählen's product consists of a USB-A connector and a cable with the connections for USB-C, Micro-USB and Lightning. When both ends of the cable are plugged into the USB-A connector, a loop is formed that allows the tech accessory to be attached quickly and easily to any key ring. A strong N-Class magnet securely holds all components together at all times. 

High Five® is only 15 grams and has the measurements of 70 mm in length, 12 mm wide and 10 mm deep. When the cable is extended it is 45 mm long. High Five® has a maximum charging speed of 2.4A. The cable comes in black, orange, red, pink, blue and green. The body of the charging cable is made of high-quality metal, which is durable and resistant to daily wear and tear.

"Smartphones are our constant companions, personal assistants and problem solvers", said Vonmählen's Head of Marketing Sascha Herrmann. "However, they have one weak point: the battery performance. Without a charged battery, you're cut off from the outside world today. Our product, which is the world’s first 5in1 charging cable for key rings, always provides the user with the connectivity he or she must have." 

The design was developed in collaboration with Emami Design under the direction of Arman Emami. The Berlin-based design agency Emami Design has received more than 79 international awards to date and has been ranked first in the RED-DOT Ranking for best design concepts for ten years among other design agencies from all across Europe and America.