Northwest Savings Bank Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Retail Banking in The Mid-Atlantic Region According to J.D. Power and Associates for Second Year

WARREN, Pa., April 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second consecutive year, Northwest Savings Bank is ranked highest in customer satisfaction 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, analyzes 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 satisfaction score in the Mid-Atlantic Region, which includes Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

"Earning this award from J.D. Power and Associates for being highest ranked in our six-state region was a tremendous honor last year," said Steven G. Fisher, Executive Vice President, Banking Services of Northwest Savings Bank. "To receive it a second time is both a humbling and exhilarating experience. It demonstrates how dedicated our employees really are to the customers of our bank. This is a recognition that we value because it comes from the people we serve, the people we work to please, and the people who are the reason our company exists.  Everything we do, all aspects of our service delivery, we do for them, through a dedicated, continuous improvement program designed to provide the highest level of customer satisfaction."

William J. Wagner, President and CEO of Northwest Savings Bank, added, "Northwest Savings Bank has been serving its customers for over 114 years. We understand that customers have choices and we are honored to be able to provide them the very best financial products and services. We're proud to again receive their recognition in this study and to be their bank. We thank our employees for their hard work and dedication and our customers for their support."

Mr. Wagner continued to say, "The J.D. Power and Associates ranking comes at a momentous time for our bank. The recognition is the culmination of a lot of great news for Northwest. In the past year, in addition to the initial recognition by J.D. Power, Northwest was named as the 23rd strongest bank in the nation by Forbes and we were named to the Keefe Bruyette and Woods "Bank Honor Roll," consisting of the forty top-performing banks in the country over the last ten years. Finally, our quarterly earnings for March 30, 2011 were the highest quarterly earnings in our 114-year history."

J.D. Power and Associates of Westlake, California has completed these studies and released these rankings for six years. The 2011 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://businesscenter.jdpower.com/news/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2011043

About Northwest Savings Bank

Headquartered in Warren, PA, Northwest Savings Bank is a full-service community bank that operates 172 banking locations in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Maryland, and Florida. With assets of over $8 billion, Northwest offers its customers a full range of personal and business banking services, employee benefits services, and 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