Stock Yards Bancorp Reports Record Second Quarter 2015 Net Income up 12% to $9.0 Million or $0.60 Per Diluted Share

Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYBT), parent company of Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company, with offices in the Louisville, Indianapolis and Cincinnati metropolitan markets, today reported record results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2015, with net income for the quarter ended June 30, 2015, increasing 12% to $9,002,000 or $0.60 per diluted share. The Company's performance for the second quarter of 2015 reflected several positive factors, including:

• Strong loan production and a solid loan pipeline, although loan prepayments and pay-downs on lines of credit continued to dampen overall portfolio growth;
• Ongoing improvements in credit quality that enabled the Company to again forego a provision for loan losses;
• Growth in fee income led by higher mortgage banking revenue;
• A generally stable net interest margin; and
• Strong returns on average assets and equity.

The following is a summary of the Company's reported results:

"Stock Yards Bancorp delivered another solid performance and record results for the second quarter of 2015," said David P. Heintzman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, "due to several key factors. Chief among these was higher net interest income reflecting the ongoing growth of our loan portfolio. Loan production has been very strong, but loan prepayments and lower usage of lines of credit have continued to hamper the overall growth of our portfolio. With regard to prepayments, they have reflected not only low prevailing interest rates, but also heightened competitive conditions that we believe involve undue interest and credit risk. We remain focused on relationship banking rather than transactions that involve loose structure, long terms and rates that create problems upon maturity, assuming a higher rate environment in the future.

"Alongside portfolio growth, we have continued to see credit quality strengthen and, in many ways, it now exceeds the solid portfolio metrics we witnessed before the last recession," Heintzman added. "These improving trends enabled us to forego a provision for loan losses for the third consecutive quarter, while still maintaining solid coverage ratios for potential losses in our portfolio.

"Lastly, we are pleased to note that the balance offered by our various fee-based activities has continued to drive higher year-over-year non-interest income," Heintzman stated. "Highlighting this, ongoing growth in both our mortgage banking and brokerage revenue successfully offset slightly lower revenue from our investment management and trust department. With $2.3 billion in assets under management, our investment management and trust services department remains by far the most significant source of recurring fee income for the Company."

Heintzman noted that, during the second quarter of 2015, the Bank opened two offices in the northern Kentucky area of its Cincinnati market, capitalizing on opportunities created by industry consolidation. Concurrent with this expansion, the Bank was able to attract talented and experienced commercial lenders who know the area and its business climate. Serving as a core for the Bank's operations in northern Kentucky, these lenders are expected to provide a catalyst for loan growth in the area.

Concluding, Heintzman said, "Considering the Company's progress and growth in the first half of 2015, we approach the balance of the year with solid operating momentum and attractive prospects to extend our record as one of the nation's high-performing community banks. We remain optimistic about the opportunities we see across our markets for solid loan production and expect lines of credit utilization to increase. We also are excited that the experienced and talented individuals that we have attracted to the Bank will help us capitalize on our market opportunities. Those factors, coupled with an impressive mix of fee-income drivers, should position our company for ongoing growth and profitability. All of this works to further support our longstanding commitment to enhance total returns by providing a strong and reliable dividend stream to our stockholders."

Total assets increased $71.3 million or 3% at June 30, 2015, to $2.48 billion from $2.41 billion at June 30, 2014. The Company's loan portfolio increased $99.5 million or 6% to $1.90 billion at June 30, 2015, from $1.80 billion at June 30, 2014. Total deposits increased $84.4 million or 4% to $2.07 billion at June 30, 2015, from $1.99 billion at June 30, 2014. Core deposits as a percentage of total deposits held steady at 98% as of June 30, 2015, compared with June 30, 2014.

The Company again posted strong capital levels in the second quarter of 2015, which exceeded the required minimums necessary to be considered a "well-capitalized" institution – the highest capital rating for financial institutions. Considering its consistently solid capital position, Stock Yards Bancorp has continued to pursue capital strategies to enhance stockholder value by increasing cash dividends, while maintaining its financial flexibility to pursue expansion and other opportunities that may arise from industry consolidation. In May 2015, Stock Yards Bancorp's Board of Directors voted to raise the Company's quarterly cash dividend $0.01 or approximately 4% to $0.24 per common share, representing the third increase in the dividend within a span of one year and reflecting a cumulative increase of approximately 14% in the dividend rate since May 2014. This dividend was distributed on July 1, 2015, to stockholders of record as of June 15, 2015.

