Viewpoint Financial Group Inc. (LTXB) SEC Filing 10-K Annual report for the fiscal year ending Friday, December 31, 2010

EXHIBIT 99.1

Contact:		Mark Hord		FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
		ViewPoint Financial Group, Inc.		March 3, 2011
		972-578-5000, Ext. 7440

ViewPoint Financial Group, Inc. Reports Record Earnings for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2010

PLANO, Texas, March 3, 2011— ViewPoint Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: VPFG) (the “Company”), the holding company for ViewPoint Bank, announced financial results today for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2010. Detailed results of the year will be available in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, which will be filed today and posted on our websites, http://www.viewpointbank.com and http://www.viewpointfinancialgroup.com.

Performance Highlights

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Record Earnings: The Company recorded net income of $6.5 million during the fourth quarter of 2010 and $17.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, both of which are the highest in the Company’s 58- year history.

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Improved margin: Due to improvements in our cost of funds, the Company’s net interest margin improved to 2.98% for the quarter ended December 31, 2010, an increase of 17 basis points from the quarter ended September 30, 2010, and an increase of 21 basis points from the quarter ended December 31, 2009.

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Continued organic growth: In 2010, deposits increased by $220.9 million, or 12.3%, to $2.02 billion at December 31, 2010, while gross loans (including $492.0 million in mortgage loans held for sale) increased by $136.0 million, or 9.3%, to $1.60 billion at December 31, 2010.

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Strong capitalization: The Company raised gross proceeds of $198.6 million through its “second-step” conversion and stock offering, which concluded in July 2010.

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Asset quality outperforms peers: Non-performing assets to total assets remained low at 0.69% at December 31, 2010, compared to the SNL U.S. Bank and Thrift industry index of 2.48%. Net charge-offs declined by $513,000, or 32.3%, for the quarter ended December 31, 2010, compared to the same time last year, while net charge-offs for the year ended December 31, 2010, declined by $1.8 million, or 41.5%, compared to the year ended December 31, 2009.

“2010 was the best year in the Bank’s history, with record earnings and a second step capital raise of $198.6 million,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Base. “Strong organic growth also occurred in both deposits and loans.”

Results of Operations for the Quarter and Year Ended December 31, 2010

Net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2010, was $6.5 million, an increase of $4.1 million, or 174.5%, from net income of $2.4 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2009. The increase in net income was primarily driven by higher interest income, lower interest expense and a lower provision for loan losses. Our basic and diluted earnings per share for the quarter ended December 31, 2010, was $0.20 compared to $0.08 for the quarter ended December 31, 2009.

Net income for the year ended December 31, 2010, was $17.8 million, an increase of $15.1 million from net income of $2.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The $15.1 million increase was partially due to an $8.1 million (net of tax, using a tax rate of 34%) impairment charge for the year ended December 31, 2009. The remaining $7.0 million increase in net income during 2010 compared to 2009 results, excluding the 2009 impairment charge, was driven by higher net interest and noninterest income, a lower provision for loan losses and lower non-interest expense. Our basic and diluted earnings per share for the year ended December 31, 2010, was $0.59 compared to $0.10 for the year ended December 31, 2009.