Limestone Bank is headquartered in Louisville and is the 8th largest bank in the state of Kentucky. It is also the 659th largest bank in the nation. It was established in 1902 and as of December of 2019, it had grown to 244 employees at 21 locations. Limestone Bank's money market rates are 2X the national average, and it boasts an A+ health rating.
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It Used To Be Better...
I am writing this to update people on what happened after Ascencia Bank became a part of PBI. When it was Ascencia, it was a paper-driven bank (forms would need to be emailed/fax/mailed, had competitive rates and were relatively friendly folks.
The accounts were easy to setup (the checking account had 50 starter checks) and had very competitive rates. Billpay was a little clunky, but functional. The rates were listed on the website for customers, current or prospective, to view.
ACH setup was straight forward and officially had no limit on the number of banks linked to an account (min transfer amount was $25 in either direction) (The bank understandably did question, but officially no limit) I don't think there was a maximum number of transfers in either direction or an amount per transaction or "total" It was a decent bank. (Its one of the few banks that I opened without thought of any "promotional offers") Good rate, pretty convenient (it allowed bank by mail with preprinted deposit slips and prepaid envelopes) and a respectable hub.
After the update to online banking and perhaps final conversion to PBI, former Ascencia customers were notified that the billpay info would convert, but the ACH info would not. "Improvement" was in the form of being able to setup ACH online with trial deposits. (Previously, one had to email/fax/mail a form that had a voided check/deposit slip image with the routing number and account number) However, there were quite a few bugs that needed to be ironed out in the first few days (after 11/25...almost a week)
"To add a new Bank-to-Bank transfer, complete the fields below and select Submit. You may submit up to five (5) inbound transfers and five (5) outbound transfers per day. The total dollar amount of inbound transfers cannot exceed $3,000. Any incoming bank-to-bank transfers will have a two-day hold placed on the funds before they are available for use. The total dollar amount of outbound transfers cannot exceed $3,000. You may set up recurring or future dated transfers. These transfers will count towards your totals on the day that the transfer is scheduled to occur."
is what is shown now. What is also not mentioned is lowered minimum transaction amount of $1 (previously $25) and the "hold" mentioned in the quote is where "pulled" amount is debited with the heading "memo debit memo." instead of just showing a current balance compared to a available balance.
Also, unfortunately, if a person tries to setup a transfer and there's an error, the system does not tell the customer the error message/reason. (no reds, nothing) As a result, this bank is not recommended as a hub account.
In terms of convenience, I think it's okay if a person knows to ask the customer service for the deposit slips and envelopes (no deposit slip results in at least a $5 fee; probably higher now) The mobile app does not have mobile deposit yet.
I hope this review might help other readers. Thank you for reading.
Already Not Good
My Republic Bank branch was purchased by Limestone. Already 2 strikes: I had 5 books of checks left on my old account - they replaced them with 1 book of new checks. Always when my mortgage payment fell on a non-business day (holiday or weekend) the payment would post on the following business day. Limestone now withdraws my payment up to 2 days early, in their favor rather than mine. I will be shopping around.
Limestone Worst Bank Ever
I asked my local branch to order me a box of quarters every 2 weeks. Was contacted a week later and told no because it would cost the bank money. I contacted their corporate office and expressed my concern a week ago. They never called back, but I received a letter today with a check for the balance of my account. Letter explained they were closing it with no reason why. Guess they didn’t want me as a customer because I requested a box of quarters every 2 weeks. Stay away from this bank, it doesn’t care about its customers.
Became Horrible In 2018
Worst bank I've used in 20 years was ok last year and now they shut if my card frequently takes an extra 2 days to get my check from direct deposit, doesn't give very much information on when money was taken out of account, terrible web interface. Can't use my card at a significant about of online retailers,
STAY AWAY FROM THIS BANK
Worst Bank Ever!!
I've been with this bank for less than a month and I'm already closing my account. It all started when their website wouldn't take my password so it locked me out. I called the customer service number that is in their site and was told that it was reset and I could use it again, which apparently wasn't the case. I then tried to log on again and still had a "locked" account. I received a call from the actual bank and they said that it had not been reset and that they would reset it for me then. So I yet again got on and did as they asked to reset my password and unlock my account. Needless to say it's been over a week now and I still can't log on. I can't see why I have a negative amount and I can't see why my whole paycheck is gone. I've called the bank repeatedly but can't get anywhere over the phone to where my money has went or why I was negative. And due to my work schedule I don't have time to drive by the bank when they are open. And on top of everything, if I want to check my balance I have to use another banks ATM because theirs won't take their own card. This is probably the worst bank I've ever used in my life. Not recommend at all.
Going Downhill Fast
I opened online accounts two decades ago (1995) with what was then known as USA Bank. At the time, they had the most competitive rates and services of the fledgling internet-only, online banks. For a long time, everything went well.
Well, I guess over a half dozen years ago they were taken over/merged/whatever with Ascencia. As the other reviewer pointed out (correctly), things didn't go well. The worst was how bunged-up the bill pay set-up changed. After about six months, they finally got it fixed.
Now, with the currrent PBI takeover, it's even worse. Rates have gotten so low they're about the lowest of anyone, but I stuck with them because I had everything setup. But the last straw was when they 'updated' their webpage about a month ago so certain, popular Android OS will no longer work, specifically Android 4.3, which is the OS that the second most popular smartphone, Samsung Galaxy S4, uses. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise because one of the service reps told me that they're now concentrating on building local B&M outlets and phasing out Ascencia products (like online banking). The trouble is, that doesn't do non-local customers much good.
Customer service was nice enough, but all they really do is apologize for the bank's problems with the vague "We've made note of your concerns". I don't think PBI management is too interested in resolving problems anytime soon (if ever), and that doesn't bode well for long-term solvency.
The bottom line is that, with the dismal interest rates, USA/Ascencia/PBI bank is simply not worth the effort, anymore. I moved all my money to Ally. It's a shame because, if you can access PBI's webpage, it is nice and easy enough to use. It's just that you can't access any part of it if you're running anything older than Android 4.5 OS on your smartphone.
Data as of Q4 2019
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| FDIC Certificate # | 9314 |
| Year Established | 1902 |
| Employees | 244 |
| Primary Regulator | FDIC |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 1.01% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 9.01% |
| Annual Interest Income | $49.6MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q4 2019vs Q4 2018 | $1.24B$1.07B |
| Loans | Q4 2019vs Q4 2018 | $917.9MM$756.4MM |
| Deposits | Q4 2019vs Q4 2018 | $1.03B$899.2MM |
| Equity Capital | Q4 2019vs Q4 2018 | $138.3MM$114.0MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q4 2019vs Q4 2018 | $8.4MM$8.9MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q4 2019vs Q4 2018 | $1.4MM$2.0MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q4 2019vs Q4 2018 | $3.2MM$3.5MM |