ISTANBUL

China's banking brands saw a 6% year-on-year increase in total brand value, with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) maintaining its position as the world's most valuable for the ninth consecutive year, on a list released Thursday by Brand Finance.

China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China followed in the ranking.

China Merchants Bank also made the list in 10th place.

"Four out of the top five Chinese banking brands benefit from strong state support, allowing them to expand aggressively and align with national economic priorities such as infrastructure projects, Belt and Road Initiative investments, and real estate development," said Scott Chen, managing director at Brand Finance China.

"Flexible regulatory policies further enable these banks to sustain high growth despite economic uncertainties," he added.

Other banks in the top 10 were from the US: Bank of America (5), Chase (6), Wells Fargo (7), Citi (8) and JP Morgan (9).

The top 20 also included banks from the UK, Singapore and Canada: HSBC (UK), Capital One (US), Postal Savings (China), Santander (Spain), Goldman Sachs (US), TD (Canada), DBS (Singapore), Barclays (UK), CITIC (China) and RBC (Canada).