Major leagues and events provide large audiences and strong engagement, making sponsorship an effective way for financial brands to build visibility and positive association. In 2025, banking brands have shown a preference for sponsoring teams and venues, which attract the highest proportion of annual spend. North America led banking-sector sports sponsorship last year, with brands in the region investing the most and securing the highest average deal values, reveals GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.
GlobalData’s latest report, “Sponsorship Sector Report – Financial Services – Banking – 2026,” reveals that in 2025, soccer leads annual sponsorship value in the sector, generating more than twice the value of basketball, the next-highest sport.
Olivia Snooks, Sport Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The spending reflects the scale and financial strength of North American banks, a deeply rooted sports culture, and a mature sports marketing ecosystem. Europe is the next-largest region by sponsorship spend. European banks are highly active in sports sponsorships but tend to pursue smaller deals than those in North America. The market is more fragmented across regional and national events, creating opportunities across a range of sponsorship levels. While Europe trails North America in total spend, its strength reflects the scale of its banking sector and the broad appeal of soccer to both regional and global audiences.”
2025 shows a trend toward banking institutions tying their brands to some of the world’s most prominent sports properties. Top value deals, such as Liverpool FC with Standard Chartered Bank, and Ferrari with UniCredit Group, illustrate banks targeting sports entities with strong global influence and loyal audiences. These sponsorships are not only about visibility, but also about establishing an association with the values and prestige these properties represent.
Snooks continues: “These deals underscore intensifying competition as firms seek differentiation in a market where digital transformation and brand trust are critical. They signal banks’ efforts to project stability, innovation, and relevance by associating with popular properties. This matters more as banking moves online and loyalty weakens, customers can easily open new accounts and shift funds, making relationships less sticky.”
In 2025, the biggest sports sponsorship spenders include JPMorgan Chase (Chase), Bank of America, and Barclays. They spend heavily because they can afford top-tier partnerships with major leagues and tournaments. These deals cost more because they deliver huge audiences, broad TV and digital exposure, and added benefits like exclusive marketing rights and VIP hospitality. For these banks, sponsorship is a way to sustain brand awareness, build trust, and support promotions that drive use of cards and other services. The most active brands across the sector are Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe and PNC Financial Services.
Snooks concludes: “Two key trends emerge from the data. The biggest spenders are not always the most active dealmakers. Chase, Bank of America, and Barclays lead in total spending, while Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe and PNC lead in deal count, showing two distinct strategies: a few large deals versus many smaller ones. Second, only a handful of banks appear on both lists: Chase, Bank of America, PNC, and USAA. This suggests most banks tend to focus on one strategy rather than trying to lead in both.”
