BOATMEN'S BANCSHARES BUYS TWO BANKS IN KANSAS CITY

ST. LOUIS Boatmen's Bancshares Inc.'s purchase of two failed Kansas City banks, announced recently by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, will contribute about 8 cents a share to 1993 net income.

The acquisitions involve Missouri Bridge Bank, established last November to continue the banking services of the closed Metro North State Bank, and the Merchants Bank in Kansas City.

The Bridge Bank is being sold to Boatmen's First National Bank of Kansas City, a subsidiary of Boatmen's Bancshares, which will acquire $1.1 billion of the Bridge Bank's total assets and assume the same amount of deposits for a premium of $15.8 million.

"This purchase reflects our strategy of making `fill-in' acquisitions on a prudent financial basis as the opportunity arises," said Andrew B. Craig III, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Boatmen's Bancshares.

Boatmen's Bancshares, headquartered in St. Louis, has banks in Cape Girardeau and Jackson.