UMB's William Greiner Named BusinessWeek's 2005 Stock Market Strategist of the Year

Greiner, the chief investment officer for UMB's Asset Managementdivision in Kansas City, Mo., was one of 67 investment strategistsfrom across the country selected by BusinessWeek editors to competefor the award. The objective was to most accurately forecast where theDow Jones industrial average, the Standard & Poor's 500(R) Index andthe Nasdaq Composite Index would finish at the close of the stockmarket on December 7, 2005. Predictions were submitted in December2004 and BusinessWeek followed the success of these predictionsthroughout the course of 2005.

"Bill Greiner is very deserving of this recognition," said MarinerKemper, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, UMB FinancialCorporation. "This award speaks volumes to the expertise that UMBprovides our asset management clients."

Greiner's predictions for 2005 were almost exactly where themarkets closed. His predictions were just 0.8% above the Dow Jonesindustrial average, 0.6% off the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index,and less than 0.1% higher than the NASDAQ Composite. Greiner, featuredin this week's edition of BusinessWeek, expected the market wouldcontinue to climb in 2005, offsetting the negatives of rising interestrates and slowing earnings growth with robust capital spending andstrong export growth.

"With the quality of people in this competition, I was pleasantlysurprised to hear that I won," said Greiner. "I have to give credit tothe 50-plus talented colleagues that assist me every day in puttingthe numbers together."

UMB Financial Corporation is a multi-bank holding companyheadquartered in Kansas City, Mo., offering complete banking andrelated financial services to both individual and business customers.Its banking subsidiaries own and operate 140 banking centersthroughout Missouri, Illinois, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraskaand Arizona. Subsidiaries of the holding company and the lead bank,UMB Bank, n.a., include an investment services group based inMilwaukee, Wisconsin, a trust management company in South Dakota, andsingle-purpose companies that deal with brokerage services, consultingservices and insurance. UMB was named one of Business Week's "WebSmart 50" companies in 2005.