Peoples Bank SB, the wholly-owned subsidiary of NorthWest Indiana Bancorp, announced today that as of May 11, 2020 it has received the approvals of the applications filed by Peoples Bank with the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) to convert from an Indiana-chartered stock savings bank to an Indiana-chartered commercial bank. As part of the charter conversion, Peoples Bank SB will change its name to “Peoples Bank.”  The conversion is not expected to affect the Bank’s customers in any way, and they will continue to receive the same protection on deposits through the FDIC.

Benjamin J. Bochnowski, the Chief Executive Officer of Peoples Bank, stated, “Peoples Bank’s conversion to an Indiana-chartered commercial bank is an important strategic initiative that will benefit all the Bank’s stakeholders, including our customers, shareholders, employees, and the communities we serve. The charter conversion better reflects our business, and lets us compete more effectively with other commercial banks in our market area. This commercial bank charter will better convey our brand as a dynamic community banking financial institution offering a wide array of products and services.”

“The charter conversion will not change the way we interact with our customers, and we will continue to deliver on the promise of our brand – You First Banking – every day, with every customer, and in every community that we serve,” Bochnowski continued.

NWIN and Peoples Bank currently anticipate the charter conversion to become effective in the second quarter of 2020.