United Bank for Africa, the Pan-African banking group, received further endorsement of its strong brand strength, rising 161 places to 285th in the latest ranking of the Top 500 Banking Brands by the Banker Magazine. The increase from 451 in 2008 to 285 in the 2009 ranking marked UBA out as the second fastest growing financial brand globally and the fastest world-wide outside the US. UBA was awarded an "A" rating in the annual ranking of banks worldwide, with a brand value estimated at US$322million. Brand value was arrived at through a discounted cash flow methodology based on estimated future royalties. The survey benchmarked the strength, risk and potential of a brand, relative to its competitors, on a scale ranging from AAA to D, similar to a credit rating. The data used to calculate the ratings came from various sources including Bloomberg, annual reports and brand finance research. As in previous years, HSBC and Bank of America dominated the table ranking 1 st and 2nd respectively, whilst Santander (ranked 4th in 2009) beat Wells Fargo (now 4th) to the number 3 position. On the African continent Eco bank was ranked 282 whilst South African banks topped the ranking even though they recorded relative declines. Compared to the previous years, Standard Bank of South Africa ranked 105, a drop from the 85th position, First National Bank followed closely at 107th (down from 72nd in 2009) position whilst ABSA ranked 109 (down from 95 in 2009).