Republic Bank and Trust in Louisville, Ky., spares no expense when it comes to lunch.
The $3.4 billion-asset company announced last week that it paid $600,000 for a ham — the grand champion ham at the 48th Kentucky Country Ham Auction, an annual charity event.
The bidding for the 16.95-pound ham peaked at $500,000, but Steve Trager, Republic's chief executive, bumped the price up to $600,000. The money goes to a charity of Republic's choosing, but the bank said it has yet to make a determination.
Trager said that he plans to serve the ham for lunch with his 700 associates, but perhaps the bank should hold on to it in case examiners from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. show up unannounced like scores of them did earlier this year.
Republic has been in a showdown with the FDIC since February when the regulator ordered the bank to stop making refund anticipation loans, because it claimed the product was unsafe and unsound.
Republic has challenged the decision, along with the impromptu FDIC examination, in federal court and has requested an administrative hearing on the matter.
The company charges $61.22 for the refund anticipation loans.
About 9,800 of those fees helped buy the prized ham.
