Banks rebuilding reputations as Apple claims superbrand title

Britain's banks are rebuilding their corporate reputations after a series of scandals, including the fixing of Libor, shattered public trust in the institutions.

Banks rebuilding reputations as Apple claims superbrand title
Royal Bank of Scotland has returned to the top 500 corporate brands for the first time since 2009 Credit: Photo: Getty Images

The latest Superbrands survey – which ranks companies based on the strength of their brand in the UK – shows sharp rises up the rankings for Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC, and Barclays.

Lloyds rose 287 places to 96th, while RBS made it back into the top 500 for the first time since 2009.

The survey, which claims Apple is the number one business brand in Britain, also shows an improvement in the reputation of BP following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. BP is ranked at 11 in the league table despite not featuring in the top 500 companies last year.

However, the report suggests that the Rolls-Royce name has been damaged amid investigations by the Serious Fraud Office into bribery allegations in China and Indonesia.

The FTSE 100 engineer has been ranked as the top company for the last two years, but falls to 15th in the latest survey.

The report is based on a poll of thousands of marketing experts and business professionals.

Stephen Cheliotis, chairman of the Superbrands Expert Council said: “Perhaps the most surprising element of the results was the significant reputational bounce back enjoyed by the UK’s leading banks.”

A survey of consumers ranked watchmaker Rolex as the number one consumer brand.