WARREN, Pa., March 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwest
Bancshares, Inc., (Nasdaq Global Select Market NWBI), parent
company of Northwest Savings Bank, has been named to the "Bank
Honor Roll" of superior performers by KBW, Inc., a full-service
investment bank that specializes in the financial services sector.
Northwest is one of 45 U.S. banking institutions to be named to the
list; KBW screened nearly 400 companies.
Companies named to the Honor Roll hold more than $500 million in total assets and are publicly
traded banking institutions that meet three conditions.
1) They cannot have reported any annual loss in net income per
share before extraordinary items over the past 10 years;
2) their 2011 annual reported net income per share before
extraordinary items must be equal to or greater than their peak net
income per share over the past 10 years; and
3) they must show consecutive increases in net income per share
before extraordinary items since 2009.
This is the second consecutive year that KBW has selected
Northwest Bancshares, Inc. to be on the Bank Honor Roll.
Northwest's President and CEO, William
J. Wagner, noted "Given the challenges the banking industry
has faced over the past four years, our Directors, officers and
employees are proud to be recognized for the strong operating
performance we achieved during such a tumultuous time. We thank KBW
for this honor and we remain committed to improving our value
proposition for employees, customers, communities and
shareholders."
Northwest Bancshares, Inc. posted record earnings in 2011, and
holds capital well in excess of that required by its regulators.
The company operates Northwest Savings Bank, a community bank with
assets of $8 billion and a network of
168 banking locations in Pennsylvania, New
York, Ohio, and
Maryland.
SOURCE Northwest Bancshares, Inc.