Commerce Bancshares, Inc. is a regional bank holding company headquartered at 1000 Walnut Street in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, with a second operational center in St. Louis. It descends from an institution founded in 1865 — the Kansas City Savings Association — which became the National Bank of Commerce in 1881 and later the Commerce Trust Company. Like the competing UMB Financial Corporation, it has been controlled for more than a century by the Kemper family; the two banks are the surviving halves of a single family banking empire divided among the sons of William T. Kemper Sr.

Summary

Commerce traces its founding to 1865, when Francis Reid Long organized a Kansas City bank with $10,000 in capital under the name Kansas City Savings Association.1 In 1881 Dr. William Stone Woods acquired a controlling interest and renamed it the National Bank of Commerce, which grew into one of the twenty largest banks in the United States and served as the principal correspondent bank for clearings southwest of Chicago and St. Louis before the Federal Reserve System — and with it the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City — was established in 1913.12

William Thornton Kemper Sr. became the bank’s first president in 1903 and founded the Commerce Trust Company in 1906; the National Bank of Commerce eventually merged into Commerce Trust, which in turn became Commerce Bank and, under a holding company, Commerce Bancshares, Inc.123 Commerce reported total assets of $31.997 billion at fiscal year-end 2024, ranking as the 64th largest commercial bank in the United States, and approximately $36 billion immediately after completing its acquisition of FineMark Holdings on January 1, 2026.14

Origins, 1865–1907

The bank was chartered in 1865, in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. Accounts differ slightly on the original name: the Commerce Bancshares corporate history records it as the Kansas City Savings Association, while the article on its successor institution gives Kansas City Savings Bank.12 Both agree on the 1865 date and on the 1881 acquisition by Dr. William Stone Woods, who renamed it the National Bank of Commerce and claimed at the time that it was the largest bank west of Chicago.12

The National Bank of Commerce financed much of the region’s railroad-driven growth and at its peak ranked among the nation’s twenty largest banks by assets.2 It was, however, a casualty of the Panic of 1907: after sustained depositor withdrawals it was placed into receivership on December 5, 1907. It paid its depositors in full, was recapitalized, and was returned to its previous owners.2 The bank ultimately merged into the Commerce Trust Company, the vehicle W.T. Kemper Sr. had founded in 1906.23

The Kemper split: Commerce and UMB

William Thornton Kemper Sr. (1867–1938) is the common ancestor of both Kansas City banking houses. He married Charlotte Crosby in 1890, moved to Kansas City, and entered banking through the Woods family orbit; his son James Madison Kemper married Gladys Woods Rubey, a granddaughter of William Stone Woods, in 1917.35 Kemper Sr. became president of the Commerce bank in 1903 and founded the Commerce Trust Company in 1906, then acquired City Center Bank — the institution that became UMB Financial — around 1918.31

The empire was then divided between two sons. James M. Kemper joined Commerce Trust and led it from 1925 to 1964; Rufus Crosby Kemper Sr. took the City Center Bank line and ran it for roughly 45 years.35 The two houses have remained separate, competing Kansas City institutions ever since, with the Commerce line descending through James M. Kemper Jr., David W. Kemper, Jonathan Kemper, and John W. Kemper, and the UMB line through R. Crosby Kemper Jr., Crosby Kemper III, and Mariner Kemper.5 Members of the family hold dominant roles at both banks today.1

Kemper-family philanthropy on the UMB side produced Kemper Arena and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art; the Commerce branch’s civic record in Kansas City and St. Louis is documented separately.

Headquarters and footprint

Commerce Bancshares is headquartered at 1000 Walnut Street in downtown Kansas City, with major operations also in St. Louis.61 The company describes a network of roughly 300 branch and ATM locations across Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Colorado; a related count gives more than 140 branches and 250 ATMs in those states, with commercial payments operations extending to 48 states.61

The predecessor National Bank of Commerce occupied a building at Tenth and Walnut in downtown Kansas City, near the present headquarters site.

Leadership

David W. Kemper — a great-grandson of W.T. Kemper Sr. — joined the bank in 1978, became chief executive officer in 1988, and served as chairman from 1991. On August 1, 2018, his son John W. Kemper, then president and chief operating officer, succeeded him as president and chief executive officer, while David W. Kemper became executive chairman.71 John W. Kemper had joined Commerce in 2007 as director of strategic planning after working as an engagement manager at McKinsey & Company, and was promoted to president and COO in 2013.7

FineMark acquisition (2025–2026)

On June 16, 2025, Commerce Bancshares and FineMark Holdings, Inc. — the Fort Myers, Florida, parent of FineMark National Bank & Trust — announced a definitive merger agreement for an all-stock transaction then valued at approximately $585 million, at a fixed exchange ratio of 0.690 Commerce shares per FineMark share ($41.87 per share based on the June 13, 2025 closing price). FineMark held $4.0 billion in assets as of March 31, 2025, $7.7 billion in assets under administration, and 13 banking offices in Florida, Arizona, and South Carolina.8

