Growing Missouri bank opens commercial office in Indy

Kansas City, Missouri-based Commerce Bank has set up shop in Indianapolis.

Brian Sullivan

The bank, which has $24 billion in assets and operations in at least 11 states, announced last week that it launched a commercial banking operation on the city's north side and tapped local banking veteran Brian Sullivan to helm it. Sullivan has been in the banking industry for 20 years, including the past eight in business development at BMO Harris Bank.

"We were attracted to Indianapolis for many reasons—one of the most important ones being the like-minded business community and strong cultural fit," Sullivan said Wednesday. "And really, the strong base of middle-market companies in Indianapolis and throughout the state make it a very compelling market to compete in."

The bank, which already had a few Indiana customers before the office opened, plans to target middle-market businesses with commercial lending, equipment financing and treasury solutions—including to firms in the manufacturing and distribution industries.

The company has health care group and "dedicated agribusiness team that actively calls on Indiana," Sullivan said.

Sullivan and four other employees will be based in a Woodfield Crossing office near 86th Street and Keystone Road. He said Commerce will not have any branch retail presence in town off the bat, but won't rule it out for the future.

"As we continue to grow our presence, we'll assess our options on the retail side," he said.

Commerce is 150 years old, but it's been expanding its commercial lending presence in recent years. It has 204 full-service branches in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma and Colorado, and commercial-only offices in Cincinnati; Dallas; Nashville, Tennessee; Des Moines, Iowa; and Grand Rapids, Michigan.