A leading UK consultancy yesterday named Türk Telekom as Turkey's most valuable brand for 2017.

According to the London-based Brand Finance valuation consultancy's list of top 100 Turkish brands for the year, the integrated telecommunications service provider topped the list with a brand value of more than $2.6 billion.

The leading communication company's value was up 11 percent in 2017 compared to last year, according to the survey.

Türk Telekom was followed by another Turkish communications company, Turkcell, with a brand value of $1.96 billion, a rise of 37 percent in the same period.

The brand value of Turkish Airlines, which topped last year's survey, slipped by 22 percent to $1.92 billion; the Turkish flag carrier is now ranked third.

Akbank ($1.58 billion), a Turkish lender owned by the Sabancı Group, and Garanti Bank ($1.55 billion), one of the leading lenders in the Turkish market and partly owned by Spain's second biggest lender BBVA, took fourth and fifth place, respectively.

The top ten also included durable consumer goods producer Arçelik with a brand value of $1.2 billion.

State lenders Ziraat Bank ($1.3 billion) and Halkbank ($806 million), as well as private lenders Işbank ($1.25 billion) and Yapi Kredi ($951 million) were also on the list.

Turkey's banking sector performed well on the list with six brands in the top ten, with a combined value of $7.5 billion.

Brand Finance also revealed the total worth of Turkey's 100 most valuable brands decreased by six percent year-on-year to $27.4 billion in 2017.

Muhterem İlguner, managing director of Brand Finance Turkey, noted there had been a downward trend in the brand value of the hundred companies listed in 2017 and 2016.

"Foreign exchange rate differences affected this adversely. However, the result of 2017, which was prepared by financial data of 2016, reflects the impact of an extraordinary year. Turkey is a country that knows to produce. It needs to gain ground in the path of adding value to what it produces," he told Anadolu Agency.

İlguner underlined the difference between brands and valuable brands, adding that valuable brands endeavored to identify and understand consumers, while brands expect to benefit from intensive communication efforts.

Brands should strive for permanent, sustainable success to be valuable, İlguner stated.

İlguner also pointed out that the total value of the most valuable Turkish brands hovered around $25-35 billion in the last decade.