First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. has been named one of the 50 most trustworthy financial companies in America by Forbes Magazine. Previously, First Interstate was included on Forbes’ 2012 and 2013 lists of America’s most trustworthy companies. This year, however, financial institutions were broken out into a separate category because of their dominance on previous years’ lists.
“First Interstate is proud to once again be recognized by Forbes for our trustworthiness,” said Ed Garding, President and CEO of First Interstate Bank. “We are a values-based company, and we strive every day to demonstrate these values to our customers, our shareholders, and our employees.”
Forbes used GMI Ratings to develop lists of trustworthy organizations. GMI reviewed over 8,000 publicly-traded companies in America, looking at accounting and governance behaviors. Factors, such as high-risk events, revenue and expense recognition methods, SEC actions, and bankruptcy risk, were monitored as indicators of a company’s credibility. GMI then used these factors to develop “Aggressive Accounting and Governance Risk” (AGR) numbers, the final factor by which eligible companies were scored.
Earlier this year, First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. was also named one of the best banks in America by Forbes. First Interstate Bank is a $7.6 billion financial institution traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market under ticker symbol FIBK.