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April 28 , 2021 FINWARD BANCORP North West Indiana Bancorp Announces Earnings for the Three Months Ended March 31 , 2021 MUNSTER , Ind . , April 28 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) -- NorthWest Indiana Bancorp ( the " Bancorp " ) , the holding company for Peoples Bank ( the “ Bank ” ) , reported net income of $ 4.7 million , or $ 1.35 per share , for the first three months of 2021. Net income for the three months ended March 31 , 2021 , increased by $ 1.5 million ( 46.6 % ) , from the three months ended March 31 , 2020 , primarily due to higher non - interest income and lower interest expense . For the first three months of 2021 , the return on average assets ( ROA ) was 1.22 % and the return on average equity ( ROE ) was 12.30 % . During the three months ended March 31 , 2021 , total assets increased by $ 60.7 million ( 4.1 % ) , with interest - earning assets increasing by $ 59.7 million ( 4.3 % ) from December 31 , 2020. Earning assets represented 93.7 % of total assets at March 31 , 2021 , and 93.5 % of total assets at December 31 , 2020. The increase in total assets and interest earning assets for the three months was primarily the result of the Bancorp's involvement in the second round of the U.S. Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program ( PPP ) , and increased cash balances related to strong core deposit growth . " If we have learned anything over the last year , it's how much can change in a quarter . This time last year , we were all dealing with the upheaval of COVID ; at the beginning of this quarter , we were experiencing political instability and uncertainty around the roll - out of COVID vaccines . In a few short months , a great deal of certainty has returned to the financial services industry , and the gains we made in 2020 continue to pay off as the economy improves , " said Benjamin Bochnowski , president and chief executive officer . " Interest expense is down significantly over the past year , and we believe there is room to continue to drive expense down over the coming quarter as longer - term time deposits continue to mature . That said , we maintain strong core funds and are very competitive in the local market for deposits . " He continued , “ Our mortgage business remains strong , and the pipeline remains robust despite seasonality in the mortgage market early in the year . Business confidence continues to improve , and we have been able to grow business banking relationships in the first quarter . Supporting this all are efficiency gains and digitalization projects that really took hold during the pandemic , including key enhancements to our commercial underwriting and customer relationship management system as we implement Salesforce as our primary customer engagement platform . " " Finally , our stated intention to apply for listing on the NASDAQ continues to move forward as expected . Our listing application was filed on April 20 , 2021 , and our , goal remains to be listed on the NASDAQ by the end of the second quarter of 2021. We continue to believe that this will help us be more competitive , attract capital , and retain talent to execute our strategic