Exhibit 99.1

NORTHWEST INDIANA BANCORP

REPORTS INCREASED EARNINGS FOR THREE AND NINE MONTHS

ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

Munster, Indiana - NorthWest Indiana Bancorp (the “Bancorp”), the holding company for Peoples Bank, reported a three month increase in earnings of 99.6%, as net income totaled $2.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2012, compared to $1.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2011.

The earnings of $2.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2012, represent $0.79 per basic and diluted share. For the current three month period, the return on average assets (ROA) was 1.34% and the return on equity (ROE) was 13.42%.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2012, the Bancorp’s earnings totaled $5.2 million, compared to $4.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2011, an increase of 31.4%. The earnings for the current nine months represent $1.84 per basic and diluted share. For the nine months ended September 30, 2012, the ROA was 1.05% and the ROE was 10.61%.

“Increased borrowing by consumer and small business customers continues to drive Bank earnings. Loan originations for the first nine months of the year are up 72.5%, a strong indicator of increasing consumer confidence in our local economy,” said David A. Bochnowski, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

“Throughout the last several years of financial stress, Peoples Bank has focused on core income, growing our Wealth Management services, holding the line on operating costs, and resolving credit quality issues. We are pleased to report that our strategy has been successful and that the strength of our capital position will enable us to act on growth opportunities in the future,” Bochnowski said.

Net Interest Income

Net interest income, the difference between interest income from loans and investments and interest expense paid to funds providers, totaled $6.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2012, compared to $5.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2011, an increase of $101 thousand or 1.7%. The increase in net interest income for the three month period is primarily a result of a continued decrease in the Bancorp’s cost of funds. For the nine months ended September 30, 2012, net interest income totaled $17.81 million, compared to $17.82 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2011, a decrease of $9 thousand or 0.1%. The decrease in net interest income for the nine month period is primarily a result of lower loan and investment yields. The Bancorp’s net interest margin on a tax adjusted basis was 4.00% for the three months ended September 30, 2012, compared to 4.14% for the three months ended September 30, 2011. For the nine months ended September 30, 2012, the tax adjusted net interest margin was 3.99%, compared to 4.19% for the nine months ended September 30, 2011. The Bancorp’s strong net interest margin continues to benefit from loan and core deposit growth, and a low cost of funds as a result of the Federal Reserve’s continued action in maintaining a low short-term interest rate environment. However, the Bancorp’s yield on interest earnings assets is declining as a result of lower long-term interest rates.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income from banking activities totaled $2.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2012, compared to $1.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2011, an increase of $1.1 million or 89.1%. For the nine months ended September 30, 2012, noninterest income totaled $5.4 million, compared to $4.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2011, an increase of $702 thousand or 15.0%. The increase in noninterest income for the current three and nine month periods is related to additional income from the sale of fixed rate mortgage loans, gains on foreclosed real estate, and a benefit from bank owned life insurance.

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense related to operating activities totaled $4.95 million for the three months ended September 30, 2012, compared to $5.24 million for the three months ended September 30, 2011, a decrease of $284 thousand or 5.4%. For the nine months ended September 30, 2012, noninterest expense totaled $14.9 million, compared to $15.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2011, a decrease of $194 thousand or 1.3%. The decrease in noninterest expense for the current three and nine month periods is primarily related to lower occupancy and equipment costs, lower FDIC insurance premiums, and reduced marketing and legal costs.

Funding

At September 30, 2012, core deposits totaled $370.2 million, an increase of $20.3 million or 5.8%, compared to December 31, 2011. Core deposits include checking, savings, and money market accounts and represented 67.6% of the Bancorp’s total deposits at September 30, 2012. During the first nine months of 2012, certificate of deposit balances remained stable. In addition, at September 30, 2012, borrowings and repurchase agreements totaled $57.7 million, an increase of $5.7 million or 10.9%, compared to December 31, 2011. The increase in borrowings is primarily related to growth in the Bancorp’s business sweep repurchase accounts.

Lending

The Bancorp’s loan portfolio totaled $432.5 million at September 30, 2012, an increase of $31.1 million or 7.8%, compared to December 31, 2011. Loan growth for the first nine months of 2012 is a result of increased loan origination activity. Residential mortgage loans and commercial related loans increased by $35.3 million during the first nine months of 2012, while consumer related and government loans decreased by $4.2 million. During the first nine months of 2012, $17.3 million of newly originated fixed rate mortgage loans were sold into the secondary market. Also, during the second quarter of 2012, the Bancorp conducted a $3.4 million one-time sale of portfolio fixed rate mortgage loans, which the Bancorp’s management considered an interest rate mitigation risk strategy to reduce loan prepayment risk.

Investing

The Bancorp’s securities portfolio totaled $192.3 million at September 30, 2012, compared to $187.0 million at December 31, 2011. The increase in securities is a result of investing excess liquidity in the securities portfolio. The securities portfolio represents 30.1% of earning assets and provides a consistent source of earnings to the Bancorp.

Asset Quality

At September 30, 2012, non-performing loans totaled $11.8 million, compared to $14.3 million at December 31, 2011, a decrease of $2.5 million or 17.7%. The current level of non-performing loans is concentrated with two geographically diverse commercial real estate participation loans that aggregate to $5.8 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 1.99% at September 30, 2012, compared to 2.68% at December 31, 2011.

For the three months ended September 30, 2012, loan loss provisions totaled $550 thousand, while $570 thousand in provisions were recorded for the three months ended September 30, 2011. For the nine months ended September 30, 2012, loan loss provisions totaled $1.6 million, while $2.6 million in provisions were recorded for the nine months ended September 30, 2011. Loan charge-offs, net of recoveries, totaled $1.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012, compared to $3.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2011. At September 30, 2012, the allowance for loan losses totaled $8.6 million and is considered adequate by management. The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of total loans was 1.98% at September 30, 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 72.9% at September 30, 2012, compared to 56.0% at December 31, 2011.

Capital Adequacy

At September 30, 2012, shareholders’ equity stood at $67.4 million or 9.9% of total assets. The Bancorp’s regulatory capital ratios at September 30, 2012 were 14.5% for total capital to risk-weighted assets, 13.2% for tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets and 9.4% 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 $23.72 per share at September 30, 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 the level of 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.