European Journal of Social Sciences Studies ISSN: 2501-8590 ISSN-L: 2501-8590 Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/soc Volume 2 │ Issue 9 │ 2017 doi: 10.5281/zenodo.1135251 GLOBAL RECESSION & GLOBAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS: EVIDENCE FROM TOP 100 GLOBAL BRANDS (2001 – 2015) Kamran Ahmad Siddiquii, Ishtiaq Ahmad Bajwa, Muhammad Ather Elahi College of Business Administration, University of Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Abstract: This paper aims to present the brand equity trends among top banks and financial brands during 2001-15. The research uses the data published by world’s leading brand consultancy Interbrand. During 2001-2015, a total of 19 financial brands from seven countries appeared in the top 100 global brands list. Analyses were made on the basis of cumulative brand equity, average brand equity and growth patterns. Some major trends presented in this paper are; (a) global economic recession (2008-2009) affected the financial brands more than other sectors; (b) different clusters of financial institutions moved differently during recession and afterwards (c) dominance of American financial brands remained the key observation. JEL: D02, E02, G21, F01 Keywords: brand equity, financial institutions, global recession 1. Introduction The concept of brand equity has been emerged in marketing and management since 1990. The term brand equity refers the value that the brand name brings to the producers, retailers and consumers of the brand. In marketing brand equity referred to as the intangible brand properties. Brand equity arose from customer brand name awareness, brand loyalty, perceived brand quality, favorable brand symbolisms and Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. © 2015 – 2017 Open Access Publishing Group 207 Kamran Ahmad Siddiqui, Ishtiaq Ahmad Bajwa, Muhammad Ather Elahi GLOBAL RECESSION & GLOBAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS: EVIDENCE FROM TOP 100 GLOBAL BRANDS (2001 – 2015) associations that provide a platform for a competitive advantage and future earning streams (Aaker, 19991). Further it important consideration that brand equity requires extension in the context of marketing because of the differences between goods and services (Zenithal et al, 1985). The growth of service sector is heavily dependent on the opinion of the customers about brand and image of the organization, especially in the perspective of growing competition. Of course, there’s no substitute for a strong brand reputation. It takes time to build, and it’s hard to regain if it falters. That sentiment has special relevance for banks and financial sector industry, as many customers around the world are feeling frustrated by their recent experiences. Whether because of hidden costs, hard-to-understand contract terms, a lack of customer service or awareness of instances of corruption around the industry, their confidence in their financial sector has been shaken. And as choice increases, customer perceptions about individual brands are becoming increasingly important for long-term success. There’s been no shortage of signals for the banks to heed since the crash of 2007-8. There is a long debate on the causes of crises and its effects. But from whichever angle we may discuss it; one fact is at the center of it. The financial sector was at the epicenter of the crises. Many of the institution lost their existence and a huge chunk undergo reputation damage. The objective of the study is to examine the brand equity trends among top banks and financial brands during 2001-15. In this study, we use the data published by world’s leading brand consultancy Interbrand. For the period 2001 to 2015, a total of 19 financial brands from seven countries appeared in the top 100 global brands list. We further analyze on the basis of cumulative brand equity, average brand equity and growth patterns. Some of the major conclusions drawn from the study are; that global economic recession (2008-2009) affected the financial brands more than other sectors. The he growth rate of brand equity for financial institutions went as low as -21% during the 2008 crises period. Moreover, we observed dominance of American financial brands in the list of top brands. The rest of the paper is organized as follows; section 2 presents some insight into literature for brand equity with special reference to financial institutions. Section 3 describes the methodology and analysis of the study whereas key findings are given in section 4 of the study. For viewing / downloading the full article, please access the following link: https://oapub.org/soc/index.php/EJSSS/article/view/291 European Journal of Social Sciences Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 9 │ 2017 208