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

WARREN, Pa., April 21  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In its third annual survey conducted for Forbes magazine and announced recently, Audit Integrity, an independent financial analytics company based in Los Angeles, named Northwest Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWSB) to its list of 100 Most Trustworthy Companies.  Of the approximately 12,000 public companies analyzed, Northwest ranked 54th and was one of only eleven financial institutions to make the list.

To reduce thousands of public companies down to the most trustworthy one hundred, Audit Integrity assigns each an accounting and governance risk score (AGR) 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 shown transparent and conservative accounting practices and solid corporate governance and management.  These companies do not play games with revenue and expense recognition, or with asset valuation."

"We're deeply honored to be named one of America's most trustworthy companies," said William J. Wagner, President and CEO of Northwest Bancorp, 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 Chief Financial Officer William Harvey and Controller Gerald Ritzert for their dedication to comprehensive and transparent financial reporting.  We must also recognize our Board of Directors for their unwavering commitment to strong governance principles."

Founded in 1896, Northwest Bancorp, Inc. holds assets of $7 billion and operates 168 community banking locations in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Maryland and Florida through its subsidiary Northwest Savings Bank.  The stock of Northwest Bancorp, Inc. trades on the NASDAQ Global Exchange under the symbol NWSB. More information is available at northwestsavingsbank.com.

To read the Forbes article, see: http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/02/trustworthy-audit-integrity-leadership-aig.ht ml To see the list of 100 Most Trustworthy Companies, see: http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/02/trustworthy-companies-accounting-leadership-g overnance-integrity_land.html . To see the methodology used by Audit Integrity in finding the 100 Most Trustworthy Companies, see http://www.auditintegrity.com/methodology/ . 

DATASOURCE: Northwest Bancorp, Inc.



CONTACT:  Jim Holding of Northwest Savings Bank, [phone]



Web Site:  http://www.northwestsavingsbank.com/ 

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