Barclays and UBS are ejected from top global brands index

The Libor-fixing scandal, four years of banker bashing and the impact of a multi-million-pound rogue trader yesterday saw Barclays and UBS kicked out of an index of the world's top 100 brands.

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"Financial services brands are continuing to feel the impact of 2008's global economic downturn," the annual Interbrand survey of the 100 best global brands reported. Last year, Barclays took 79th place and UBS was 94th; this year both were absent.

Also hit was Credit Suisse, which declined 5 per cent in brand value to number 95 in the table. Not all finance firms were struck, however: five of the 12 financial services brands in this year's report increased in brand value, including American Express, Morgan Stanley, Olympic sponsor Visa and MasterCard.

Overall Coca-Cola retained its top position, Apple leapfrogged IBM to take the second spot and Facebook entered the top 100 index for the first time, at number 69, after its controversial IPO, the third largest in US history.

Google took the fourth spot, exceeding rival Microsoft's brand value for the first time in the 13 years Interbrand has been publishing its report. It is compiled of factors including the brand's financial performance and strength it has to command a premium price, or secure earnings for its business. Elsewhere Amazon gained 46 per cent after its new Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire went on sale in 175 countries, and Samsung's best-selling Galaxy S3 smartphone helped it pick up 40 per cent more "brand value". The phone's inclusion in the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics helped it overcome the impact of its patent dispute with Apple.

But rival phonemaker HTC, alongside skincare brand Nivea and fashion group Armani also dropped out of the list. "As global competition increases and many competitive advantages like technology become more short lived, a brand's contribution to shareholder value will only increase," Jez Frampton, Interbrand's chief executive, said.