COMMERCE BANKSHARES, INC. NAMED NUMBER SEVEN AMONG 150 TOP PERFORMING BANKS BY BANK DIRECTOR MAGAZINE

(St. Louis, MO – March 10, 2009) – Commerce Bancshares, Inc. was ranked seventh among the Top 150 publicly traded bank companies in Bank Director magazine's 2008 Bank Performance Scorecard. The ranking measures each institution across three important categories including profitability, capital adequacy, and asset quality for the yearly period July 2007 to June 2008. Results for 2008 were released in the magazine's first quarter 2009 issue.

"It's very rewarding to be highly ranked when compared to your peers. Our success is an outcome of how effectively we provide service to our customers and how well we perform for our shareholders. Those two outcomes drive the six performance criteria that were used to measure the banks in the study," said David W. Kemper, chairman and chief executive officer, Commerce Bancshares, Inc. "The current banking and economic environment is historic and has understandably created a high degree of uncertainty. However Commerce is well positioned to face this challenge. Commerce’s earnings, capital and liquidity are strong and sufficient to grow our business and take advantage of new opportunities.”

How the Scorecard Works
The magazine enlisted New York-based investment banking firm Sandler O'Neill and Partners, L.P. to create and apply a bank performance scorecard to accurately and fairly measure the performance of institutions across the country.

According to the Bank Director magazine, the Bank Performance Scorecard is determined by using six performance criteria that measure profitability, balance sheet strength, and asset quality. The criteria are:

• Return on average assets, which measures a bank’s profitability relative to its total assets.
• Return on average equity, a second measurement of profitability that focuses on shareholder returns.
• Tier-1 capital ratio, which is comprised of shareholders’ equity, retained earnings, and convertible preferred stock divided by total assets.
• Leverage ratio, which is Tier-1 capital divided by total assets.
• Nonperforming asset ratio, which is the ratio of nonperforming loans and foreclosed assets to total loans and other real estate owned.
• Reserve coverage, which is loan loss reserves divided by total loans.

The magazine states, “the institutions received a numerical rating in each individual category, with the highest-ranked institution in each category receiving a score of one and the lowest ranked institution getting a score of 150. These six category scores were then added across, and the institution with the lowest score received the highest ranking overall.”

About Commerce Bancshares, Inc.

Commerce Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: CBSH) is a $17.5 billion regional bank holding company. For more than 140 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 in the Midwest as Commerce Bank, N.A., primarily in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma and Colorado with approximately 360 locations and also has operating subsidiaries involved in mortgage banking, credit related insurance, venture capital and real estate activities.

For additional information contact:

Email: mymoney@commercebank.com†