Harlan ‘Skip’ Ferry, President, Commerce Bank, Metro East Region

By KATE GENO

   Commerce Bank positions itself as a “super-community” bank that offers all the products and services of a large, national bank delivered with the personal commitment and dedication of a community bank. It offers an array of financial products delivered with quality customer service. The promise, “we ask, listen, and solve,” is the bank personnel’s focus.
    Harlan “Skip” Ferry is president of Commerce Bank, Metro East Region and takes responsibility for the bank’s commercial sales strategies and business development. Ferry’s career in banking spans more than 36 years. According to Ferry, Commerce is a relationship bank that provides a unique financial partnership by being accessible to clients.
    Commerce Bank touts a diverse client base, from the health-care industry to manufacturing. No matter the size of the business, Commerce creates financial strategies that are tailored to its clients, Ferry said. To make this happen, Commerce employs commercial banking relationship managers in the Metro East to serve business clients and prospects. These managers are trained to ask the right questions up front in order to fully understand the customer’s needs and to provide the most appropriate products that will achieve the long-range goals of each company.
    Recently, Commerce Bank added McDonald’s restaurant franchise financing options. McDonald’s owners/operators can now obtain financing from Commerce Bank for remodeling projects, equipment purchases and refinancing opportunities. Treasury services and trust services are also available for McDonald’s franchisees.
     A helpful service for businesses is the ControlPay AP Payments solution, an all-inclusive payment management program that pays you as you pay others through monthly revenue share. (Revenue share is based on transaction volume). Investing in new technologies is important for the bank, said Ferry, to continue to make it easier for customers to manage their banking.
    Commerce Bank provides a full range of financial products to commercial customers, including lending, payment processing, treasury services, fraud prevention, trusts, brokerage and capital markets services. Commerce Bank also provides leasing, international services and bond financing.
    For the fourth year in a row, Commerce Bank was ranked among the top 10 on Forbes’ list of America’s Best Banks. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. ranked No. 10 in the $5 billion to $50 billion asset category on Bank Director Magazine’s 2013 Bank Performance Scorecard.
    Commerce Bank has been a part of the Southwestern Illinois community since 2003.  There are five banking centers within the communities of Belleville, Shiloh, Columbia and Edwardsville.