Crystal Avery-Morris was named vice president of community development for Commerce Bank. She has 20 years of experience as a mortgage banking officer with a concentration in Community Development and LMI/ Majority Minority lending.
She succeeds Loura Gilbert, who is retiring after 47 years in the banking industry, of which the last 31 years have been in her community development role at Commerce Bank.
“Crystal’s commitment and passion for the work is obvious,” Gilbert said of Avery-Morris. “She knows the community, the issues and the opportunities. She takes charge of efforts, and she really shines at what she does.”
Gilbert knows Avery-Morris from working with her at several of the same organizations, including the United Way and the St. Louis Regional Financial Empowerment Coalition.
The bank’s community development activities are related to its compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act in the St. Louis region. The Community Reinvestment Act is a federal law enacted in 1977 to bar discriminatory lending practices
Commerce Bank is a subsidiary of Commerce Bancshares, Inc., which has $26.8 billion in assets.
