How are global banks´ reputation affected by their response to the Russian invasion to Ukraine?

alva’s latest analysis reveals the impact of responses to the Russia-Ukraine crisis on investment banks’ reputations last month

Through the lens of six major investment banks, alva has examined 3 million+ press, financial analysis and social media data points to reveal how sentiment trends have shifted across this sector, and identified key issues and antagonists driving this reputational change.

Key findings of the report are:

• Important to move first, but no escape from scrutiny: Goldman Sachs received a positive sentiment boost amongst stakeholders as the first major bank to exit Russia, but negativity looms around accusations of profiteering from legal loophole.
• UK media is rife, while US media is unsparing: The UK media is more actively reporting on the banking sector’s operations in Russia than US outlets, though US media is more critical towards banks, driving lower sentiment amongst customer and investor stakeholders.
• Customer boycotts on the horizon?: A rise in UK consumer pressure towards HSBC signal potential boycotts due to the bank’s links to Gazprom.
• Investors have their way: Deutsche bank leadership was forced to make a U-turn on its decision to remain in Russia after initial comments that exiting “would go against our values” received backlash from their investor stakeholders.

Download the full report here.