The transaction closed on January 1, 2026, not in 2025. Commerce reported the completed deal as valued at approximately $528.5 million at closing — the difference from the announced figure reflecting movement in Commerce’s share price under the fixed exchange ratio.14 On closing, Commerce reported approximately $36 billion in total assets and $90 billion in assets under administration, ranking 15th among bank-managed trust companies on a pro forma basis using September 30, 2025 data.4

FineMark National Bank & Trust merged into Commerce Bank and now operates as FineMark Bank & Trust, a division of Commerce Bank. Joseph Catti became chairman of Commerce Trust while continuing to lead the FineMark division; John Handy is president and chief executive of Commerce Trust. Systems conversion was planned for the second half of 2026.4

Sources

Footnotes

  1. “Commerce Bancshares,” Wikipedia. Founding 1865 by Francis Reid Long with $10,000 capital as the Kansas City Savings Association; 1881 acquisition by Dr. William Stone Woods and rename to National Bank of Commerce; W.T. Kemper Sr. as first president in 1903; division of family banking interests between James M. Kemper (Commerce) and Rufus Crosby Kemper Sr. (City Center Bank / UMB); headquarters in Kansas City and St. Louis; more than 140 branches and 250 ATMs across Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma and Colorado, commercial operations in 48 states; total assets $31.997 billion at fiscal year-end 2024 and 64th-largest US commercial bank; David W. Kemper executive chairman and John W. Kemper president and CEO; FineMark acquisition completed January 1, 2026 in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $528.5 million ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12

  2. “National Bank of Commerce (Kansas City),” Wikipedia. Chartered 1865 as the Kansas City Savings Bank; Woods control from 1881; principal correspondent bank for clearings southwest of Chicago and St. Louis before the 1913 Federal Reserve Act; among the twenty largest US banks; receivership December 5, 1907, depositors paid in full and the bank recapitalized and returned to its owners; eventual merger into Commerce Trust Company ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  3. “William Thornton Kemper Sr.,” Wikipedia. Life dates November 2, 1867 – January 19, 1938; marriage to Charlotte Crosby in 1890; Commerce Trust Company founded 1906; City Center Bank acquired 1918; James M. Kemper led Commerce Trust 1925–1964; R. Crosby Kemper led City National Bank for 45 years. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  4. “Commerce Bancshares, Inc. completes FineMark Holdings, Inc. acquisition” (Commerce Bank media center, January 1, 2026). Closing January 1, 2026; approximately $36 billion in total assets and $90 billion in assets under administration; 15th among bank-managed trust companies on a pro forma basis using September 30, 2025 data; FineMark National Bank & Trust merged into Commerce Bank as the FineMark Bank & Trust division; Joseph Catti as chairman of Commerce Trust; John Handy as president and CEO of Commerce Trust; systems conversion planned for the second half of 2026 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  5. “A History We Can Still Bank On,” Ingram’s. James Madison Kemper’s 1917 marriage to Gladys Woods Rubey, granddaughter of William Woods; the Commerce line (James M. Kemper Jr., David Kemper, Jonathan Kemper, John Kemper) and the UMB/City Center line (Rufus Crosby Kemper, Crosby Kemper III, Mariner Kemper) ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  6. “Corporate Profile,” Commerce Bancshares, Inc. investor relations. Headquarters at 1000 Walnut, Kansas City, Missouri; approximately 300 branch and ATM locations across Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma and Colorado; business lines including wealth management and estate planning ↩ ↩2

  7. “Commerce Bancshares Announces CEO Succession” (Commerce Bancshares investor relations, 2018). John W. Kemper became president and CEO effective August 1, 2018, succeeding his father David W. Kemper, who became executive chairman; David Kemper joined the bank in 1978 and became CEO in 1988; John Kemper joined in 2007 from McKinsey & Company and became president and COO in 2013 ↩ ↩2

  8. “Commerce Bancshares, Inc. and FineMark Holdings, Inc. announce definitive merger agreement” (Commerce Bank media center, June 16, 2025). All-stock transaction valued at approximately $585 million; exchange ratio 0.690; $41.87 per FineMark share based on the June 13, 2025 close; FineMark assets of $4.0 billion at March 31, 2025 and $7.7 billion in assets under administration; 13 banking offices in Florida, Arizona and South Carolina; expected closing January 1, 2026 ↩

See also

Categories
  • Concept
  • Industry
  • Founding
  • Gilded Age
  • Postwar
  • Modern

On the record — ks.city/wiki/industrial-history/commerce-bancshares · last revised 2026-08-13