# Banca Transilvania new logo (2016)

> Banca Transilvania launched a new logo in 2016, designed by Brandient. Rebrand 2016 by Brandient: small medieval shield -> large tricolour BT shield.

## Key facts

- Brand: Banca Transilvania
- Launched: 2016
- Studio: Brandient
- What changed: Rebrand 2016 by Brandient: small medieval shield -> large tricolour BT shield.
- Why: Banca Transilvania said the new brand reflects a new stage of development and maturity as a Romanian bank and local champion supporting the entrepreneurial spirit.
- Industry: Fintech
- Logos: https://rebrandlog.com/logos/banca-transilvania-2016/before.png (before), https://rebrandlog.com/logos/banca-transilvania-2016/after.png (after)

## The rebrand, explained

Banca Transilvania began 22 years earlier in Cluj-Napoca with a team of 13, its release noted. By 2016 it was one of Romania's largest banks, with more than 7,300 staff and over 2.2 million customers, and a brand architecture of more than 20 sub-brands. On 15 September 2016 it unveiled a new brand identity, the second rebranding in its history after 2003.

The release and Pagina de Media described the same essentials. The logo was redrawn, and a richer palette of yellow, red and blue became the new visual language of Banca Transilvania, associated with Romania, modernity, respect and energy. Some things were kept on purpose: the shield as the graphic element of the logo, BT yellow, and Zânul, the genie character who had been the bank's face for ten years. The positioning as the bank of enterprising people stayed too, backed by the claim that one in three entrepreneurs starting a business chose BT.

Brandient ran the project, which covered audit, redesign of the visual identity, brand and communication strategy, and implementation across the bank and its financial group. Its design director Ciprian Bădălan told Pagina de Media the identity aimed to amplify the charismatic, vital personality of both the Romanian entrepreneur and the BT team, with a modern treatment of the logo inspiring a generous graphic platform, while trust was supported through solid lettering and compositional rigour. A new TV spot and website came from the agency Three, voiced by Radio Guerrilla's Mihai Dobrovolschi.

Chairman Horia Ciorcilă framed it as maturity: the bank was in a new stage of development, and the brand reflected a Romanian bank and local champion supporting the entrepreneurial spirit.

The tricolour is the loudest decision, and it is a calculated one. A homegrown bank calling itself a local champion has every reason to wear the national colours, and keeping the shield, the yellow and the genie preserves recognition. But patriotism is an easy card, and stacking red and blue onto yellow risks a busier mark than the confident simplicity the old yellow had. At least one reader of Pagina de Media said they preferred the old logo, a fair verdict on a refresh that is solid but rarely elegant.

In short: The shield goes tricolour.

## Sources

- https://en.bancatransilvania.ro/news/comunicate-de-presa/banca-transilvania-o-marca-puternica-romaneasca-in-haine-noi
- https://brandient.com/brandient-redesigns-banca-transilvania
- https://www.profit.ro/povesti-cu-profit/financiar/banci/rebranding-la-banca-transilvania-sigla-schimbata-pentru-a-doua-oara-acum-cu-tricolor-15567820

## Cite this

Rebrand Log, "Banca Transilvania new logo (2016)", https://rebrandlog.com/rebrand/banca-transilvania-2016/, last updated 2026-10-21.