Zara, Santander and BBVA, among the world¡¯s most-valuable brands

Three Spanish companies have made it into Forbes¡¯ latest ranking of The World¡¯s Most Valuable Brands.

Fashion retailer Zara ranked 53^rd, while banking groups Santander and BBVA were listed as 72^nd and 94^th, respectively.

Ortega is a regular presence on the Forbes lists, where he ranks as the second wealthiest man on the planet

According to Forbes, Spain¡¯s most valued brand is Zara, with an estimated brand value of $10.7 billion (€9.38 million), a 13% rise on last year¡¯s list.

Zara is the flagship brand of the Inditex textile empire founded by the Galician entrepreneur Amancio Ortega ¨C whose employees recently surprised him with a high-profile birthday party.

Ortega is a regular presence on the Forbes lists, where he ranks as the second-wealthiest man on the planet.

The Santander group shows up considerably lower on a list that features a lot more technology and consumer brands than banks. Forbes estimates the Santander brand value at $8 billion (over €7 billion), a 5% annual rise.

The second Spanish lender on the list, BBVA, has posted significant growth, expanding 13% to reach a brand value of $6.8 billion (€5.9 billion), which puts it ahead of names such as Philips and Prada.

Apple is currently the world¡¯s most valuable brand, followed by Google, Microsoft, Coca-Cola and Facebook.

English version by Susana Urra.