New Brand Finance data shows banking brands account for 42% of nation’s total brand value
COLOMBO, 31 July 2026 - Sri Lanka's leading brands have reached a significant milestone, with the combined brand value of the nation's top 100 brands rising 17% to a record LKR652 billion, surpassing the pre-crisis 2019 peak of LKR630 billion, according to the Sri Lanka 100 2026 report from Brand Finance, the world's leading brand valuation consultancy.
The strong brand performance mirrors Sri Lanka's broader economic recovery following the country's 2022 sovereign debt crisis. Despite the impact of Cyclone Ditwah in late 2025 which caused an estimated USD4.1 billion (approximately LKR1.37 trillion) in damage, the economy maintained a 5% growth in 2025, supported by stabilising inflation, improving foreign reserves and an ambitious programme of economic and digital reforms.
The banking sector continues to underpin Sri Lanka's brand landscape, contributing 42% of the total brand value in the ranking, equivalent to LKR275 billion, up 14% year on year. Six out of the country's top ten most valuable brands are banks, highlighting the sector's central role in financing economic growth and maintaining financial stability.
Bank of Ceylon (BOC) (brand value at LKR65.5 billion) retains its position as Sri Lanka's most valuable brand for the second consecutive year, reflecting the growing international profile of Sri Lanka's financial sector.
At second place, Commercial Bank (brand value up 18% to LKR 54.9 billion) is recognised as a leader in digital payments infrastructure and Sri Lanka's largest interbank-payments processor.
Dialog (brand value up 16% to LKR41.1 billion) emerges as Sri Lanka's strongest brand with Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 89.4/100 and an AAA brand strength rating, overtaking Keells (brand value up 16% to LKR26.4 billion) now second strongest brand, following continued investment in customer experience, digital services and innovation. Dialog also remains as the third most valuable Sri Lankan brand in 2026.
With a BSI score of 88.5/100 and an AAA brand strength rating, Keells slips to second place as the strongest Sri Lankan brand while Commercial Bank retains its position as the third strongest (BSI: 87/100, AAA brand strength rating).
Ruchi Gunewardene, Chairman, Brand Finance Lanka, commented:
"Sri Lanka's brands have demonstrated remarkable resilience. Surpassing the country's pre-crisis peak is more than a financial milestone; it reflects renewed confidence in the economy and the institutions driving its recovery. While banking continues to anchor the nation's brand landscape, the next phase of growth will depend on greater diversification, continued digital transformation and the successful adoption of AI across industries."
Other standout brands in the Sri Lanka 100 2026 report are Sampath Bank (brand value up 5% to LKR26 billion), the first Sri Lankan bank to integrate PayPal withdrawals, while Nations Trust Bank (brand value up 35% to LKR9.9 billion) completed the acquisition of HSBC Sri Lanka's retail banking business, consolidation its position within the banking sector.
Meanwhile, PickMe (brand value up 11% to LKR4.8 billion) continues to demonstrate how local innovation can outperform global competitors by addressing domestic market needs. Since its launch in 2015, the homegrown mobility platform has strengthened its position through digital payments, AI powered pricing and demand forecasting, multilingual AI customer support, and enhanced safety features, cementing its role in Sri Lanka's digital economy.
View the complete Sri Lanka 100 2026 ranking at www.brandirectory.com and visit Echelon’s digital platforms from first week of August to read the in-depth analysis around the nation’s top brands of the year.
This is the 22nd edition of publishing Sri Lanka’s Most Valuable Brands and it is the second year Brand Finance is collaborating with the prestigious business magazine Echelon, to publish the much-followed annual results. Echelon publications and its related digital and social media channels will carry a comprehensive analysis and also provide an in-depth view on the key sectors of the economy.
Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organisations make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance operates in over 25 countries. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 6,000 brand valuations, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports which rank brands across all sectors and countries.
Brand Finance also operates the Global Brand Equity Monitor, conducting original market research annually on 6,000 brands, surveying more than 175,000 respondents across 41 countries and 31 industry sectors. By combining perceptual data from the Global Brand Equity Monitor with data from its valuation database — the largest brand value database in the world — Brand Finance equips ambitious brand leaders with the data, analytics, and the strategic guidance they need to enhance brand and business value.
In addition to calculating brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics, compliant with ISO 20671.
Brand Finance is a regulated accountancy firm and a committed leader in the standardisation of the brand valuation industry. Brand Finance was the first to be certified by independent auditors as compliant with both ISO 10668 and ISO 20671 and has received the official endorsement of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) in the United States.
Brand is defined as a marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos, and designs, intended to identify goods, services, or entities, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits.
Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors. Brand Finance evaluates brand strength in a process compliant with ISO 20671, looking at Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and the impact of those on Business Performance. The data used is derived from Brand Finance’s proprietary market research programme and from publicly available sources.
Each brand is assigned a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score out of 100, which feeds into the brand value calculation. Based on the score, each brand is assigned a corresponding Brand Rating up to AAA+ in a format similar to a credit rating.
Brand Finance calculates the values of brands in its rankings using the Royalty Relief approach – a brand valuation method compliant with the industry standards set in ISO 10668. It involves estimating the likely future revenues that are attributable to a brand by calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for its use, to arrive at a ‘brand value’ understood as a net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
The steps in this process are as follows:
1 Calculate brand strength using a balanced scorecard of metrics assessing Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and Business Performance. Brand strength is expressed as a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score on a scale of 0 to 100.
2 Determine royalty range for each industry, reflecting the importance of brand to purchasing decisions. In luxury, the maximum percentage is high, while in extractive industry, where goods are often commoditised, it is lower. This is done by reviewing comparable licensing agreements sourced from Brand Finance’s extensive database.
3 Calculate royalty rate. The BSI score is applied to the royalty range to arrive at a royalty rate. For example, if the royalty range in a sector is 0-5% and a brand has a BSI score of 80 out of 100, then an appropriate royalty rate for the use of this brand in the given sector will be 4%.
4 Determine brand-specific revenues by estimating a proportion of parent company revenues attributable to a brand.
5 Determine forecast revenues using a function of historic revenues, equity analyst forecasts, and economic growth rates.
6 Apply the royalty rate to the forecast revenues to derive brand revenues.
7 Discount post-tax brand revenues to a net present value which equals the brand value.
Brand Finance has produced this study with an independent and unbiased analysis. The values derived and opinions presented in this study are based on publicly available information and certain assumptions that Brand Finance used where such data was deficient or unclear. Brand Finance accepts no responsibility and will not be liable in the event that the publicly available information relied upon is subsequently found to be inaccurate. The opinions and financial analysis expressed in the study are not to be construed as providing investment or business advice. Brand Finance does not intend the study to be relied upon for any reason and excludes all liability to any body, government, or organisation.
The data presented in this study form part of Brand Finance's proprietary database, are provided for the benefit of the media, and are not to be used in part or in full for any commercial or technical purpose without written permission from Brand Finance.
