STEVE SCHRAM ELECTED TO COMMERCE BANK BOARD

ST. JOSEPH, MO - October 1, 2002 - The Board of Directors of Commerce Bank, N.A., St. Joseph, has announced the election of Steve Schram as a director of the bank.

Mr. Schram is CEO of AgriLabs. He has been with the company for seven years. In addition to his position at AgriLabs, Mr. Schram serves on the Life Science Committee with the St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce.

"We are pleased that Steve has agreed to join our Commerce Bank board," commented Emil Sechter, President of Commerce Bank. "Steve has done a tremendous job at AgriLabs and we look forward to the benefit of his business insights. This will help us as we continue to strive to provide financial solutions that meet the specific needs of our community."

Mr. Schram is a graduate of Iowa State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science. Mr. Schram and his wife have two children.

About Commerce Bank
Commerce Bank is the principal subsidiary of Commerce Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ: CBSH), a $12.3 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 330 locations and also has operating subsidiaries involved in mortgage banking, credit related insurance, venture capital and real estate activities.

For more information contact:
Emil Sechter
President
816-236-5731

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

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