Exhibit 99

		NEWS RELEASE
		Contact:		William J. Small Chairman, President and CEO (419) 782-5015 bsmall@first-fed.com

For Immediate Release

FIRST DEFIANCE FINANCIAL CORP. ANNOUNCES 2010

FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR EARNINGS

DEFIANCE, OHIO (January 24, 2011) – First Defiance Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: FDEF) today announced that net income for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010 totaled $8.1 million, or $.75 per diluted common share compared to $7.2 million or $.63 per diluted common share for the year ended December 31, 2009. The 2010 twelve month results included $1.3 million of core conversion related charges associated with the successful conversion to a new core processing provider. For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2010, First Defiance earned $2.3 million or $.22 per diluted common share compared to $555,000 or $0.01 per diluted common share for the fourth quarter of 2009. The fourth quarter of 2010 included $802,000 of core conversion charges.

“I am pleased to report that despite the very difficult operating environment in 2010, First Defiance Financial Corp. was once again profitable,” said William J. Small, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of First Defiance Financial Corp. “Our core operating metrics remained strong throughout the year and asset quality stabilized in the last half of the year. Plus, Net Income is up on both a quarterly and full year basis.”

Credit Quality

The fourth quarter 2010 results include expense for provision for loan losses of $5.7 million, compared with $8.5 million in the same period in 2009 and $5.2 million in the third quarter of 2010. “We have been working to strengthen the reserve for loan loss to adequately cover probable future credit losses in this challenging credit environment,” said Small. “The allowance for loan loss as a percentage of total loans increased slightly to 2.70% at December 31, 2010 from 2.66% at September 30, 2010 and 2.26% at December 31, 2009.”

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Non-performing loans totaled $47.1 million at December 31, 2010, down from $47.9 million at December 31, 2009. The December 31, 2010 balance included $41.0 million of loans that are on non-accrual or 90 days past due and another $6.1 million of loans considered non-performing because of changes in terms granted to borrowers, although the loans are still accruing interest. In addition, First Defiance had $9.6 million of Real Estate Owned at December 31, 2010, down from $13.5 million at December 31, 2009. For the fourth quarter of 2010, First Defiance recorded net charge-offs of $5.9 million, which represented 1.58% of average loans outstanding (annualized) for the quarter, compared with 0.70% in the third quarter of 2010 and 0.79% in the fourth quarter of 2009.

“Asset quality continues to have an impact on earnings in this economy,” Small said. “We are still dealing with uncertainty in the commercial real estate market and stubbornly high unemployment rates in our region. However, we had a slight improvement in the fourth quarter over the third quarter results in the level of non-performing assets. We hope this indicates a positive trend.”

Core System Conversion

The company successfully converted its core systems in the fourth quarter, with no significant service interruptions or client impact. “The core conversion project consumed significant resources, in both capital and staff terms,” said Small. “The reach of this project was pervasive, and it took many months to unfold. I am proud of the conversion team and their efforts, as they consistently placed client needs first and worked to mitigate any negative effects. We can now move on to maximizing the advantages of the new system.”

Net Interest Margin

Net interest income increased to $17.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 compared to $17.5 million in the 2009 fourth quarter, and was flat with the third quarter of 2010, which was $17.8 million. Net interest margin was 3.89% for the 2010 fourth quarter compared to 3.94% in the third quarter of 2010 and 3.82% in the fourth quarter of 2009. Yield on interest earning assets declined by 36 basis points, to 5.09% in the fourth quarter of 2010 from 5.45% in the 2009 fourth quarter, while the cost of interest-bearing liabilities and non-interest-bearing demand deposits decreased by 45 basis points, to 1.22% from 1.67%.

“We are pleased with the stability of our net interest margin for the quarter,” said Small. “We will continue to look for pricing and other opportunities to maintain our margin in this extended low rate environment.”

Non-Interest Income

Non-interest income for the 2010 fourth quarter increased to $7.6 million from $5.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. Loss on investment securities was $14,000 for the fourth quarter of 2010, compared with a loss of $1.4 million net of a gain of $5,000 in the fourth quarter of 2009. Mortgage banking income increased to $2.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, compared with $2.1 million in the same period in 2009. Gains from the sale of mortgage loans increased in the fourth quarter of 2010 to $1.8 million from $1.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. Mortgage loan servicing revenue increased slightly to $856,000 in the fourth quarter 2010 over the fourth quarter of 2009.

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First Defiance recorded a positive valuation adjustment of $1.1 million on mortgage servicing rights (MSR) in the fourth quarter of 2010, compared with $397,000 in the fourth quarter of 2009. The MSR valuation adjustment is a reflection of the increase in the fair value of certain sectors of the Company’s portfolio of mortgage servicing rights.

“Mortgage banking income for the quarter was strong, with originations of $154 million,” commented Small. “This was an increase from the third quarter; our production clearly benefited from the low rate environment. However, we did see originations begin to slow in December and as the pipeline works down we anticipate lower production through the first part of 2011.”

Non-Interest Expenses

Total non-interest expense was $16.5 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2010, an increase from the $14.6 million of non-interest expense in the fourth quarter of 2009. The fourth quarter of 2010 included $802,000 of core conversion related charges.

Compensation and benefits increased by $845,000 compared to the 2009 fourth quarter. FDIC insurance expense increased to $885,000 in the fourth quarter of 2010 from $637,000 in the same period of 2009 as a result of the FDIC rate increases and higher insured deposits. Other non-interest expense increased to $4.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 from $3.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. Credit, collection and OREO-related costs were $934,000 in the quarter, a $283,000 reduction over the fourth quarter of 2009. Deferred compensation expense increased $162,000 from the fourth quarter of 2009. These increases were partially offset by decreases in marketing and miscellaneous other operating expenses.

