Exhibit 99.1

S.Y. Bancorp Reports Higher Second Quarter 2012 Net Income of $6.1 Million or $0.44 Per Diluted Share

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 18, 2012--S.Y. Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYBT), parent company of Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company, with offices in the Louisville, Indianapolis and Cincinnati metropolitan markets, today reported earnings for the second quarter and first half of 2012. The following is a summary of the Company's reported results:

Commenting on the results, David Heintzman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "In the second quarter, we were pleased that our company was able to deliver higher earnings and strong returns on assets and equity for our stockholders. In addition, we were gratified to see both loans and deposits show solid growth year-over-year, reflecting the strength of our banking operations, while our investment management and trust services department and mortgage lending operations contributed significantly to our quarterly results.

"Our successful second quarter continued to reflect in large measure the strength of our service-oriented banking operations across three diverse and resilient markets," Heintzman continued. "Loan and deposit growth improved as we recovered from a sluggish first quarter. Additionally, credit quality remained stable, with no significant growth in our watch list or levels of past due loans, leading to a decline in our quarterly loan loss provision to its lowest point in more than a year. Overall, we believe credit quality continues to stabilize.

"Outside of banking operations, our investment management and trust services department continued to grow in the second quarter," Heintzman added. "Accounting for almost 40% of our non-interest income for the second quarter of 2012, revenues from this department, excluding one-time executor fees, increased 3% compared with the prior-year quarter. With $1.85 billion in assets under management, this department continues to consistently rank among the top 150 trust departments in the nation based on revenue – providing our company with a line of products and services seldom found at typical community banks and further differentiating Stock Yards Bank & Trust in our markets. Additionally, our mortgage division had an impressive second quarter, continuing the momentum we saw in the first quarter. Its overall revenue more than doubled in the second quarter of 2012 compared with the year-earlier period."

Concluding, Heintzman said, "At the midway point in 2012, with higher earnings and continued growth on our balance sheet, we believe the Company is well positioned to build on its record of success thus far in 2012. The strength of our diverse markets, our products and our service lines, together with our strong capital base, provide key support for our efforts to enhance stockholder value and give us confidence in the Company's ability to deliver attractive financial results again this year."

During the past year, S.Y. Bancorp's total assets have increased $140.2 million or 7%, reaching $2.084 billion at June 30, 2012, compared with $1.943 billion at June 30, 2011. In that same time, the Company's loan portfolio increased $38.9 million or 3% to $1.578 billion at June 30, 2012, compared with $1.539 billion at June 30, 2011. Total deposits increased $131.9 million or 9% to $1.664 billion at June 30, 2012, from $1.532 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2011.

The Company's capital levels continued to strengthen during the second quarter of 2012 compared with the year-earlier period and remained well above those required to be considered "well-capitalized" under regulatory standards – the highest capital rating for financial institutions. The Company's Tier 1 leverage ratio, Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio and Total risk-based capital ratio were 14.20%, 12.94% and 10.86%, respectively, at June 30, 2012 – all exceeding required minimums of 10%, 6% and 5%, respectively, necessary to be deemed a well-capitalized institution. The ratio of tangible common equity to total tangible assets was 9.39% at June 30, 2012, 9.37% at March 31, 2012, and 9.17% as of June 30, 2011. See reconciliation of GAAP and non-GAAP measures later in this release. The Company intends to maintain capital ratios at historically high levels at least until such time as the economy demonstrates sustained improvement and implications of newly proposed Basel III capital rules become definitive.

Net interest income – the Company's largest source of revenue – increased $684,000 or 4% in the second quarter of 2012 to $18.3 million from $17.6 million in the year-earlier period. This increase reflected primarily the year-over-year growth in interest-earning assets. In the second quarter of 2012, net interest margin was 3.98%, down nine basis points from 4.07% in the first quarter of 2012, and eight basis points from 4.06% in the second quarter of 2011. Overall, the decline in net interest margin over the past year reflects the pressure of an ongoing low interest rate environment and a highly competitive loan market. Looking at linked quarters over the past year, the more significant fluctuations that have occurred reflected primarily the collection of prepayment fees in the first quarter of 2012 and the effect of non-accrual loans in the third quarter of 2011. For the first half of 2012, net interest income increased $1.9 million or 5% to $36.8 million from $34.9 million in the prior-year period. Net interest margin for the first half of 2012 decreased five basis points to 4.02% from 4.07% a year ago. The Company expects that net interest margin compression will continue in reaction to competitive pressures and until prevailing interest rates begin to rise.

