Magazine : Archives : 2nd Quarter 2022

Are Community Banks Going Away?

Commonwealth Bancshares in Louisville, Kentucky, had a long and treasured history serving its community. The $1.3 billion bank got a charter in 1888 in nearby Shelby County. “Our decisions are made locally by people who know you, your family and your business,” the bank’s website said. None of that has gone away, but Commonwealth has. The privately owned, mostly family-controlled bank decided to sell last year to a rival Louisville bank, Stock Yards Bancorp, which grew to just shy of $8 billion in assets this year when the deal closed in early March. Stock Yards, dating back to 1904, has...