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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the instructions to Form

-Q and do

not

include all information and footnotes required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (US GAAP) for complete financial statements. The consolidated unaudited financial statements of Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. (“Bancorp”) and its subsidiary reflect all adjustments (consisting only of adjustments of a normal recurring nature) which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of financial condition and results of operations for the interim periods.

The unaudited consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company (“Bank”). Significant inter-company transactions and accounts have been eliminated in consolidation. In preparing the unaudited consolidated financial statements, management is required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of certain assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of related revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Material estimates that are particularly susceptible to significant change relate to the determination of the allowance for loan losses, valuation of available-for-sale securities, other real estate owned and income tax assets, and estimated liabilities and expense.

A description of other significant accounting policies is presented in the notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended

December 31, 2017

included in Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc.’s Annual Report on Form

-K. Certain reclassifications have been made in the prior year financial statements to conform to current year classifications.

Interim results for the

nine

month period ended

September 30, 2018

are

not

necessarily indicative of the results for the entire year.

Critical Accounting Policies

The allowance for loan losses is management’s estimate of probable losses inherent in the loan portfolio as of the balance sheet date. Loan losses are charged against the allowance when management believes the uncollectability of a loan balance is confirmed. Subsequent recoveries, if any, are credited to the allowance.

Management has identified the accounting policy related to the allowance and provision for loan losses as critical to the understanding of Bancorp’s results of operations and discussed this conclusion with the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. Since the application of this policy requires significant management assumptions and estimates, it could result in materially different amounts to be reported if conditions or underlying circumstances were to change. The provision for loan losses reflects an allowance methodology driven by risk ratings, historical losses, specific loan loss allocations, and qualitative factors. Assumptions include many factors such as changes in borrowers’ financial condition which can change quickly or historical loss ratios related to certain loan portfolios which

may

not

be indicative of future losses. Consistent with Bancorp’s methodology, in the

first

quarter of

2018,

Bancorp extended the historical period used to capture Bancorp’s historical loss ratios from

quarters to

quarters in order to capture the effects of a full economic cycle. This extension of the historical period was applied to all classes and segments of our portfolio. Management believes the extension of the look-back period more accurately represents the current level of risk inherent in the loan portfolio.

By extending the look-back period to

quarters to capture historical loss data for a full economic cycle, the allowance level increased approximately

$1.3

million compared with a

quarter look-back period as of

March 31, 2018.

The change in look-back period was consistent with management’s judgment regarding the risk in the loan portfolio and consistent with internal analysis showing continued strong asset quality related

not

only in the Company’s loan portfolio, but the Bank’s peer group as well, validating the continuation of the current economic cycle and thus the reasoning to extend the look-back period. Management will continue to evaluate the appropriateness of the look-back period based on the status of the economic cycle. To the extent that management’s assumptions prove incorrect, results from operations could be materially affected by a higher or lower provision for loan losses. The accounting policy related to the allowance for loan losses is applicable to the commercial banking segment of Bancorp. The impact and any associated risks related to this policy on Bancorp’s business operations are discussed in the “Allowance for Loan Losses” section below.

Bancorp’s allowance calculation includes allocations to loan portfolio segments at

September 30, 2018

for qualitative factors including, among other factors, local economic and business conditions in each of our primary markets, quality and experience of lending staff and management, exceptions to lending policies, levels of and trends in past due loans and loan classifications, concentrations of credit such as collateral type, trends in portfolio growth, trends in value of underlying collateral for collateral-dependent loans, effect of other external factors such as the national economic and business trends, quality and depth of the loan review function, and management’s judgement of current trends and potential risks. Bancorp utilizes the sum of all allowance amounts derived as described above as the appropriate level of allowance for loan and lease losses. Changes in criteria used in this evaluation or availability of new information could cause the allowance to be increased or decreased in future periods. In addition, bank regulatory agencies, as part of their examination process,

may

require adjustments to the allowance for loan and lease losses based on their judgments and estimates.