There’s a fresh example of brand advertising by a big bank that is little more than self-congratulatory nonsense. This time it’s Caixa, the top savings bank in Spain.
What is it about Spanish banks and their need to trumpet awards and rankings from dubious sources? First it was Santander (which I blogged about here), and now Caixa is taking its turn.
In a full-page advertisement, the bank crows about having been named “Best Bank in Spain” for the past two years. Is that anything to boast about given the shambles that is Spain’s banking sector? It’s sort of like being the best-dressed guest on the Titanic.
And while Euromoney is a formidable media group, its focus is large institutions, not consumers. So the award says little about whether Caixa’s customers are satisfied with the bank’s products and services.
The ad helps management claim some success for at least, well, winning an award. And there’s a modest benefit in saying something nice about Caixa to the investors and corporate executives who read the Financial Times, even if the bank paid for that privilege. Still, it’s an expensive way to take a bow.
Investors, for their part, don’t seem to need advertisements to sway their views. They’ve kept the stock price near the top of its range (amid a very small free float) and bondholders snapped up the bank’s 5-year notes a couple of months ago. So perhaps there’s no need for this sort of advertising at all.