New Brand Finance data shows eight Australian banking brands are valued at $30.5 billion amid widening performance variations
SYDNEY, 5 March 2026 – Leading Australian banking brands are exhibiting increasingly varied performance trajectories, according to the Banking 500 2026 journal by Brand Finance, the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Australia’s eight banking brands represented in the global ranking account for a combined brand value of USD30.5 billion, highlighting a sector characterised less by uniform movement and more by divergence, selective resilience, and brand-specific pressures.
Commonwealth Bank leads the cohort of Australian banks in the Banking 500 2026 journal, valued at USD10.4 billion, down 4% from 2025. Despite the dip in brand value, it ranks 37th globally, supported by steady revenue and a resilient core lending business. With a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 85.2/100, Commonwealth Bank remains the only Australian banking brand to hold the AAA brand strength rating.
Ranked 83rd globally, NAB’s brand value remains broadly stable at USD5.1 billion as it continues to demonstrate resilience amid ongoing competitive and margin pressures within the Australian banking sector.
Dropping 20 ranks to 86ththis year, ANZ recorded a notable decline in brand value by 18% to USD5 billion. The bank’s performance was driven by a weaker BSI score (55/100) and more moderate revenue expectations. Brand Finance’s market research shows ANZ’s perception measures softened, particularly across reputation, reliability, engagement, and likeability, amid declining consumer confidence and reputational pressures. Although revenue grew modestly in 2025, reduced long-term growth expectations, alongside weaker brand strength, contributed to the brand value decline.
Climbing four spots in the ranking to 88th, Westpac recorded the most significant uplift with its brand value increasing 27% to USD4.8 billion. This coincides with a period in which Westpac reported higher quarterly profits (Q3 2025), and growth across lending and deposits, developments that aligned with improved investor sentiment.
Macquarie demonstrated a stable brand value at USD4 billion, positioning itself as the 99th most valuable banking brand globally. Notably, Macquarie recorded a meaningful 15-point improvement in its BSI score to 74.4/100.
Bankwest (brand value up 11% to USD571 million), stands out among Australian banking brands in the global ranking as the only brand to record both positive brand value and BSI growth. According to Brand Finance’s market research data, Bankwest’s BSI score improved to 55.6/100 from 50.4/100 in 2025. Ranking as the 305th most valuable banking brand globally, this growth was supported by higher scores across key brand funnel metrics, including familiarity, consideration, and preference, alongside stronger performance in brand behaviour measures.
Bendigo Bank saw its brand value decline by 14% to USD242 million, driven by weaker brand strength. The brand’s BSI score fell from 51.3/100 in 2025 to 41/100 this year, with notable declines in knowledge, credibility, and appeal according to Brand Finance market research data. Ranked 463th in the global ranking, the brand’s movement coincides with regulatory scrutiny related to compliance controls and workforce reductions linked to restructuring efforts, factors that can weigh on brand perceptions.
Mark Crowe, Managing Director Australia, Brand Finance, commented:
“Australian banking brands are showing varied performance in the global banking sector. Despite these shifts, Australian banks continue to maintain a strong presence within the top 500 banking brands, with five out of the eight brands ranking within the global top 100. Commonwealth Bank continues to demonstrate exceptional brand resilience as the only Australian banking brand to secure a AAA rating, while Westpac’s strong brand value growth highlights renewed market momentum. At the same time, movements across ANZ and several sub-brands reinforce how shifts in customer perceptions, financial expectations, and portfolio strategies can materially influence brand value outcomes.”
Other notable brands featured in the Banking 500 2026 are:
Banking Industry Global Insights
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.
