Commerce Bancshares Inc. announced record earnings of $34.5 million for the quarter, ending March 31, an increase of 17 percent from the $29.4 million during the same period in 1997. Per-share earnings were 58 cents, up 16 percent from the 50 cents of last year. The return on assets for the quarter was 1.38 percent, and the return on equity was 14.5 percent.

Commerce Bancshares, with assets of $10.4 billion, is a registered bank holding company operating at 280 sites in Missouri, Illinois and Kansas. The company has total loans of $6.4 billion and total deposits of $8.7 billion.