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, the current Mid-City Banking Center located at 2401 Broadway.

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, a hole was knocked in the bank wall facing Broadway, which created the first walk-up teller position. It was operational during non-traditional weekday hours and Saturday mornings. This service was so well received that, two years later, all Paducah Bank facilities were open for full service each Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon. Saturday banking hours ended in 1986 as customers’ habits were changing and ATMs were becoming ever more popular.

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.

In 1995, the Bank installed a state-of- the-art, full-service ATM network at nine locations around McCracken County.

Paducah Bank converted its entire database from Computer Services, Inc. (CSI) to an in-house system in 1996, thereby creating new technological efficiencies and allowing us to position ourselves for even greater growth. Also in 1996, Paducah Bank added another branch location on the western end of town . . . our West Park Banking Center opened in November 1996.

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 and reinstate Saturday hours at that location.

At the end of 1997, two of the largest banks in Paducah announced that they were selling to even larger, out-of-state banks; neither sold until 1998. As the only locally owned financial institution remaining in Paducah, Paducah Bank enriched its product offerings and further developed an attitude of total commitment to our customers. The development of a sales culture was begun, and new directions were taken to reemphasize our commitment to our community.

1999 saw the advent of internet banking at Paducah Bank as well as a refining of our marketing and sales approach.

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 do all companies, Paducah Bank faced the constant challenge of attracting and retaining core customer relationships as well as great employees. Management determined that a new service strategy should be implemented and decided to learn from the best—The Ritz Carlton. CEO Joe Framptom, President Wally Bateman, Director of Marketing Susan Guess, and Director of Human Resources Maurie McGarvey enrolled in The Ritz Carlton Leadership Training program and brought back what they learned. The team felt it was imperative to engage the employees in the process of incorporating The Ritz Carlton information and creating their own service vision. 

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 attends a five-minute stand-up meeting, including Saturday.

Many residents in our community, banking elsewhere, 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 possible development of a financial center.

During 2002, the management team began an initiative to take the Bank from “good to great.” This concept, as outlined in the book Good to Great by Jim Collins, is consistent with the Bank’s Owners’ Commitment. All employees received a book, and were broken up into discussion groups to talk about the book and how it applies to our culture. Every new employee receives a copy and participates in a reading/discussion group.

A Good-to-Great Council was formed in November 2003, and immediately put the flywheel in motion to develop and create the Bank’s Core Values. 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.

In 2005, the Good-to-Great Council was charged with the development of the Bank’s Hedgehog Concept. The process involved meetings with all employees to determine their concept of the three circles described in Good to Great: what can we be the best in the world at, what are we passionate about, and what drives our economic engine. The Hedgehog Concept is a result of the ideas, insights, and understanding in the Bank. The Hedgehog Concept—Attract, Develop, Retain—was presented to the Board of Directors on December 8, 2005.

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! Great place to bank. Great place to work!

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 year 2008 exploded with excitement! Our growth in the community created a need to renovate and expand two of our Banking Centers in order to provide more efficient service to our customers. On April 4, 2008, the grand re-opening of our newly renovated and expanded Reidland Banking Center was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

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: Leadership Alumni of the Year—Wendy Kester; Distinguished Citizen—Bill and Meredith Schroeder (Directors); Business of the Year—Paducah Bank; and Susan Guess was installed as the incoming Chamber Chair. 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 spite of these uncertainties, Paducah Bank set an ambitious net income goal for 2010: 10 in ’10. In March 2010, our total assets increased by $6,655,000, reaching a new all-time high of $503,366,897. We exceeded budget in all major categories in June. The low-rate housing environment benefited customers who refinanced through the secondary market. The Bank attained record gains in secondary market income of $316,218 over the budget of $50,000 in August.

Realizing that 2010 was an exceptional year, less net income was budgeted for 2011 than we earned in 2010. Yet our Bank continued to strongly perform. As of March 31, 2011, the Bank continued to experience steady growth with total assets of $531,935,821, an increase of 5.68% over the past twelve months. Our market area continued to reflect some of the economic challenges of our national economy as it struggled to move beyond the recessionary period that began in 2008.  

