COMMERCE BANK ANNOUNCES OFFICER PROMOTIONS AND ELECTIONS

KANSAS CITY, MO - November 10, 2003 - The Board of Directors of Commerce Bank, Kansas City, announced the following officer promotion and election.

John Carlson has been elected Assistant Vice President of Systemwide Investment Operations for The Commerce Trust Company. He is responsible for overseeing the order management system used by portfolio managers and traders. This includes managing vendor relationships, developing training modules for staff, troubleshooting system problems, ensuring the appropriate tools are available for the investment group and managing project improvement work. He has been with Commerce Bank for one year. Carlson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering from the University of Kansas and is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago.

About Commerce Bank
Commerce Bank is the principal subsidiary of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBSH), a $13.6 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 operates across three states with approximately 330 locations and also has operating subsidiaries involved in mortgage banking, credit related insurance, venture capital and real estate activities.

For more information contact:
Jill Swords
Regional Marketing Representative
816-234-2308

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

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