UMBF UMB Financial Corporation

UMB Bank (Nasdaq: UMBF), a leader in consumer directed health care services, announces today a health savings account (HSA) investment solution designed for HSA participants who elect to set aside money in mutual funds. Through UMB's broker/dealer subsidiary, UMB Scout Brokerage Services, Inc., several nationally recognized fund families and specific funds are available for HSA investing. Through self-directed online tools, account holders have the ability to enroll in the HSA investment option, select and manage funds, and view statements. Prospective investors can also view an online demonstration to become familiar with the services. "The option of investing HSA funds through UMB Scout Brokerage Services, Inc., gives account holders added control of their health care finances and turns a HSA into a financial planning vehicle," said Dennis Triplett, president of UMB Healthcare Services. "The investment services option make the HSA a more flexible and valuable tool in managing finances for health care." Recently, Assurant Health (NYSE: AIZ) announced it will begin making available access to investment options in mutual funds though UMB Scout Brokerage Services, Inc. UMB Healthcare Services, along with First Data Corporation (NYSE:FDC), has supported the debit card access, transaction processing and production for Assurant Health's HSAs since November 2004. "Easy access to tools and information is vital to making HSAs a practical health care solution for individuals, families and employers," said Assurant Health Senior Vice President-Development, Group Markets, Mike Kellen. "It only makes sense to provide HSA owners with investment tools that may help grow their accounts." UMB provides health care solutions to some of the top insurance companies, third-party administrators (TPA) and software companies in the nation. The UMB health care solution offers Visa(R) debit card access, multi-purpose card platform, online enrollment, mutual fund options, and integrated web interface solutions. UMB is a multi-bank, multi-billion dollar holding company headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. UMB offers a wide range of products for individuals and businesses nationwide including traditional banking products, healthcare services, bankcard management, treasury management, investments service and asset management. Since the inception of Medical Savings Accounts in 1996, UMB has been a leader in the health care market place and today supports FSAs, HRAs, as well as HSAs.