Exhibit 99.1

NORTHWEST INDIANA BANCORP

REPORTS FIRST QUARTER RESULTS

Munster, Indiana - NorthWest Indiana Bancorp (the “Bancorp”), the holding company for Peoples Bank, reported a first quarter increase in earnings of 15.5%, as net income totaled $1.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared to $1.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011.

The earnings of $1.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, represent $0.48 per basic and diluted share. For the current three month period, the return on average assets (ROA) was 0.83% and the return on equity (ROE) was 8.36%.

“Strong first quarter income has provided a good start to the year as our local economy continues to show signs of improvement. The Bank’s 15.5% earnings increase was led by loan originations of $52.4 million, a 72% increase compared to the first quarter of 2011,” said David A. Bochnowski, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

“In addition, asset quality continued to improve, noninterest income from banking and wealth management operations grew 15.5% compared to the first quarter of last year, and regulatory capital ratios remained strong. We believe the market has recognized the quality of our performance as the price of our stock has risen from $14.40 per share at the end of 2011 to $19.50 through the close of business on April 19, 2012,” Bochnowski noted.

Net Interest Income

Net interest income, the difference between interest income from loans and investments and interest expense paid to funds providers, totaled $5.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared to $6.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011, a decrease of $119 thousand or 2.0%. The decrease in net interest income for the three month period is a result of lower loan and investment yields. The Bancorp’s net interest margin on a tax adjusted basis was 4.02% for the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared to 4.24% for the three months ended March 31, 2011. The Bancorp’s strong net interest margin continues to benefit from core deposit growth and a low cost of funds as a result of the Federal Reserve’s continued action in maintaining a low interest rate environment.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income from banking activities totaled $1.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared to $1.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011, an increase of $214 thousand or 15.5%. The increase in noninterest income for the current quarter is primarily related to gains from the sale of securities and increased income from wealth management operations.

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense related to operating activities totaled $5.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared to $4.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011, an increase of $321 thousand or 6.5%. The increase in noninterest expense for the current quarter is associated with one-time legal costs and compensation costs related to additional staffing.

Funding

At March 31, 2012, core deposits totaled $356.2 million, an increase of $6.3 million or 1.8%, compared to December 31, 2011. Core deposits include checking, savings, and money market accounts and represented 66.4% of the Bancorp’s total deposits at March 31, 2012. During the first quarter of 2012, certificate of deposit balances increased by $3.7 million or 2.1%. In addition, at March 31, 2012 borrowings and repurchase agreements totaled $60.5 million, an increase of $8.5 or 16.3%, compared to December 31, 2011. The increase in borrowings is related to management’s strategy to acquire additional low rate, longer-term borrowings to enhance its interest rate risk profile.

Lending

The Bancorp’s loan portfolio totaled $413.8 million at March 31, 2012, an increase of $12.4 million or 3.1%, compared to December 31, 2011. As a result of increased loan origination activity, residential real estate, consumer and commercial related loans increased by $13.8 million during the first quarter of 2012, while government loans decreased by $1.4 million. During the first quarter of 2012, $3.1 million of fixed rate mortgage loans were sold into the secondary market.

Investing

The Bancorp’s securities portfolio totaled $188.1 million at March 31, 2012, compared to $187.0 million at December 31, 2011. The securities portfolio represents 30% of earning assets and provides a consistent source of earnings to the Bancorp.

Asset Quality

At March 31, 2012, non-performing loans totaled $13.3 million, compared to $14.3 million at December 31, 2011, a decrease of $1.0 million or 7.0%. The current level of non-performing loans is concentrated with three geographically diverse commercial real estate participation loans that aggregate to $7.1 million. These participations were purchased from other originators during the period from 2005 through 2007, prior to the most recent recession, and have been written down to current estimated fair values. The Bancorp’s ratio of non-performing assets to total assets was 2.44% at March 31, 2012, compared to 2.68% at December 31, 2011.

For the three months ended March 31, 2012, loan loss provisions totaled $525 thousand, while $1.1 million in provisions were recorded for the three months ended March 31, 2011. Loan charge-offs, net of recoveries, totaled $324 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared to $539 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2011. At March 31, 2012, the allowance for loan losses totaled $8.2 million and is considered adequate by management. The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of total loans was 1.98% at March 31, 2012, compared to 1.99% at December 31, 2011. The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of non-performing loans, or coverage ratio, increased to 61.6% at March 31, 2012, compared to 56.0% at December 31, 2011.

Capital Adequacy

At March 31, 2012, shareholders’ equity stood at $63.8 million or 9.5% of total assets. The Bancorp’s regulatory capital ratios at March 31, 2012 were 14.3% for total capital to risk-weighted assets, 13.1% for tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets and 9.2% for tier 1 capital to adjusted average assets. Under all regulatory capital requirements, the Bancorp is considered well capitalized. The book value of the Bancorp’s stock stood at $22.47 per share at March 31, 2012.

Other Items

The NorthWest Indiana Bancorp’s common stock is traded on the OTC Bulletin Board under NWIN. The Bancorp’s subsidiary, Peoples Bank, has offices in Crown Point, Dyer, East Chicago, Gary, Hammond, Hobart, Merrillville, Munster, St. John, Schererville and Valparaiso, Indiana. The Bank’s website, ibankpeoples.com, provides information on the Bank’s products, services and investor relations.

“Forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this release. A variety of factors could cause the Bancorp’s actual results to differ from those expected at the time of this release. These include, but are not limited to, changes in economic conditions in the Bancorp’s market area, changes in policies by regulatory agencies, fluctuation in interest rates, demand for loans in the Bancorp’s market area, economic conditions in the financial services industry, including on-going depressed demand in the housing market, competition and other risks set forth in the Bancorp’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by the Bancorp in its periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Bancorp undertakes no obligation to update them in light of new information or future events.