UMB Financial Corporation

Rating Overview

UMB Financial Corporation is Medium Risk.

UMB Financial is Medium Risk. The company often yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company implements race and identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes. UMB Financial occasionally embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues at times. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	Medium Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	Lower Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	High Risk
Political Actions	No Data

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

UMB Financial integrates ESG into its business practices. From a statement from its CEO: the “ESG program [is] one of the key overarching lenses through which [it does] business”. Additionally, UMB Financial evaluates its “customers approach to, and performance on, ESG matters [as a] component of UMB’s credit analysis process” (1). However, UMB Financial has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (2).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

UMB Financial Corporation does not discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs (1).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

UMB Financial offers every associate training on topics such as “unconscious bias” and “microaggressions/affirmations” (1). The company appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its supply chain. UMB requires its suppliers to have at least 51% minority ownership (2). The company appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its supply chain. From its Supplier Diversity webpage: “Through our Supplier Diversity Program, we recruit and introduce vendors to various areas of our company. The program encourages small and minority-owned businesses to provide competitive bids for the materials and services we need. The strategy is not simply about sourcing procurement opportunities. We also provide financial solutions and education to our diverse business partners to help them be more competitive in today’s global economy” (3). The company appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its leadership composition. From its 2026 Proxy Statement: “our Governance Guidelines require that the pool of candidates for Board service include directors with a broad range of perspectives and characteristics, including gender and racial diversity; provided that any such activities will comply with applicable law” (4). UMB operates a supplier diversity program, “UMB’s Supplier Diversity program is committed to building strong and sustainable relationships with viable diverse-owned businesses” (5). UMB Financial Corporation does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (6).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

UMB Financial’s, CEO Mariner Kemper, signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge, which includes a commitment to promote DEI through bias education training in the workplace (1)(2). The company supports ESG within its business practices. From its 2026 Proxy Statement: “We closely analyze how we do business through, among other things, the lens of environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) considerations. We recognize that oversight of governance and other ESG matters helps to minimize risks to our shareholders, and just as importantly, it helps reinforce our core values of doing the right thing, supporting our associates and our communities, and providing the unparalleled customer experience” (3). UMB supports DEI within its business practices. From its Diversity and Inclusion webpage: “At UMB we don’t see diversity and inclusion as the right thing to do, we see it as a way to energize our culture and ignite innovation… Diversity brings unique ways of thinking and problem solving — approaching things from different perspectives always results in better solutions. Better solutions are what we strive for every day for our customers. Diversity and Inclusion differentiate UMB, and we are very proud of that” (4).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

UMB Financial is a Corporate Member of the Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce (1)(2). The company also partnered with the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce and the Urban League of Greater Kansas City (3). UMB Bank sponsored the following Pride events in 2026: Soulard Pride and KC PrideFest (4)(5). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of UMB Financial using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (6).

Criteria:

Uses corporate political actions and/or financial contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level:

N/A

Rationale:

UMB Financial does not operate a PAC or engage in lobbying at this time (1)(2)(3).