Annual Results

On an annual basis, earnings for 2010 were $8.1 million compared with $7.2 million in 2009. Net interest income for 2010 totaled $70.2 million, a $2.8 million or 4.2% increase over 2009. Average interest-earning assets increased to $1.836 billion for 2010 compared to $1.822 billion in 2009. Net interest margin for 2010 was 3.89%, compared with 3.76% for 2009.

The provision for loan losses for 2010 was $23.2 million, which was even with the $23.2 million in 2009.

Non-interest income for the twelve month period ended December 31, 2010 was $27.6 million compared to $26.3 million during the same period of 2009. The 2010 results include securities losses of $339,000, of which $331,000 related to OTTI charges recognized for impaired investment securities. The 2009 securities losses of $3.7 million included $3.9 million related to OTTI which was partially offset by securities gains of $284,000. Service fees and other charges were $12.7 million for the year compared to $13.5 million during 2009. Mortgage banking income for 2010 was $7.8 million, down from $9.7 million in 2009. Non-interest expense increased to $63.5 million for the full year of 2010 from $60.5 million in 2009. Excluding the core conversion related charges in 2010 of $1.3 million, non-interest expense increased by 2.7%. FDIC insurance expense increased to $3.8 million from $3.4 million in 2009.

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Non-interest expense also includes $5.5 million of credit, collection and OREO-related costs compared with $3.4 million in 2009. The year over year decrease in expense relating to deferred compensation was $175,000.

Total Assets at $2.04 Billion

Total assets at December 31, 2010 were $2.04 billion, compared to $2.06 billion at December 31, 2009. Net loans receivable (excluding loans held for sale) were $1.48 billion at December 31, 2010 compared to $1.58 billion at December 31, 2009. Total cash and cash equivalents were $169.2 million at December 31, 2010 compared with $121.1 million at December 31, 2009, an increase of $48.1 million. Total deposits at December 31, 2010 were $1.58 billion, unchanged from December 31, 2009. Non-interest bearing deposits at December 31, 2010 were $216.7 million compared to $189.1 million at December 31, 2009. Total stockholders’ equity was $240.3 million at December 31, 2010 compared to $234.1 million at the December 31, 2009. Also at December 31, 2010, goodwill and other intangible assets totaled $63.7 million compared to $63.5 million at December 31, 2009.

Conference Call

First Defiance Financial Corp. will host a conference call at 11:00 a.m. (EST) on Tuesday, January 25, 2011 to discuss the earnings results and business trends. The conference call may be accessed by calling 1-800-860-2442. A live webcast may be accessed at http://www.talkpoint.com/viewer/starthere.asp?Pres=133653.

Audio replay of the Internet Web cast will be available at www.fdef.com until February 28, 2011 at 9:00 a.m.

First Defiance Financial Corp.

First Defiance Financial Corp., headquartered in Defiance, Ohio, is the holding company for First Federal Bank of the Midwest and First Insurance & Investments. First Federal operates 33 full service branches and 45 ATM locations in northwest Ohio, southeast Michigan and Fort Wayne, Indiana. First Insurance & Investments specializes in property and casualty and group health and life insurance, with offices in Defiance, Archbold, Bryan and Bowling Green, Ohio.

For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.fdef.com.

Financial Statements and Highlights Follow-

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21 B of the Securities Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to be safe harbors created thereby. Those statements may include, but are not limited to, all statements regarding intent, beliefs, expectations, projections, forecasts and plans of First Defiance Financial Corp. and its management, and specifically include statements regarding: changes in economic conditions, the nature, extent and timing of governmental actions and reforms, future movements of interest rates, the production levels of mortgage loan generation, the ability to continue to grow loans and deposits, the ability to benefit from a changing interest rate

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environment, the ability to sustain credit quality ratios at current or improved levels, the ability to sell OREO properties, continued strength in the market area for First Federal Bank of the Midwest, and the ability of the Company to grow in existing and adjacent markets. These forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties, including those inherent in general and local banking, insurance and mortgage conditions, competitive factors specific to markets in which the Company and its subsidiaries operate, future interest rate levels, legislative and regulatory decisions or capital market conditions and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009. One or more of these factors have affected or could in the future affect the Company’s business and financial results in future periods and could cause actual results to differ materially from plans and projections. Therefore, there can be no assurances that the forward-looking statements included in this news release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties in the forward-looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by the Company or any other persons, that the objectives and plans of the Company will be achieved. All forward-looking statements made in this news release are based on information presently available to the management of the Company. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

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Consolidated Balance Sheets

First Defiance Financial Corp.

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Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited)

First Defiance Financial Corp.

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Financial Summary and Comparison

First Defiance Financial Corp.

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Non-GAAP Disclosure Reconciliations

First Defiance Financial Corp.

Management believes that the presentation of the non-GAAP financial measures in this release assists investors when comparing results period-to-period in a more meaningful and consistent manner and provides a better measure of results for First Defiance's ongoing operations.

Core operating earnings are net income adjusted to exclude discontinued operations, merger, integration and restructuring expenses and the results of certain significant transactions not representative of ongoing operations.

Acquisition related charges in 2010 reflect charges associated with the purchase of the group benefits business from Andres, O'Neil & Lowe.

Core operating earnings is used as the numerator to calculate core operating return on average assets, core operating return on average equity and core operating earnings per share. Additionally, non-operating items are deducted from non-interest expense in the numerator and non-interest income in the denominator of the core operating efficiency ratio disclosed in the tables. Comparable information on a GAAP basis is also provided in the tables.

Income from Mortgage Banking

Revenue from sales and servicing of mortgage loans consisted of the following:

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Yield Analysis

First Defiance Financial Corp.