WARREN, Pa, Aug. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- A new financial service, unique to Northwest Savings Bank, will help manage royalties from gas or oil production and allow royalty owners to verify their royalty dollars. After more than a year of development, Northwest has introduced Royalty Manager™ at a time when royalties from Marcellus production are beginning to flow in earnest within its footprint.
Royalty Manager™ receives royalty payments on behalf of the customer in a convenient, private and secure manner. Royalty Manager™ verifies the amount of each payment, auditing the producing gas or oil company's calculations based on recent pricing, production data and relevant lease documents. Royalty Manager™ then automatically distributes funds according to the customer's instructions – to checking, savings, tax reserve or investment accounts, among others. Finally, the Royalty Manager™ customer receives detailed yet easy-to-read monthly and annual statements, which track and chart not only price and production data, but also deductions and expenses which makes for simpler and more convenient tax reporting.
Bud Shuffstall, Senior Oil, Gas and Mineral Officer at Northwest, added, "Royalty Manager™ is not just for royalty owners with a Marcellus, Utica or other shale-gas lease. It's perfect for royalty owners with production from older, traditional leases as well. Old leases tend to have a net royalty provision. Royalty Manager™ tracks post-production expenses in net royalty leases, compares them with industry averages and flags any significant deviation from those industry averages for follow-up and resolution."
Shuffstall pointed out that this type of service is unique to Northwest. "No other bank in the market has the expertise of Northwest's Mineral Management Division. The few other banks in our market who have tried to offer this service have had to outsource their programs to a western bank in Texas or Oklahoma. With Northwest's Royalty Manager™, customers can call and speak with an expert who is familiar with OGM matters and who is prepared to help all without cost or obligation."
"The services, the calculations and data tracking, the reporting, the customer service are all unique to Northwest Savings Bank, and Royalty Manager™ does not require opening a trust account, which is what most banks in other markets require. We operate Royalty Manager on an agency basis. In other words, you don't have to re-title your Oil, Gas and Mineral rights in order to participate."
"We believe that Northwest Royalty Manager™ will mark a new chapter in the way that leaseholders manage their royalty income, and we're proud that our bank is the first to introduce the service," Shuffstall stated.
Founded in 1896, Northwest Savings Bank is a full-service financial institution offering a complete line of business and personal banking products, employee benefits and wealth management services, as well as the fulfillment of business and personal insurance needs. Northwest operates 166 community banking offices in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and Maryland. The shares of its parent company, Northwest Bancshares, Inc. are listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol NWBI. Additional information regarding Northwest Bancshares, Inc. can be accessed on-line at www.northwestsavingsbank.com.
SOURCE Northwest Savings Bank
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