Joel L. Naroff, Ph.D., nationally acclaimed economic expert, serves as Commerce Bank’s Chief Economist.

Naroff, President of Naroff Economic Advisors, advises Commerce Customers on a broad range of domestic and international economic issues and provides up-to-the minute insight regarding local, national and global financial trends and developments. He also serves as a valuable resource for area governmental and business organizations. His work with Commerce reinforces the Bank’s commitment to providing Customers and organizations with direct access to a locally-based source of diversified financial services and advisory expertise.

Naroff’s extensive background includes a combination of national, regional and industry experience that makes him one of the best known and widely respected economists in the Northeast. Naroff has been widely quoted in many of the nation's leading business publications including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, Newsweek, Business Week, Bloomberg News, the American Banker, Barron's and Investors Business Daily. He also has appeared on CNBC, ABC’s World News Tonight, and the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. Naroff can also be heard frequently on the major national news radio networks.

Naroff provides expert economic commentary and analyses for a number of the region’s leading newspapers including the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, The Allentown Call, Newark Star Ledger, Bergen Record and Asbury Park Press, and he has appeared on regional television network affiliates and been interviewed by an assortment of regional radio stations. As a recognized expert in economic forecasting, Naroff is a member of the prestigious Blue Chip, Business Week, USA Today/CNBC and Survey of Professional Forecasters panels.

In 2007, the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) named Naroff the recipient of its Outlook Award for accurate forecasting. Naroff also has been MSNBC.com’s Champion Forecaster, as well as one of Bloomberg Business News’ top five economic forecasters in America. USA Today also has named Naroff one of the top ten economic forecasters.

Before entering the banking field, Naroff had a successful ten-year career as a tenured professor in the School of Management at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and as a faculty member at Northeastern University in Boston.

Naroff received a bachelors’ degree in economics and chemistry from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and his Ph.D. in Economics from Brown University. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Economy League, teaches at the Central Atlantic Advanced School of Banking, is past Chair of the American Bankers Association’s Economic Advisory Committee and is past President of the Philadelphia Council of Business Economists.

For more information, contact Joel Naroff, Chief Economist, by e-mail or by phone at (215) 497-9050.