Our latest stock value reached $505 per share on June 30, which reflects our superior financial performance and a generally improved market for community bank stocks, at least during the first half of 2011. The value at the end of 2010 was $470, so we enjoyed a nearly 7.5% increase thus far in 2011.  

On August 18, 2011, our new 3,500 square foot branch on Paducah’s Southside was officially dedicated. We were glad to be back in a neighborhood that is far different today than when we left it years ago. There were high expectations for growth in that part of the Paducah market due to a convenient location and our WOW! service.  

Bank earnings at December 31, 2011, were $10,973,719 which, while below last year’s record, exceeded our budget by $1,582,454. The Bank’s total assets reached a record high of $534,103,825. These amazing results in a challenging economy were achieved through the combined efforts of a dedicated, focused, and motivated team of directors, managers, and employee/owners. 

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.

On May 1, 2014, new Directors were elected to our respective Boards. Glenn Denton (pictured below - top) was elected to our Holding Company Board, and Conner Framptom (pictured below - bottom) was elected to our Bank Board. Both bring expertise and experience to the Boards as the Company and Bank continue to plan for the long-term success of our locally owned and community-oriented financial institution.

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. Conner continued to serve on the Bank board of directors as well.  

The Bank created a Teen Ambassador program in 2016 in order to learn more about the needs and preferences of students, to expand the Bank’s financial services offerings, and to provide these ambassadors with real-world work experience. Eleven area high school students were selected to represent Paducah Bank as Teen Ambassadors for the inaugural year.  

Our 2016 results were very solid, keeping Paducah Bank well within a group of high-performing banks among our peers. We earned $9,938,897 on a consolidated basis, which is 3.38% more than 2015 earnings. Total assets increased to a record $620,253,181, which was 7.35% above prior year end. Our loans increased nicely, especially during the fourth quarter, to a record $432,098,325, an increase of 8.44% over prior 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 and to hire Louisville native Diana Quesada (pictured above) as a Commercial Relationship Manager and Paducah Bank’s Louisville market representative.

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.

In 2018, 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 discuss community concerns, give insight into customer service at the bank, help identify potential growth and relationships, and to identify opportunities for the bank to improve the local economy and serve the community.

January 24, 2018 marked Paducah Bank’s 70th anniversary. The bank celebrated with a day filled with random acts of WOW and an employee flash mob performance at Kirchhoff’s Deli. Employees surprised dozens of local non-profit agencies and bank customers with donations, gifts, and treats. Kirchhoff’s and Etcetera Coffee Shop helped us celebrate by creating a WOW sandwich and a WOW drink for the day.

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.  

Since the closure of the Southside branch lobby in 2015, drive-thru activity continued to decline as client preferences shifted to alternative points of service such as ITM usage, Mobile Banking or simply using a more convenient location. Given these factors, the decision was made to discontinue service at the Southside drive-thru only location. The Southside branch was officially closed on April 1, 2019. A new ITM was installed in the parking lot across the street from the branch.  

We began 2020 with a renewed, energetic effort crafted to infuse a bit of “fun” within the client and teammate experience. In February, we held an all-employee event at the MSU Paducah campus with Jesse Cole, founder of Fans First Entertainment and owner of the Savannah Bananas baseball team, who taught us about finding our own “Yellow Tux.” The laughs were plentiful, the energy was authentic, and the united spirit of our team was simply described as wonderful. Everyone left the event poised for success. Little did we know what was waiting for us only a few days later—great uncertainty and challenges unseen in a lifetime. 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. Our BCP Committee was called upon to lead us through the unknown and the BCP plan was executed to perfection. Throughout 2020, the entire 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 via Microsoft Teams and Zoom, loans were closed and new accounts opened behind plexiglass barriers or in the drive-thrus and parking lots, and the lobbies were locked.  

2021, in many respects, mirrored 2020 with all of the unknowns and 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 and are 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.