A Brief History of Central Kentucky Federal Savings Bank

Central Kentucky Federal Savings Bank was incorporated by the Kentucky Legislature in 1873, making it one of the state’s oldest savings association charters. The association purchased property across the street in 1968 and moved to 108 Lexington Street, where it thrived under the leadership of Tillo Martin, with assets of nearly $7 million by its 100th anniversary celebration on April 23, 1973.

As the bank’s assets continued to grow, the location at 107 Lexington Street became problematic for customers to use the drive-through and made parking difficult. The bank then purchased the building owned by Kentucky Utilities at 208 Lexington Street in May 1988, which was later renovated to add a new vault and additional space.

In November 1988, the bank’s board decided to convert from a federally chartered mutual savings and loan to a federally chartered mutual savings bank.

The new name was First Lancaster Federal Savings Bank, which became official on March 4, 1989. With this transition, the bank could offer more services, but it continued to focus on traditional thrift services, including loans for home ownership and providing customers with a safe place for their savings.

In 1995, the bank’s board decided to convert the federally chartered mutual savings bank to a federally chartered capital stock savings bank as a wholly owned subsidiary of a holding company, First Lancaster Bancshares, Inc. The subsequent stock conversion was completed on June 28, 1996.

On May 31, 2001, First Lancaster Federal Savings Bank merged with Central Kentucky Federal Savings Bank in Danville, KY. This merger aligned Central Kentucky Federal with two other long-serving, community-based Kentucky thrifts: First Federal of Frankfort and First Federal of Hazard. The offices of Central Kentucky Federal now operate as a division of First Federal of Frankfort, with Lancaster represented on the board of the bank by Jerry Purcell and Virginia Stump.

In 2013, the board of Central Kentucky Federal approved another merger with Kentucky First Federal Bancorp, further strengthening the bank’s position as a community-oriented financial institution. Despite all these changes, the bank’s commitment to its local communities has remained steadfast over the past 128 years.