Forbes: WashTrust one of 50 most trustworthy financial companies

FORBES HAS named Washington Trust Bancorp one of the top 50 most trustworthy financial companies in the country.
FORBES HAS named Washington Trust Bancorp one of the top 50 most trustworthy financial companies in the country.

WESTERLY – Forbes on Monday named Washington Trust Bancorp one of the top 50 most trustworthy financial companies in the country.
Washington Trust Bancorp, parent of Washington Trust Co., is the only Rhode Island company to make the list.
Forbes, a Forbes Inc. company, published the list “America’s 50 Most Trustworthy Financial Companies,” ranking Washington Trust No. 16 among small-cap companies.
Forbes culled the list from a MSCI ESG Research review of accounting and governance behaviors of more than 700 publicly-traded North American companies with market caps of $250 million or greater for the year ending March 2015, according to its report.
The assessments included a review of indicators including high-risk events, action taken by the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission and bankruptcy risk. The indicators, used to determine credibility, were used to develop a compounded score, which Forbes calls “Aggressive Accounting and Governance Risk” (AGR) numbers.
Washington Trust ranked No. 16 among small-cap companies between $250 million and $1 billion and earned a first-quarter AGR of 84 out of a possible 100. Its average AGR for the past four quarters was 80. The bank topped New York-based Oppenheimer Holdings Inc., ranked No. 17 in the category, which received a first-quarter AGR of 69 and an average AGR of 79 for the past four quarters.
The companies were grouped into three market cap sizes, small, mid and large, and sorted according to their average AGR for the past four quarters.
Insurance company State Auto Financial Corp. earned the highest score in the small-cap category with a first-quarter AGR of 99 and an average AGR of 98 for the past four quarters.
Insurance and reinsurance provider PartnerRe Ltd. placed first among large-cap companies with an average AGR of 97 in the past four months. Erie Indemnity, also an insurance company, placed first in the mid-cap category with an average AGR of 96 over the past four quarters.
Ric Marshall, executive director of MSCI ESG Research, says the intent of the AGR ratings is “to highlight concerns regarding the integrity of financial reporting.”
“The companies that make that cut are ones where there’s a very high level of integrity in the financial reporting, whether the results are good or bad. These pass a very rigorous test,” he added.
The full list can be found HERE.

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