Non-performing loans (NPLs) totaled $35.6 million or 2.25% of total loans outstanding at June 30, 2012, up from $29.1 million or 1.90% of total loans outstanding at March 31, 2012, and $17.5 million or 1.14% of period-end loans at June 30, 2011. The sequential quarterly increase reflected the migration to non-accrual status of a single development loan totaling $8.8 million, which has been classified for some time. Non-performing assets (NPAs), which include NPLs, other real estate owned (OREO) and repossessed assets, also increased to $42.6 million or 2.04% of total assets at June 30, 2012, from $37.6 million or 1.84% of total assets at March 31, 2012, and $24.7 million or 1.27% of total assets at June 30, 2011, reflecting the aforementioned increase in non-performing loans.

Net charge-offs in the second quarter of 2012 totaled $1.9 million or 0.12% of average loans. This compared with net charge-offs of $2.6 million or 0.17% of average loans in the first quarter of 2012 and $2.0 million or 0.13% of average loans in the year-earlier period.

The Company's loan loss provision for the second quarter of 2012 was $2.5 million, bringing the Company's allowance for loan losses to 2.01% of total loans as of June 30, 2012. This compared with $4.1 million and 2.04%, respectively, for the first quarter of 2012 and $2.6 million and 1.79%, respectively, for the second quarter of 2011. The decline in the loan loss provision on a sequential-quarter basis, in spite of the rise in NPLs, reflects the Company's ongoing efforts to identify risk in its portfolio early. In this case, the aforementioned loan that migrated to non-performing status in the second quarter of 2012 had been classified for several quarters and, accordingly, already had an allocation established based on the Company's allowance methodology that approximated the specific allowance allocation. Overall, management believes that the pace of loan downgrades is slowing and some upgrades are occurring. The challenge ahead will be problem loan resolution.

Although some business conditions continue to signal signs of a recovery, the Company remains uncertain as to when the economy will begin to strengthen on a sustained and consistent basis. The prolonged economic downturn continues to create credit fatigue among traditionally solid and stable borrowers and presents a risk of involving additional customers until such time as the real estate market and overall business conditions demonstrate consistent improvements. Added to this, there is now an increased level of uncertainty regarding the global economy and how events and circumstances in Europe, Asia and elsewhere may affect the United States. Accordingly, S.Y. Bancorp intends to remain cautious in assessing the potential risk in its loan portfolio. The Company expects the allowance for loan losses and other credit costs to remain at high levels compared with pre-recession amounts until there are clearer signs of continued economic recovery and, thus, a more reliable indication of reduced overall credit risk. Still, while NPLs and NPAs are well above the Company's historic range for these metrics, they have continued to trend significantly better than those of $1-to-$2.5 billion publicly traded banks, which as of March 31, 2012, (second quarter peer data is not yet available) posted average NPLs and NPAs of 3.79% and 4.29%, respectively, according to a leading source for industry data.

Non-interest income increased $1.1 million or 14% to $9.3 million in the second quarter of 2012 compared with $8.2 million in the same quarter last year. The increase primarily reflected increased gains on sales of mortgage loans, higher brokerage fees and commissions, and increased fee income related to mortgage production. The prior-year quarter was negatively affected by a non-recurring loss from an investment in a domestic private investment fund in the second quarter of 2011. Non-interest income increased $2.4 million or 15% to $18.5 million in the first half of 2012 compared with $16.2 million in the same period last year. The increase primarily reflected the previously mentioned trends and also included a gain in the first quarter of 2012 on an investment in a domestic private investment fund that totaled approximately $400,000, which added approximately $0.03 to net income per diluted share for the first six months of 2012.

Non-interest expense increased $1.8 million or 12% to $16.5 million in the second quarter of 2012 from $14.7 million in the same period last year. The increase in non-interest expense was due primarily to higher personnel costs, reflecting staffing additions across the Company's operations – proactively building for future growth – and normal salary increases, increased data processing costs and higher occupancy expenses related to the Company's operations center and a new branch that opened in February 2012 in the Indianapolis market. In addition, the Company experienced increased OREO maintenance costs and write-downs, along with higher professional fees, advertising and mailing costs. Non-interest expense increased $1.7 million or 6% to $31.2 million for the first six months of 2012 from $29.6 million in the same period last year. The same factors as above, partially offset by a reduction in FDIC insurance expense in the year-earlier period, accounted for the increase in non-interest expense in the first half of 2012. Reflecting higher costs, the Company's second quarter efficiency ratio was 59.05% compared with 56.29% in the second quarter of 2011.

In May 2012, S.Y. Bancorp's Board of Directors declared its regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.19 per common share. The latest dividend was distributed on July 2, 2012, to stockholders of record as of June 11, 2012.

Louisville, Kentucky-based S.Y. Bancorp, Inc., with $2.1 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 trust preferred securities of S.Y. Bancorp Capital Trust II also trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol SYBTP.

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.

The following table provides a reconciliation of total stockholders' equity in accordance with GAAP to tangible common equity in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements. 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.

CONTACT:
S.Y. Bancorp, Inc.
Nancy B. Davis, 502-625-9176
Executive Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer