UMBF UMB Financial Corporation

UMB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: UMBF) Chief Investment Officer Bill Greiner releases the following statement concerning the current holiday spending environment: "Overall, we expect spending will be above average this holiday season. Declining gasoline prices and rising employment levels are expected to spur decent demand at many retailers. "Areas of projected strength include consumer electronics, where demand for 'hot' items such as the iPod Nano and Microsoft's Xbox is likely to be robust. That sector should also benefit from falling prices on flat-screen, high-definition televisions." Bill Greiner Chief Investment Officer UMB Financial Corporation 816-860-7260 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.