In its Top 30 Most Valuable South Africa Brands ranking, the bank with a brand value of $4.79bn took top spot, ahead of First National Bank with $3.67bn value and telecoms business Vodacom on $3.25bn.

The report showed that with a combined value of $42.6 billion, the Top 30 brands ranking is particularly diverse, covering industry categories including banks, telecom providers, retail, insurance, fast food, beer, hospitals, oil & gas, entertainment and airlines.

WPP’s David Roth said: "As South Africa looks towards future growth, local brands have a critical role to play in both the country’s development locally and how the country is viewed on the global stage. Leading brands across a range of categories demonstrate their ability to innovate and make a difference to consumers’ lives."

Charles Foster, CEO Insights Division Kantar, Africa and Middle East added: "South African brands show great potential for growth in a region undergoing change. BrandZ demonstrates how brands with strong equity are protected and recover more quickly during tough economic periods, while growing faster during the good times. Those that focus on innovation and building emotional connections with consumers will grow faster."

The methodology for this report mirrors that used to calculate the annual BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking, now in its 13^th year.

It combines financial data from Bloomberg and Kantar Worldpanel with the opinions of more than 17,300 South African consumers gathered for over 506 brands in more than 35 categories.

The brands ranked must meet at least one of two eligibility criteria: that the brand was originally created in South Africa; or that it is owned by a publicly traded enterprise, or its financials are published in the public domain.