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UMB Announces 35 Percent Increase in Health Spending Accounts

^{Published on 2011-02-15 07:35:31 - Market Wire}
 

KANSAS CITY, Mo.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--[ UMB Healthcare Services ], a division of [ UMB Financial Corporation ] (NASDAQ: UMBF), announced today that it has achieved a 35 percent increase in the number of its health spending accounts. The company now services 1.8 million health spending accounts, including Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs).

"The momentum we continue to experience further solidifies the tremendous interest in consumer-directed health care paired with our ability to provide well-managed health spending accounts to our clients"

Following the conclusion of the 2010 open enrollment period, UMB HSAs totaled 182,000, which represents a 40 percent increase in number of accounts. Also, the account balances for UMB HSAs surpassed $279 million a" representing a 46.8 percent increase from a year ago. The company attributes its growth to high-touch, individualized client service and adaptable, industry-leading product offerings.

"The momentum we continue to experience further solidifies the tremendous interest in consumer-directed health care paired with our ability to provide well-managed health spending accounts to our clients,a said Dennis Triplett, CEO of UMB Healthcare Services.

Triplett expects to see continued interest and adoption of consumer-directed health care in 2011 as employers and individuals work to better manage rising health care premiums and associated costs.

aIn addition to continuing to educate on the benefits of health spending accounts and providing top-notch client service, we also made the strategic move this year to grow our national sales force,a said Triplett. aAs we look to enter new markets and better serve benefits business partners, our expanded national sales force allows us to achieve both.a

In 2010, UMB Healthcare Services was also recognized as a Celent Model Bank in the product development category for its Healthcare Exchangea", a unique integrated claims reimbursement portal that enables clients to work directly with UMB for their claims and reimbursement needs.

Since the inception of Medical Savings Accounts in the late 1990a™s, UMB Healthcare Services has been a financial services leader in the health care market place.Today, UMB, the first banking partner to provide multi-purpose card technology to the health care industry, supports HSAs, FSAs and HRAs.

Funds in an HSA Base Account are held at UMB Bank, n.a., Member FDIC.

About UMB:

UMB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: UMBF) is a financial services holding company headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., offering complete banking, asset management, health spending solutions and related financial services to commercial, institutional and personal customers nationwide. Its banking subsidiaries own and operate 128 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 mutual fund and alternative investment services groups, single-purpose companies that deal with brokerage services and insurance, and a registered investment advisor that manages the company's proprietary mutual funds and investment advisory accounts for institutional customers. For more information, visit umb.com or follow us on Twitter at @UMBFinancial.