Exhibit 99.1

          S.Y. Bancorp Announces Acceleration of Stock Options Vesting

    LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 29, 2005--S.Y. Bancorp,
Inc. (NASDAQ/NM:SYBT), the parent company of Stock Yards Bank & Trust
Company in Louisville, southern Indiana and Indianapolis, today
announced that the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors
has accelerated the vesting of all outstanding unvested stock options
to purchase shares of common stock of S.Y. Bancorp that were issued to
officers prior to December 2005. These options were awarded to
officers under the Company's 1995 and 2005 Stock Incentive Plans.
    As a result of the Compensation Committee's action, options to
purchase approximately 190,000 shares of the Company's common stock,
of which approximately 11% are held by current named executive
officers, may now be exercisable by their holders. These options would
otherwise have vested from time to time over the next five years.
Aside from the acceleration of the vesting date, the terms and
conditions of the stock option agreements governing the underlying
stock options remain unchanged.
    By accelerating the vesting of these options effective as of
December 31, 2005, the Company estimates that it will reduce non-cash
compensation expense in future periods by approximately $1 million.
This expected reduction compares with the amount that the Company
would likely record under Statement of Financial Accounting Standards
No. 123R, "Share-Based Payment," which S.Y. Bancorp will adopt in
January 2006.
    The accelerated options represent approximately 23% of the total
of all outstanding S.Y. Bancorp options, all of which had exercise
prices equal to the market value of common stock at the time of grant.
Based on an estimated closing price of $24.50 per share on the date of
accelerated vesting, 100% of the accelerated options are "in the
money," having exercise prices below the estimated closing market
price at the time of acceleration. The acceleration also is expected
to result in an additional $32,000 of compensation expense in 2005
based on the estimated closing price of the Company's shares on the
date of accelerated vesting.
    The Company will seek consent from options holders of incentive
stock options within the meaning of Section 422 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, if the acceleration would have the
effect of changing the status of the option for federal income tax
purposes from an incentive stock option to a non-qualified stock
option. Should any of the option holders withhold consent for the
vesting acceleration, then the Company would incur future expense
associated with those options over the remainder of the their original
vesting schedule as of January 1, 2006, and the current estimated
expense elimination for the Company would be reduced. Since the
Company currently accounts for its stock options in accordance with
Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 25, Accounting for Stock
Issued to Employees, it will report compensation expense related to
the affected options for disclosure purposes only in its fourth
quarter 2005 financial statements.
    S.Y. Bancorp, Inc., which trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol
SYBT, was incorporated in 1988 as a bank holding company in
Louisville, Kentucky. It is the parent company of Stock Yards Bank &
Trust Company, which was established in 1904 and has locations in
Louisville and southern Indiana, as well as a branch in Indianapolis.
S.Y. Bancorp, Inc. is also the parent company of S.Y. Bancorp Capital
Trust I, a Delaware statutory business trust that is a 100%-owned
finance subsidiary. The Company's Trust Preferred securities are
listed on the Amex under the symbol SYI PR.

    This release 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;
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.

    CONTACT: S.Y. Bancorp, Inc.
             Nancy B. Davis, 502-625-9176