History

The Paducah Bank opened for business on January 24, 1948 at 522 Broadway with assets of $100,000, thus becoming the third bank in Paducah.

Growth continued at such a pace that by mid-1955, the Bank was forced to relocate to a newer and larger facility at 529 Broadway.

On January 1, 1964, Paducah Bank opened its first branch location at 2401 Broadway, the current Mid-City Banking Center.

The official name of our Bank was changed to The Paducah Bank and Trust Company, reflecting the decision to offer trust services to our many customers.

In the summer of 1973, the first drive-up teller window was created.

Another first Paducah Bank takes pride in is the fact that we were the first bank in Paducah to elect female board members. Frances Hougland and Dolly McNutt were elected in January 1976.

Paducah Bank was among the leaders in the area to invest in new technology known as ATMs. Our first ATMs were installed in late 1977 and early 1978.

By 1978, the Bank had completely outgrown its Broadway facilities. A committee of Directors was charged with developing and implementing a plan for relocation. That plan culminated on February 14, 1981, when we moved into our present facility located at 555 Jefferson.

In mid-1984, a newly formed Holding Company, Paducah Bank Shares, Inc., purchased controlling interest in the Bank. Joe Framptom became president of the bank.

A tremendous milestone was reached when the bank exceeded $100 million in assets!

In 1991, the Holding Company Board of Directors had the foresight to create a stock plan to give the loyal Paducah Bank employees more than just a place to work. It provided an ownership position in our Bank and an excellent retirement benefit. The Bank’s 401(k) and Employee Stock Ownership Plan (KSOP) has continued to grow and today is one of the larger shareholders.

Paducah Bank made its first-ever acquisition of another financial institution. The McCracken County assets of Republic Bank and Trust were purchased in November 1997. This purchase allowed us to move our Lone Oak Banking Center to a newer, more accessible location at 2635 Lone Oak Road.

Internet Banking was introduced at Paducah Bank.

Management began to work diligently to position the Company for a Subchapter S election, which was finalized in December 2001. Under the tax code the election allowed the Company to make distributions to its shareholders on a much more favorable tax basis than the former Subchapter C Corporation. The ability to make distributions to shareholders on a tax-favorable basis is attractive to investors, thus encouraging them to retain their investment in the Company, which is a key to the Bank’s strategic goal of remaining an independent, locally-owned Bank. The Bank’s ESOP receives substantial quarterly distributions since it is a substantial shareholder.  

As owners, we initiated a new customer service culture in 2002, our Owners’ Commitment. Employees participated in the creation of our 15 Basics designed to put our service behaviors, credo, motto, and vision (to be the premier provider of financial resources) in place. In order to permanently cement this new culture into the organization, “Owners’ Meetings” were created. Every day at 8:30 a.m., every employee at every location attended a five-minute stand-up meeting, including Saturday.

Many residents in our community, recognized the higher service level and became eager to move their financial relationship from their existing provider. With the Bank’s growing market share, a site in the Strawberry Hill commercial development was purchased in January 2002 for future development of a financial center.

The Bank’s Core Values - People, Moral Soundness, Culture, Independently Owned, and Community Involvement - were presented to the Board of Directors on October 14, 2004.

A tremendous milestone was reached when Paducah Bank exceeded $400 million in assets as of September 30, 2005: $402,643,385. Not only were our assets growing, but our staff was growing in order to provide our customers with premier financial service. Expansion plan discussions continued in internal meetings and board meetings, and in March 2006, the Bank purchased 1.5 acres in Hannan Plaza for the development of a new banking center. 

On March 30, 2006, at an awards ceremony at the Lexington Convention Center, the Bank was voted the #1 Best Place to Work in Kentucky in medium-sized companies. The Kentucky Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce sponsored the rankings. The program is a multi-year initiative to motivate companies in the commonwealth to focus, measure, and move their workplace environments toward excellence. The decision was made after an assessment of the Bank’s employee policies and procedures, and the results of a confidential internal employee survey.

So many positive events were happening that a new slogan was formed: WOW!

With no room to grow at the Main Office, we considered ourselves very fortunate when we were able to acquire a commercial piece of property across the street from our Main Office. Plans were quickly underway to renovate this space into our Operations Center, which housed our deposit and loan operation departments, information technology department, data processing, and phone center. These departments moved into their new facility in November 2006. 

In recognition of 50 years of devoted commitment and service to Paducah Bank and to our community, the Operations Center was dedicated in honor of H. E. “Gene” Katterjohn on January 25, 2007. Mr. Katterjohn was elected to the Board of Directors on June 25, 1957. He served as Chairman of the Board from January 21, 1973 until January 14, 1988.

