Pinnacle entering Louisville, Ky., after hiring banker

Pinnacle Financial Partners in Nashville, Tenn., is planning to enter Louisville, Ky., after hiring a banker to lead the effort. 

The $40 billion-asset company said in a press release that it had hired Tom Crockett as regional president with the responsibility of building a team. Pinnacle will open its first branch in the market next year.

Crockett previously worked at Old National in Evansville, Ind., where he was responsible for developing expansion markets. 

Before joining Old National, Crockett worked at National City, PNC Financial Services Group and Wells Fargo.

“This is a rare opportunity to start from the ground up and build the bank we want our city to have,” Crockett said in the release. 

“We’re putting together a team to serve Louisville, and we’ll also reach into Northern Kentucky, Lexington and even southern Indiana and Ohio,” Crockett added. 

Pinnacle entered Kentucky last month after hiring five bankers to open an office in Bowling Green. 

Since 2020, Pinnacle has opened offices in Atlanta; Washington; Huntsville, Ala.; and Birmingham, Ala. Those markets now have a total of 137 employees, $1 billion of loans and $577 million of deposits.