UMB Financial's Bill Greiner Releases Perspective on Bernanke; Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan Retires Tuesday

Business Wire, Jan 30, 2006

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- On Tuesday, Jan. 31, current Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan will pass the torch to his successor, Ben S. Bernanke. UMB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: UMBF) Chief Investment Officer Bill Greiner releases the following statement about incoming Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke.

"The appointment of Governor Ben S. Bernanke as Chairman of the FOMC should not represent a major turning point for the overall strategies of the committee. He has traditionally been supportive of Mr. Greenspan's general philosophy and has not indicated a bias toward any dramatic change in style for the group. Bernanke has spoken out in favor of introducing 'inflation targets' for the committee, which would represent a new tactical approach, but this would only represent a more transparent execution of existing practices."

Bill Greiner

Chief Investment Officer

UMB Financial Corporation

Bill Greiner is chief investment officer of UMB Financial Corporation's Asset Management Division in Kansas City, Mo. He has spent his entire career in the investment field, with more than 25 years' investment management experience. Greiner most recently was named Business Week's "Fearless Forecaster: 2005 Stock Market Strategist of the Year" in December 2005. He received this distinction by being the investment strategist who most accurately forecasted where the U.S. markets would end up at the close of 2005.

UMB Financial Corporation is a multi-bank holding company headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., offering complete banking and related financial services to both individual and business customers. Its banking subsidiaries own and operate 140 banking centers throughout Missouri, Illinois, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Arizona. Subsidiaries of the holding company and the lead bank, UMB Bank, n.a., include an investment services group based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a trust management company in South Dakota, and single-purpose companies that deal with brokerage services, consulting services and insurance. UMB was named one of Business Week's "Web Smart 50" companies in 2005.