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- CME continues to dominate as world’s most valuable exchange brand, with brand value of US$1.9 billion
- US exchanges account for four of top five in ranking
- ICE expansion improves brand value, up 35% to US$1.1 billion
- Germany’s Eurex only brand to decline in brand value, but remains in top 10
- NYSE is sector’s strongest brand, scoring 78.6 out of 100
View the Brand Finance Exchanges 10 2019 report here
CME defends top position
CME remains the most valuable brand among the world’s leading exchanges, improving its brand value by 39% to US$1.9 billion, according to the latest report by Brand Finance, the world’s leading independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy.
This substantial increase in brand value, following a 1% drop in 2018, is the result of CME’s focus on new areas of opportunity, innovation and diversification including: the renewed popularity of futures contracts; new opportunities embraced in the market, most notably the trading of Bitcoin futures; and their acquisition of Britain’s NEX Group (formerly ICAP) for US$5.5 billion.
David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance, commented:
“The industry is increasingly embracing diversification to future proof the business models of exchanges. With cutting edge technology creating new and exciting avenues of opportunity, this trend will undoubtedly accelerate in the coming years.”
HKEX disrupts US dominance
US exchanges account for four of the top five placings, the exception being HKEX, which is ranked second with a brand value of US$1.4 billion, rising 45%. HKEX is the fastest-growing exchange brand this year, pushing NYSE down to third. HKEX’s growth can be attributed to high forecast growth rates, with several Chinese brands looking to float.
HKEX is the owner of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the leading market for IPOs. The introduction of electronic IPOs, resulting in the removal of paper transactions, underlines the exchange’s continued reform programme. This initiative has enabled the exchange to reclaim its position as the leading IPO platform as it has increased the focus on technology and biotech companies. HKEX has also eyed the possibility of acquiring blockchain companies.
ICE expansion improves ranking
ICE, ranked fourth up from fifth last year with brand value up 5% to US$1.1 billion, has been active in expanding its business over the past year. In April 2018, it announced that it was acquiring the Chicago Stock Exchange, a full-service stock exchange including trading, data and a corporate listings service. In late 2018, ICE acquired the remaining equity of Merscorp, a national electronic registry, of which it already owned a majority equity interest from 2016. Additionally, ICE entered into an agreement to acquire TMC Bonds LLC - a fixed income market alternative trading system.
These types of acquisitions are being seen more frequently across the industry, allowing brands to integrate more segments of the sector into their business; however, this raises the challenge of how to best utilise the brand equity held in the portfolio to drive value to the business in the future.
Eurex decline
The only brand among the top 10 to see its brand value decline was Germany’s Eurex, despite its bid to expand its offering with a broader partnership programme that includes repo and OTC foreign exchange segments. Despite this, the brand still maintains its 7th ranking with a brand value of US$442 million.
NYSE secures strongest brand rating
Aside from calculating overall brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance. Along with the level of revenues, brand strength is a crucial driver of brand value.
NYSE (up 28% to US$1.4 billion) has secured the highest Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 78.6 out of 100 and is one of only two exchanges to receive a AA+ rating. The other one, SGX (up 6% to US$350 million) has the second strongest brand with a BSI score of 75.4 out of 100.
