Bull Bear Report Feb 17 2010

Finance Firms Tank on 100 Most-Respected List

By laura lorber

Financial firms aren't quite in Rodney Dangerfield territory, but it's no secret that they're getting a lot less respect nowadays.

Now a new report from Barron's shows they're losing cred with even those within their own ranks.

The magazine recently surveyed professional money managers on their opinions about the 100 largest companies to produce its closely-watched World's Most Respected Companies list. In most cases, financial services companies on the list lost ground in the standings from their previous year's rank.

Berkshire Hathaway dropped from second place to fifth. General Electric, whose financial unit had all but overtaken the company until the financial crisis, fell to No. 74 from 43. Wells Fargo slid to No. 49 from 21. Here's something of a surprise: Goldman, despite its PR issues, logged a respectable No. 30 in its first appearance on the list. Perhaps not surprisingly given its struggles, Citigroup came in last, ranking No. 100 on the list of 100 companies.

Here are the financial companies on the list with their 2010 ranking, followed by their 2009 ranking in parentheses.

5. (2) Berkshire Hathaway

21. (26) JPMorgan Chase

30. (NR*) Goldman Sachs

34. (NR) Royal Bank of Canada

49. (21) Wells Fargo

56. (77) Banco Santander

60. (NR) Commonwealth Bank of Australia

64. (NR) Westpac Banking

66. (NR) Credit Suisse

67. (63) HSBC Holdings

73. (83) Allianz