Northwest Bank is a

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

headquartered in Warren, PA. It is the leading subsidiary of Northwest Bancshares, Inc., a

bank holding company A bank holding company is a company that controls one or more banks, but does not necessarily engage in banking itself. The compound bancorp (''banc''/''bank'' + '' corp ration') is often used to refer to these companies as well. United States ...

. It operates 170

branches A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term ''twig'' usually r ...

in central and western Pennsylvania, western New York, eastern Ohio, and Indiana.

History

The bank was founded in 1896 in

Bradford, Pennsylvania Bradford is a city in McKean County, Pennsylvania. It is located close to the border with New York state and approximately south of Buffalo, New York. Bradford is the principal city in the Bradford, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. The popul ...

. At that time, the bank was known as Northwest Mutual Savings Association. In 1974, the bank moved its headquarters to Warren, Pennsylvania. In more recent times, while still known as Northwest Mutual Savings Association, the bank acquired a number of other financial institutions including: Ridgway Federal Savings and Loan Association in 1983; Mutual Savings and Loan Association in 1984; Bakerstown Savings and Loan Association in 1985; Horizon Savings Association in 1990; Steitz Savings and Loan Association in 1990; American Federal Saving in 1992; First Federal Savings Bank of Kane in 1996; The First National Bank of Centre Hall in 1996; Bridgeville Savings Bank in 1997; and Corry Savings Bank in 1998. In 1985, the bank acquired four southwestern Pennsylvania branches from Equimark subsidiary Pittsburgh-based Equibank. In 1993, the bank changed its name for the first time when it became Northwest Savings Bank. It also changed its regulatory agency to the FDIC and became a

mutual savings bank A mutual savings bank is a financial institution chartered by a central or regional government, without capital stock, owned by its members who subscribe to a common fund. From this fund, claims, loans, etc., are paid. Profits after deductions a ...

. On December 18, 2009, the bank converted from a mutual savings bank to a joint stock company. In 2015, the bank changed its name to the present Northwest Bank. In August 2015, the bank's holding company, Northwest Bancshares, Inc., merged with LNB Bancorp, Inc., in a stock and cash deal and acquired

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. The transaction value was approximately $179 million, and resulted in a bank with approximately $9.0 billion in total assets. In March 2016, Northwest Bank acquired Best Insurance Agency, Inc. On September 9, 2016, the bank acquired 18 branches in western New York from

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, which was about to be acquired by

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. These branches were once part of the former

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. In May 2017, Northwest Bank exited the Maryland market by selling all 3 remaining branch locations to locally-based Shore United Bank. In 2017, the bank’s assets were valued at $9.5 billion and the bank was ranked number 134 in the whole country. In April 2020, the bank acquired MutualFirst Financial, a Muncie, Indiana-based bank, in a stock and cash deal valued at $346 million. The transaction expanded Northwest's footprint into the Indiana market, and gave the bank a total of 221 branches across four states. Following that acquisition, Northwest Bank enacted a 'branch optimization plan', closing 40 branches spread across its multi-state footprint. In 2020, the bank's assets were valued at $13.8 billion. In February 2021, the bank officially moved the headquarters for its holding company from Warren, PA to Columbus, Ohio, relocating several key executives including CEO Ron Seiffert. In April 2021, Northwest announced the sale of its insurance services business to USI Insurance Services, based in Valhalla, New York.

References

{{Reflist, 1 Banks based in Ohio 1896 establishments in Pennsylvania Banks established in 1896 Companies listed on the Nasdaq