COMMERCE BANCSHARES ANNOUNCES ANNUAL SHAREHOLDERS MEETING AVAILABLE BY WEBCAST

(Kansas City, MO – April 9, 2009) – Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBSH), a registered bank holding company offering a full line of banking services, announced that the company's annual meeting of shareholders will be available by webcast. Commerce Bancshares, Inc.'s annual shareholder meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Central Daylight Time, Wednesday, April 15, 2009 in the Kemper Auditorium on the 15th floor of the Commerce Trust Building at 922 Walnut Street, Kansas City, MO 64106.

Shareholders and investors may access the live webcast by going to Commerce’s website at www.commercebank.com. The webcast will be available five minutes prior to the meeting. The presentation will be archived and available for thirty days following the shareholders' meeting.

About Commerce Bancshares, Inc.

Commerce Bank, N.A. is a subsidiary of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBSH), a $17.5 billion regional bank holding company. For more than 140 years, Commerce Bank has been meeting the financial services needs of individuals and businesses throughout the Midwest region. Commerce Bank provides a diversified line of financial services, including business and personal banking, wealth management and estate planning, and investments through its affiliated companies. Commerce Bank operates in approximately 360 locations in the Central United States. Commerce Bancshares also has operating subsidiaries involved in mortgage banking, leasing, credit-related insurance, venture capital and real estate activities.

For additional information contact:

Email: mymoney@commercebank.com†