COMMERCE BANK ANNOUNCES OFFICER PROMOTIONS AND ELECTIONS

KANSAS CITY, MO - January 31, 2002 - The Board of Directors of Commerce Bank, Kansas City, announced the following officer promotions and elections.

Kent Hatesohl has been promoted to Senior Vice President in The Commerce Trust Company, a division of Commerce. Hatesohl is an administrative team leader responsible for the administration of family trust and investment accounts. He has 18 years of experience in trust administration and is a member of the Kansas Bar Association and Eastern Kansas Estate Planning Society. Hatesohl holds a law degree from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, and graduated from the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking, Dallas, TX, with an emphasis in Trust. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri, Columbia, and earned a Masters of Science degree in Economics from the Kansas State University, Manhattan.

Scott F. Stephenson has been promoted to Senior Vice President, The Commerce Trust Company. Stephenson manages investment portfolios for trust customers and institutions, such as endowments and foundations. Additionally, he is the team leader for five portfolio managers in the trust division. Stephenson has more than 22 years of investment management experience and is a member of the Association for Investment Management and Research and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

He is the past President of the Kansas City Securities Association. Stephenson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Kansas, Lawrence.

Karen S. Ferguson has been elected to Officer in the Retail division of the bank. She is responsible for managing retail sales and customer service at the 24 Highway branch in Independence, MO. Ferguson has been with Commerce for seven years. She is a graduate of the University of Missouri, Columbia, and is a member of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation.

David J. Swinehart has been elected to Officer in the Retail division of the bank. He is responsible for managing retail sales and customer service at the Martin City branch. Swinehart has been with Commerce for over three years.

About Commerce Bank
Commerce Bank is the principal subsidiary of Commerce Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: CBSH), a $13.3 billion regional bank holding company. For more than 135 years, Commerce has been meeting the financial services needs of individuals and businesses. Commerce provides a diversified line of financial services, including business and personal banking, wealth management and estate planning and investments through its affiliated companies. Commerce Bancshares operates across three states with more than 340 locations and also has operating subsidiaries involved in mortgage banking, credit related insurance, venture capital and real estate activities.

For more information contact:
Eliza Hamlet
Public Relations Representative
800-892-7100 ext. 1930

Website: www.commercebank.com
e-mail: mymoney@commercebank.com
SYMBOL: CBSH

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