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                                   EXHIBIT 99


     SAFE HARBOR UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995


         The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act")
provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements to encourage companies
to provide prospective information about their companies, so long as those
statements are identified as forward-looking and are accompanied by meaningful
cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those discussed in the statement. The Bank of
Kentucky Financial Corporation ("BKFC") desires to take advantage of the "safe
harbor" provisions of the Act. Certain information, particularly information
regarding future economic performance and finances and plans and objectives of
management, contained or incorporated by reference in BKFC's Annual Report on
Form 10-KSB for fiscal year 1997 is forward-looking. In some cases, information
regarding certain important factors that could cause actual results of
operations or outcomes of other events to differ materially from any such
forward-looking statement appear together with such statement. In addition,
forward-looking statements are subject to other risks and uncertainties
affecting the financial institutions industry, including, but not limited to,
the following:

Interest Rate Risk

         BKFC's operating results are dependent to a significant degree on its
net interest income, which is the difference between interest income from loans,
investments and other interest-earning assets and interest expense on deposits,
borrowings and other interest-bearing liabilities. The interest income and
interest expense of BKFC change as the interest rates on interest-earning assets
and interest-bearing liabilities change. Interest rates may change because of
general economic conditions, the policies of various regulatory authorities and
other factors beyond BKFC's control. In a rising interest rate environment,
loans tend to prepay slowly and new loans at higher rates increase slowly, while
interest paid on deposits increases rapidly because the terms to maturity of
deposits tend to be shorter than the terms to maturity or prepayment of loans.
Such differences in the adjustment of interest rates on assets and liabilities
may negatively affect BKFC's income.

Possible Inadequacy of the Allowance for Loan Losses

         BKFC maintains an allowance for loan losses based upon a number of
relevant factors, including, but not limited to, trends in the level of
nonperforming assets and classified loans, current and anticipated economic
conditions in the primary lending area, past loss experience, possible losses
arising from specific problem loans and changes in the composition of the loan
portfolio. While the Board of Directors of BKFC believes that it uses the best
information available to determine the allowance for loan losses, unforeseen
market conditions could result in material adjustments, and net earnings could
be significantly adversely affected if circumstances differ substantially from
the assumptions used in making the final determination.

         Loans not secured by one- to four-family residential real estate are
generally considered to involve greater risk of loss than loans secured by
one-to four-family residential real estate due, in part, to the effects of
general economic conditions. The repayment of commercial loans and multifamily
residential and nonresidential real estate loans generally depends upon the cash
flow from the operation of the business or property, which may be negatively
affected by national and local economic conditions. Construction loans may also
be negatively affected by such economic conditions, particularly loans made to
developers who do not have a buyer for a property before the loan is made. The
risk of default on consumer loans increases during periods of recession, high
unemployment and other adverse economic conditions. When consumers have trouble
paying their bills, they are more likely to pay mortgage loans than consumer
loans. In addition, the collateral securing such loans, if any, may decrease in
value more rapidly than the outstanding balance of the loan.

Competition

         The Bank of Kentucky, Inc. (the "Bank") competes for deposits with
other savings associations, commercial banks and credit unions and issuers of
commercial paper and other securities, such as shares in money market mutual
funds. The primary factors in competing for deposits are interest rates and
convenience of office



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location. In making loans, the Bank competes with other commercial banks,
savings and loan associations, savings banks, consumer finance companies, credit
unions, leasing companies, mortgage companies and other lenders. Competition is
affected by, among other things, the general availability of lendable funds,
general and local economic conditions, current interest rate levels and other
factors which are not readily predictable. The size of financial institutions
competing with the Bank is likely to increase as a result of changes in statutes
and regulations eliminating various restrictions on interstate and
inter-industry branching and acquisitions. Such increased competition may have
an adverse effect upon the Bank.

Legislation and Regulation that may Adversely Affect BKFC's Earnings

         The Bank is subject to regulation by the Department of Financial
Institutions of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (the "FDIC") and is periodically examined by such regulatory
agencies to test compliance with various regulatory requirements. As a savings
and loan holding company, BKFC is also subject to regulation and examination by
the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Such supervision and
regulation of the Bank and BKFC are intended primarily for the protection of
depositors and not for the maximization of shareholder value and may affect the
ability of the company to engage in various business activities. The
assessments, filing fees and other costs associated with reports, examinations
and other regulatory matters are significant and may have an adverse effect on
BKFC's net earnings.

         The FDIC is authorized to establish separate annual assessment rates
for deposit insurance of members of the Bank Insurance fund (the "BIF") and the
Savings Association Insurance Fund (the "SAIF"). The FDIC has established a
risk-based assessment system for both SAIF and BIF members. Under such system,
assessments may vary depending on the risk the institution poses to its deposit
insurance fund. Such risk level is determined by reference to the institution's
capital level and the FDIC's level of supervisory concern about the institution.

         Because the reserves of the BIF exceeded the statutorily set minimum,
assessments for healthy BIF institutions were significantly decreased in the
last half of 1995 and were reduced to $2,000 per year for well-capitalized,
well-managed banks, like the Bank, in 1996.

         Federal legislation that was effective September 30, 1996, provided for
the recapitalization of the SAIF by means of a special assessment of $.657 per
$100 in deposits held at March 31, 1995, in order to increase SAIF reserves to
the level required by law. Certain banks were required to pay the special
assessment on only 80% of SAIF deposits held at that date. That legislation also
required that BIF members begin to share the cost of prior thrift failures. As a
result of the recapitalization of the SAIF and this cost sharing between BIF and
SAIF members, FDIC assessments for healthy institutions during 1998 have been
set at $.013 per $100 in BIF deposits and $.064 per $100 in SAIF deposits. The
recapitalization plan also provides of the merger of the BIF and the SAIF
effective January 1, 1999, assuming there are no savings associations under
federal law. Under separate proposed legislation, Congress is considering the
elimination of the federal thrift charter. BKFC cannot predict the impact of
such legislation and the merger of the BIF and the SAIF on BKFC or the Bank
until the legislation is enacted and the funds are merged.




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