Forbes Names Northwest Bancshares as One of America's 100 Most Trustworthy Companies

WARREN, Pa., April 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Forbes magazine has named Northwest Bancshares, Inc., the parent company of Northwest Savings Bank, to its annual list of 100 Most Trustworthy Companies.

To reduce over 8,000 public companies down to the most trustworthy one hundred, Forbes employs GMIRATINGS (GMI), formerly Audit Integrity, an independent financial analytics company based in Los Angeles. GMI assigns each company an accounting and governance risk score (AGR) on a quarterly basis using a proprietary process to evaluate financial reporting, transparency, fiscal policies, management behaviors, corporate governance, and risk factors. The result is a list of companies that "have consistently demonstrated transparent and conservative accounting practices and solid corporate governance and management.  They do not play games with revenue and expense recognition or with asset valuation."

"We are truly honored to be named one of America's Most Trustworthy Companies," said William J. Wagner, President and CEO of Northwest Bancshares, Inc.  "Northwest remains committed to the highest standards of integrity with our customers, employees and shareholders. In today's economic and political environment, our efforts to provide a high level of transparency and strong corporate governance have become more important than ever," Wagner added.  "In this regard, we must recognize our Financial Division, under the supervision of our Chief Financial Officer, William Harvey, for their dedication to comprehensive and transparent financial reporting.  We must also recognize our Board of Directors and management team for their unwavering commitment to strong governance principles."

Founded in 1896, Northwest Bancshares, Inc. holds assets of $8 billion and operates 168 community banking locations in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and Maryland.  The stock of Northwest Bancshares, Inc. trades on the NASDAQ Global Exchange under the symbol NWBI. More information is available at northwestsavingsbank.com.

To read the Forbes article, see: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/03/20/americas-most-trustworthy-companies/

SOURCE Northwest Bancshares, Inc.