J.D. Power Trophy Arrives at Northwest Savings Bank

WARREN, Pa., June 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Music played and video images swirled on a giant screen as a vintage 1940 armored car led by a Dixieland band delivered the J.D. Power and Associates trophy to officials of Northwest Savings Bank in downtown Warren, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, June 1. A group of more than 700 employees of the local bank met the trophy with cheers.

On arrival, the 2011 award for Highest Customer Satisfaction with Retail Banking in the Mid-Atlantic Region joined its predecessor from 2010, awarded to Northwest last year, on a display stand on a specially-built stage at the south end of Liberty Street. The street, which was closed to traffic for the event and crowded with Northwest personnel, runs between the bank's Administration and Corporate Centers through the heart of the small city 140 miles north of Pittsburgh. A banner, twenty feet wide, bearing images of the awards from 2011 and 2010, hung from the enclosed walkway that spans the street above the stage and joins the bank's two buildings.  A mammoth jumbotron behind the stage allowed everyone in the crowd to view speakers onstage and videos presented as part of the program.

Steven Fisher, Northwest's Executive Vice President of Banking Services addressed the crowd. He recognized that those gathered represented all departments of Northwest Savings Bank, including representatives from the bank's network of community banking offices, its region, district and area management team, commercial lenders, wealth management representatives and business service advisors from the different states the banks serves, members of the 52 offices of the Northwest Consumer Discount Company, Boetger and Associates, Veracity Benefit Designs, and Members of the Board of Directors. It was the largest gathering of Northwest Savings Bank employees in the company's 115 year history.

Addressing the crowd, Mr. Fisher said, "Today is a celebration to thank the people who have contributed to our success.  The extra effort put forth by you and your associates is what separates the good from the great and why our customers have rewarded us a repeat. It is an amazing testimonial to just how passionate this organization is about continuous improvement and delivering world class service.

We have done incredibly well – however, I believe our best years are still ahead of us."

J.D. Power and Associates Account Director, US Services and Emerging Industries Division, Financial Services Group, Lisa Coleno briefly addressed the crowd. Stating that Northwest is "second to none," she pointed out that the bank held a lead of twelve index points over the bank ranked second behind it in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Last year, the margin was only two index points. She stated that the only way to top the JD Power Trophy is to be awarded a second, and the only way to exceed that record is to earn three. As they cheered, she urged the crowd of employees to push for a "three-peat."

Northwest Savings Bank President and CEO William J. Wagner then thanked the employees for their commitment to customer service and Northwest's customers for their support.  He stated his belief that Northwest's customers appreciate the bank for the way its employees treat them. He especially stressed the way that Northwest employees take ownership of customers' problems and fix them, and he pointed out that, according to the J.D. Power survey, Northwest ranked first nationally in problem resolution by a large margin.

Mr. Wagner then proceeded to read headlines, milestones in the company's history from the past thirty months.  He began in 2009, when Forbes named Northwest Savings Bank one of the 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in America. Later that year, another headline read Northwest Savings Bank Completes $688 Million Common Stock Offering Despite Unfavorable Market Conditions. In 2010, Mr. Wagner said, a release from J.D. Power and Associates announced that Northwest had been ranked highest for customer satisfaction with Retail Banking in the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 Survey. Later in 2010, Forbes bore a headline stating that it rated Northwest 23rd strongest bank in America, from a universe of 8,000 banks. Forbes repeated the exact headline, again ranking Northwest 23rd strongest in the country, in 2011. Also in 2011, Keefe, Bruyette and Woods named Northwest to its Honor Roll for Superior Performance Over the Last Ten Years. Finally, came the headline for its recent J.D. Power and Associates award for Highest Customer Satisfaction with Retail Banking in the Mid-Atlantic Region for 2011. As he read the headlines, the crowd responded again with cheers.

The local bank received the award because it ranked highest in customer satisfaction in retail banking in the Mid-Atlantic Region according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Retail Banking Customer Satisfaction Study. (SM)

The study, conducted in January and February, analyzed overall customer satisfaction with their retail banking experience based on six factors: account activities, account information, facility, fees, problem resolution, and product offering. Northwest received the highest customer satisfaction score in the Mid-Atlantic Region, which includes Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.  

J.D. Power and Associates of Westlake, California has completed these studies and released these rankings for six years. The rankings reflect the results of surveys conducted with nearly 52,000 banking customers nationally. Additional information about the study and its methodology may be found at http://www.jdpower.com/Finance/ratings/retail-banking-ratings/

About Northwest Savings Bank

Headquartered in Warren, PA, Northwest Savings Bank is a full-service community bank that operates 172 offices in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Maryland, and Florida. With assets of $8.1 billion, Northwest offers its customers a full range of personal and business banking services plus investment management services. The stock of its parent company, Northwest Bancshares, Inc., trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "NWBI." For more information about Northwest Savings Bank, please visit northwestsavingsbank.com.

About J.D. Power and Associates

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services company operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, Web intelligence, and customer satisfaction. The company's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. For more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

SOURCE Northwest Savings Bank