Commerce Bank, a Midwest US bank, has launched a private banking business in Manhattan. The bank has recruited a nine-member private banking...

Commerce Bank, a Midwest US bank, has launched a private banking business in Manhattan. The bank has recruited a nine-member private banking team to launch a purely private banking business, which will go after deposits from people with at least $1 million in financial assets. The bank said that if the New York venture proves successful, similar services will be launched in other cites in the Northeast of the US. The new venture is headed up by Susan Petree, who joined from Fleet Bank, which was recently taken over by Bank of America.