The National Bank of Commerce was a U.S. bank of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It first chartered as the Kansas City Savings Bank in 1865. After a controlling interest was acquired by Dr. William Stone Woods in 1881, the bank became active in financing the regional growth of

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

and areas to the southwest, especially in connection with the development of the city as a center of railroad transportation and distribution. Before establishment of the Federal Reserve System in 1913, business in the United States depended on a system of private banks which in turn used correspondent banks in larger cities to provide credit and liquidity. The National Bank of Commerce was the principal correspondent bank for bank clearings in the area southwest of Chicago and St. Louis. Because of this role, Commerce was at one point among the 20 largest banks in the United States, as measured by assets. A casualty of the

Panic of 1907 The Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic or Knickerbocker Crisis, was a financial crisis that took place in the United States over a three-week period starting in mid-October, when the New York Stock Exchange fell almost 50% fro ...

, the National Bank of Commerce was placed into receivership by the Office of the

Comptroller of the Currency The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is an independent bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter, regulate, and supervise all nationa ...

on December 5, 1907, after a six-week series of runs on the bank. The bank paid out its depositors in full and after recapitalization was returned to its previous owners. The National Bank of Commerce was later merged into the Commerce Trust Company, which became Commerce Bank of Kansas City, now part of

Commerce Bancshares Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBSH) is a registered bank holding company based in Missouri, United States, with primary hubs in Kansas City and St. Louis. It is the corporate parent of Commerce Bank, which offers a diversified line of fina ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Bank Of Commerce Banks established in 1865 Defunct banks of the United States Banks disestablished in 1907 1865 establishments in Missouri 1907 disestablishments in Missouri 1907 mergers and acquisitions