1 EXHIBIT 23 CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS Board of Directors The Bank of Kentucky Financial Corporation Florence, Kentucky We consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement on Form S-8 of The Bank of Kentucky Financial Corporation of our Report of Independent Auditors, dated January 24, 2001, on the consolidated balance sheets of The Bank of Kentucky Financial Corporation as of December 31, 2000 and 1999 and the related consolidated statements of income, changes in shareholders' equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2000, which report is included in Form 10-K of The Bank of Kentucky Financial Corporation for the year ended December 31, 2000 Crowe, Chizek and Company LLP March 28, 2001 Indianapolis, Indiana