WesBanco Named to 2014 KBW Bank Honor Roll

WHEELING, W.Va., April 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- WesBanco, Inc. WSBC, the parent company of WesBanco Bank, Inc., has been named to the 2014 Bank Honor Roll of superior performers by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW), a full-service investment bank that specializes in the financial sector. WesBanco is one of only 25 U.S. banking institutions to be named to the Honor Roll this year. There are two new members included on the 2014 KBW Bank Honor Roll and WesBanco is one of 23 returning members.

To determine the constituents of the 2014 Bank Honor Roll, KBW analyzed 10 years of fully diluted net income per share before extraordinary items for nearly 400 publicly traded banking institutions with at least $500 million in total assets as of year-end 2014. To qualify for inclusion on the KBW Bank Honor Roll, the following three conditions must be satisfied:

• No annual loss reported in net income per share before extraordinary items over the past 10 years (items are classified as extraordinary per the applicable accounting standard).
• 2014 annual reported net income per share before extraordinary items equal to or greater than peak net income per share over the past 10 years.
• Consecutive increases in net income per share before extraordinary items since 2009.

"We believe the past decade has been one of the most challenging in the history of U.S. banking. All said, the 2014 KBW Bank Honor Roll members have certainly earned their honor as there were many ways to make significant mistakes over the past 10 years, given 514 banks failed during that period. The Bank Honor Roll is a way for KBW to acknowledge companies that have managed to excel during these tumultuous times and position their companies for further growth in what remains a rate-challenged environment," noted Frederick Cannon, Global Director of Research at KBW.

Todd F. Clossin, President & CEO of WesBanco, Inc. said, "We are especially proud of this significant achievement that recognizes our financial performance over the past ten years, one of the most difficult and challenging periods in modern banking history. To have come through the significant recession in the middle of that ten year period is a testament to WesBanco's long-term focus as well as our ability to adjust to challenging market conditions. We are strongly committed to our shareholders, customers and employees and are pleased that we have been recognized for providing enhanced shareholder value."

The companies named to the 2014 Bank Honor Roll outperformed the banking industry from 2009-2014 in terms of stock price performance, performance ratios and growth rates. Over the five-year period, the KBW Bank Honor Roll members posted significantly better-than-industry average price performance, rising 15.2% compounded annually over this time period on average.

WesBanco, Inc. is a multi-state bank holding company with total assets of approximately $8.2 billion operating through 142 branch locations and 130 ATMs in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. WesBanco's banking subsidiary is WesBanco Bank, Inc., headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia. WesBanco also operates an insurance brokerage company, WesBanco Insurance Services, Inc., and a full service broker/dealer, WesBanco Securities, Inc.

www.wesbanco.com

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SOURCE WesBanco, Inc.