Corporate portrait in press releases: The case of banking institutions

Press releases are powerful, yet subtle, bodies of texts that can be used to paint a corporate portrait of an institution. However, with the gap in research in the investigation of external corporate communication (Jacobs, 1999), little is known of the manner in which these press releases can be effectively used to an

institution’s corporate advantage. Thus, the current study aims to outline the various forms of self-descriptions in press releases implemented by ten of the top fi nancial institutions in the world, and highlight how these respectable institutions promote their function in society and validate their continual dominance and existence in the national and global economic community.