The Strawberry Hill area was developing quickly. In 2002, the Bank’s Directors and management had the foresight to purchase 3-acres of land on a prime corner of the development. The plan was to build a 3-story, 15,000 square foot building to replace our small West Park Banking Center. On June 16, 2008, our West Park Banking Center was relocated to the brand new Strawberry Hill Branch.

Paducah Bank continued to be honored in 2009. At the 70th Annual Meeting of the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce in January, the following awards were presented for outstanding accomplishments in 2008: Distinguished Citizen to Bill and Meredith Schroeder (Directors); Business of the Year to Paducah Bank. What a fabulously exciting night for Paducah Bank!

There was much uncertainty about the longer term burden of government regulations and taxes, and most economists predicted little improvement through 2010 and into 2011. In 2010, our total assets increased by $6,655,000, reaching a new all-time high of $503,366,897. The low-rate housing environment benefited customers who refinanced through the secondary market.

The year 2012 was predicted to be a year of significant change for Paducah Bank as we prepared for an improving economy, expanding business opportunities, and a continued onslaught of new banking regulations and more stringent oversight.

Paducah Bank achieved much success during 2012 and was positioned to enter 2013, our 65th anniversary year, in excellent condition. As of March 11, 2013, Paducah Bank officially became a member of the Federal Reserve System, a change in regulators that had been planned for many months. Our deposits continued to be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Customers saw no change due to this new affiliation with the Fed.

In spite of anxieties, fears, and unknowns locally, nationally, and globally, Paducah Bank enjoyed another fine year during 2015. It may not have been exciting or record setting, but the Bank remained in excellent condition, poised to take advantage of future opportunities. Total market deposits in McCracken County grew 4.44% during 2015, while our Bank’s total deposits grew 4.61%. We maintained our market position and continued to be #1 in market share with 31.15%. Our Bank’s total assets grew 5.73% to a record level of $577,199,193. Paducah Bank was also the only Kentucky bank recognized for the effective use of social media by the Independent Community Bankers of America.

2016 began with the Paducah Bank Shares, Inc. board of directors electing Conner Framptom to serve as a new director on the board. 

The Bank created a Teen Ambassador program in 2016, eleven area high school students were selected to represent Paducah Bank as Teen Ambassadors for the inaugural year.  

A major focus in 2017 was the expansion of the Paducah Bank brand into a new major market. After much market research and a thorough search for talent across the state, the decision was made to open a loan production office in Louisville.

On May 13, PBS, Inc. Director Bill Schroeder passed away. Bill was one of the founders of Paducah Bank Shares, Inc., the company which bought Paducah Bank in 1984 to ensure that it would always remain a locally owned community bank.

January 24, 2018 marked Paducah Bank’s 70th anniversary.

Paducah Bank named seven area business leaders to serve on its newly formed Community Board. They were Katie Englert, Matt Snow (Chair), Nick Morris, George Wilson, Tara Sawvel (Secretary), Cory Hicks, and Whitney Cruse (Vice Chair). The Community Board meets regularly with Bank leadership to give insight into customer service at the bank, help identify potential growth and relationships, and identify opportunities to serve the community.

In March of 2019, we converted the Louisville office to a full-service bank branch, which enabled us to begin accepting deposits. On September 19, the Louisville branch hosted a one-year anniversary celebration.  

We began 2020 with great uncertainty and challenges unseen in a lifetime as COVID-19 impacted the world. Bank leadership strived not only to work to ensure the safety of our clients by adopting CDC measures but swiftly moved to prioritize the safety of our teammates. Throughout the year, the Paducah Bank team pulled together, showed great flexibility and creativity, and quickly adapted to new and unusual working conditions. More than 80 employees successfully worked from home for most of the year, meetings were held virtually, loans were closed and new accounts opened behind plexiglass barriers or in the drive-thrus and parking lots while the lobbies remained closed.  

2021, in many respects, mirrored 2020 with uncertainties surrounding Covid-19. At Paducah Bank, many members of our staff and their families were directly impacted by the virus and its variants. Even though our work lives were disrupted, we remained flexible and focused on protecting the Bank and serving our customers. The creativity, discipline and innovation shown by our staff in the midst of the disruptions and upheavals were amazing. We adapted well and the Bank experienced excellent results. At the end of 2021, signs were encouraging that we were emerging from the pandemic with far fewer scrapes and bruises than once thought possible.