Net interest income – the Company's largest source of revenue – increased $1.1 million or 6% to $21.8 million in the second quarter of 2015 from $20.7 million in the prior-year quarter.

In the second quarter of 2015, net interest margin was 3.75%, up from 3.72% in the first quarter of 2015, reflecting the Company's more efficient balance sheet for the period, but it was down from 3.77% in the second quarter of 2014. Management expects that net interest margin will remain under pressure over the balance of the year, and any near-term increases in prevailing interest rates will not immediately benefit the Company. Instead, because approximately 60% of its loan portfolio has fixed rates and 18% of its loan portfolio is priced at variable rates with floors of 4%, a rise in rates would have a short-term negative impact on net interest margin. The extent of margin compression also will be affected by the need to respond to competitive pressures on funding sources.

Non-performing loans (NPLs) totaled $9.9 million or 0.52% of total loans outstanding at June 30, 2015, down from $11.5 million or 0.62% of total loans outstanding at March 31, 2015, and $19.5 million or 1.08% of total loans at June 30, 2014. Similarly, non-performing assets (NPAs), which include NPLs along with other real estate owned (OREO) and repossessed assets, were $14.2 million or 0.57% of total assets at June 30, 2015, down from $17.4 million or 0.69% of total assets at March 31, 2015, and $22.4 million or 0.93% of total assets at June 30, 2014. These further improvements in NPLs and NPAs extend the broad trends witnessed over the past two years, as the Company has reached asset quality levels not seen on a regular basis since 2008.

Net charge-offs in the second quarter of 2015 totaled $1.6 million or 0.08% of average loans, up from $38 thousand in the first quarter of 2015 and $180 thousand or 0.01% of average loans in the prior-year quarter. The increase in net charge-offs in the second quarter of 2015 primarily reflected actions to adjust the value of two specific problem loans that are nearing resolution.

Considering management's overall assessment of risk in the loan portfolio, including ongoing improvements in asset quality, the Company did not record a loan loss provision for the second quarter of 2015, as was the case in both the first quarter of 2015 and fourth quarter of 2014. In the second quarter of 2014, the loan loss provision was $1.35 million. The allowance for loan losses was 1.23% of total loans as of June 30, 2015, down from 1.33% at March 31, 2015, and 1.65% at June 30, 2014.

Total non-interest income in the second quarter of 2015 increased $162 thousand or 1.6% to $10.2 million from $10.1 million in the prior-year quarter, primarily reflecting a $191 thousand or 26% increase in mortgage banking revenue, which more than offset a slight decline in revenue from investment management and trust services. Total non-interest income in the first six months of 2015 increased $360 thousand or 1.8% to $19.9 million from $19.5 million in the prior-year period, reflecting the same trends seen in the second quarter.

Total non-interest expense for the second quarter of 2015 increased $1.2 million or 6.6% to $18.9 million from $17.7 million in the prior-year quarter. The increase was due primarily to higher salaries and employee benefits reflecting staff additions at new branches and the investment management and trust department, along with rising health insurance costs and normal increases. Total non-interest expense for the first six months of 2015 increased $1.4 million or 4.0% to $36.6 million from $35.2 million in the prior-year quarter, reflecting the same trends seen in the second quarter.

Louisville, Kentucky-based Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc., with $2.48 billion in assets, was incorporated in 1988 as a bank holding company. It is the parent company of Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company, which was established in 1904. The Company's common shares trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol SYBT.

The following table provides a reconciliation of total stockholders' equity, in accordance with US GAAP, to tangible common equity, which is a non-GAAP financial measure. The Company provides the tangible common equity ratio, in addition to those defined by banking regulators, because of its widespread use by investors as a means to evaluate capital adequacy.

This report contains forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act that involve risks and uncertainties. Although the Company's management believes the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any of these assumptions could be inaccurate. Therefore, there can be no assurance the forward-looking statements included herein will prove to be accurate. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: economic conditions both generally and more specifically in the markets in which the Company and its subsidiaries operate; competition for the Company's customers from other providers of financial services; government legislation and regulation, which change from time to time and over which the Company has no control; changes in interest rates; material unforeseen changes in liquidity, results of operations, or financial condition of the Company's customers; and other risks detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of the Company. See Risk Factors outlined in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014.

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