OLNEY, Md., March 27, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:SASR) again ranked among "America's 100 Most Trustworthy Companies" list compiled for Forbes. Forbes partnered with financial analytics firm GMIRATINGS (GMI) to assign quarterly accounting and governance risk (AGR) scores to more than 8,000 public companies. These scores measure the levels of risk that corporate behaviors could potentially generate for shareholders. GMI then grouped the 100 companies with the highest scores into large-, mid- and small-cap subsets.
"At the core of Sandy Spring Bank's culture is integrity and the importance of building long-lasting relationships which are established with trust," states Daniel J. Schrider, President and CEO. "We know that conducting business with the highest standard of ethics is fundamental to forming that trust with our clients. We are thrilled Forbes has once again highlighted this on our behalf."
In constructing the list, Forbes and GMI evaluated companies using the following criteria:
- Companies must have achieved a market cap of at least $250 million as of March 2013
- During the last four quarters, the companies must have maintained AGR ratings of conservative or average and had no amended filings with the SEC, no SEC enforcement actions and no materials restatements
- Must rank high in the GMI's Equity Risk Ranking which indicates a positive forecast for equity returns
- Companies also needed to have a minimal likelihood of financial distress as measured by GMI's Bankruptcy Risk model
About Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:SASR) /Sandy Spring Bank
With $3.9 billion in assets, Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for Sandy Spring Bank and its principal subsidiaries, Sandy Spring Insurance Corporation and West Financial Services, Inc. Sandy Spring Bancorp is the largest publicly traded banking company headquartered and operating in Maryland. Sandy Spring is a community banking organization that focuses its lending and other services on businesses and consumers in the local market area. Independent and community-oriented, Sandy Spring Bank was founded in 1868 and offers a broad range of commercial banking, retail banking and trust services through 49 community offices in Anne Arundel, Carroll, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George's counties in Maryland, and Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Virginia. Through its subsidiaries, Sandy Spring Bank also offers a comprehensive menu of insurance and investment management services. Visit www.sandyspringbank.com for more information about Sandy Spring Bank.