Washington Trust Named to KBW “Bank Honor Roll” for Fifth Consecutive Year

WESTERLY, R.I., April 18, 2016 -- For the fifth consecutive year, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. (KBW) has named Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) to its “2015 Bank Honor Roll” of superior performers. Selected from a list of nearly 400 companies listed on the NYSE and Nasdaq exchanges, Washington Trust is one of only 18 companies nationwide to be chosen for the Honor Roll; it is also the only Rhode Island bank, and one of only three financial service companies in New England to be selected.

“We found that the KBW Bank Honor Roll members have better-than-industry performance ratios and growth rates when compared to the publicly traded bank universe with total assets over $500 million,” stated Melissa A. Roberts, KBW Managing Director of Quantitative Research. Adding, “In terms of stock price performance, Bank Honor Roll companies significantly outperformed the banking industry during the five-year period between 2010 and 2015.”

“Strength and consistency have guided Washington Trust’s success throughout our 215-year history,” said Joseph J. MarcAurele, Washington Trust Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “It’s an honor to once again be recognized by KBW for our performance and to be included alongside the 17 other financial institutions that were selected for the 2015 Bank Honor Roll.”

To qualify for inclusion on the KBW Bank Honor Roll, publicly traded banking institutions with at least $500 million in total assets had to meet the following three conditions as of year-end 2015:

• No annual loss reported in net income per share before extraordinary items over the past 10 years;
• 2015 annual reported net income per share before extraordinary items equal to or greater than peak net income per share over the past 10 years; and
• Consecutive increases in net income per share before extraordinary items since 2009.
  
  

ABOUT KBW
KBW (Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., operating in the U.S., and Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited, also trading as Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Europe, operating in Europe) is a Stifel company. Over the years, KBW has established itself as a leading independent authority in the banking, insurance, brokerage, asset management, mortgage banking and specialty finance sectors. Founded in 1962, the firm maintains industry‐leading positions in the areas of research, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions as well as sales and trading in equities securities of financial services companies.

ABOUT WASHINGTON TRUST BANCORP, INC.
Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. is the parent of The Washington Trust Company, with $3.8 billion in assets as of December 31, 2015. Founded in 1800, Washington Trust is the oldest community bank in the nation, the largest state-chartered bank headquartered in Rhode Island and one of the Northeast’s premier financial services companies. Washington Trust offers a full range of financial services, including commercial banking, mortgage banking, personal banking and wealth management and trust services through its offices located in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Corporation’s common stock trades on The NASDAQ OMX^® under the symbol WASH. Investor information is available on the Corporation’s web site at www.washtrustbancorp.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Elizabeth B. Eckel
SVP, Marketing & Investor Relations 
401.348.1309
[email protected]