25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
2010
2005
2000
1995
1990
1985
1980
1975
1970
1965
1960
1955
1950
1945
1940
1935
1930
1925
1920
1915
1910
5,000
1905
1900
30,000
SOURCES: Historical Statistics of the US, Cj251, Banking and Monetary Statistics, 1914–1941 (Fraser, 283). Annual Report of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for the Year Ending December 31, 1934 (Washington, DC: FDIC,
1935), 92–93. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Failures and Assistance Transactions, Number of Institutions, 1934–2010, FDIC Historical Statistics on Banking Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Number of Institutions,
Branches and Total Offices. “Count of Banks by State—Daily,” by Warren E. Weber, FRBMN Warren Weber, “Early State Banks in the United States: How Many Were There and When Did They Exist?” Working Paper (December 2005)
Grossman, Richard. “US Banking History, Civil War to World War II.” EH.Net Encyclopedia, edited by Robert Whaples. March 16, 2008. URL http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/grossman.banking.history.us.civil.war.wwii. James A.
Haxby, Standard Catalog of Obsolete Bank Notes, 1782–1866 (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1988).
system. When the bank holding company
laws were changed, we became one of
the largest in Missouri acquiring those.
When interstate banking was allowed, we
became the largest bank in Kansas.”
In 1967 Commerce Bancshares became
a registered bank holding company with
the ability to acquire Missouri banks as
affiliates — the first bank in Missouri to
organize on a multi-bank basis. In 1970,
total consolidated assets broke the billiondollar barrier.
Missouri is the only state with two
Federal Reserve banks, and not a little
rivalry between the two principal cities of
the state. In 1983 Commerce bridged the
divide and entered the St. Louis market
in a big way through the acquisition of
County Tower Corp. That made Commerce the largest institution in the state in
terms of banking offices with 111; and third
largest in deposits, assets and loans.
The following year Commerce introduced another connection — “Special
Connections,” the first card having the
combined features of a credit card and
an automated-teller-machine