Commerce Bancshares, Inc. Announces Employee Bonuses Following Tax Reform Bill

Company Release - 1/2/2018 1:35 PM ET

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Commerce Bancshares, Inc. announced that following the enactment of the new federal tax reform legislation it will distribute cash bonuses to employees who are otherwise non-bonus eligible and non-commission eligible, totaling approximately 3,450 associates or 75% of the Bank’s workforce. A cash payment of $1,000 will be made to all of these full-time employees and a $250 cash payment to all part-time employees employed by the Company on December 31, 2017. Additionally, in 2017, Commerce made a donation of $32 million of appreciated stock to The Commerce Bancshares Foundation (including $25 million in the fourth quarter 2017), which will be to the advantage of the communities we serve.

In making this announcement, David Kemper, Chairman and CEO, commented, “The new tax reform legislation should be very positive for economic growth and capital investment which will benefit the banking industry. This new law makes the banking industry more competitive and allows us to reward our core employees who work hard every day to provide superior service to the people and the companies we serve while building long-term customer relationships so important to our communities and shareholders. In addition, we are very pleased to provide significant additional funding to The Commerce Bancshares Foundation which will strengthen our ability to continue to support the communities where we do business and whose prosperity is so important to our business.”

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. is a registered bank holding company offering a full line of banking services including investment management and securities brokerage. The Company currently operates in approximately 330 locations in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma, Colorado, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Indiana, Michigan, and Iowa.

About Commerce Bancshares, Inc.

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBSH), is a regional bank holding company with $25.0 billion in assets, as of September 30, 2017. For more than 150 years, Commerce Bank, a subsidiary of Commerce Bancshares, Inc., has been meeting the financial services needs of individuals and businesses. Commerce provides a full range of financial products to consumer and commercial customers, including personal banking, lending, mortgage banking, wealth management, brokerage and capital markets services. Commerce operates in more than 330 locations in the central United States and has a nationwide presence in the commercial payments industry.

For additional information, please visit www.commercebank.com.

Commerce Bancshares, Inc.
Molly Hyland, 314-746-3657
Cell: 314-724-0424
Molly.Hyland@CommerceBank.com

Source: Commerce Bancshares, Inc.