![Slc gateway tower east](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Slc_gateway_tower_east.jpg)
Zions Bancorporation is a
bank holding company
A bank holding company is a company that controls one or more banks, but does not necessarily engage in banking itself. The compound bancorp (''banc''/''bank'' + '' corp ration') is often used to refer to these companies as well.
United States ...
headquartered in
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
. Zions Bancorporation originated as Keystone Insurance and Investment Co., a Utah Corporation, in April 1955. In April 1960, Keystone, together with several individual investors, acquired a 57.5 percent interest in Zions First National Bank from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1965, the name of the company was changed to Zions Bancorporation. (However, it operated as Zions Utah Bancorporation from 1966 to 1987.) The first public offering of shares in Zions Bancorporation was made in January 1966. There continued to be some minority shareholders until April 1972, when the company exchanged the remaining minority shares for common shares. In 2018, Zions Bancorporation merged into its bank subsidiary, ZB, N.A., which was then renamed Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Zions Bancorporation now operates as a national bank doing business under eight local brands, rather than as a holding company.
History
![Zions footprint](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Zions_footprint.png)
During the
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and ended in 1897. It deeply affected every sector of the economy, and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment of 1896 and the pres ...
, the bank managed not only to remain solvent, but continued to grow.
During the early 20th century, Zions financed such firms as:
[
* Bingham Copper Company (later ]Kennecott Utah Copper
Kennecott Utah Copper LLC (KUC), a division of Rio Tinto Group, is a mining, smelting, and refining company. Its corporate headquarters are located in South Jordan, Utah. Kennecott operates the Bingham Canyon Mine, one of the largest open-pit co ...
)
* Salt Lake and Los Angeles Railroad Company (now Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
)
* Big Cottonwood Power Company (later Utah Power and today Rocky Mountain Power
PacifiCorp is an electric power company in the western United States.
PacifiCorp has two business units:
# Pacific Power, a regulated electric utility with service territory throughout Oregon, northern California, and southeastern Washington.
...
)
* Salt Lake Gas Company (later Mountain Fuel Supply Company and today Questar Gas)
The Panic of 1907
The Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic or Knickerbocker Crisis, was a financial crisis that took place in the United States over a three-week period starting in mid-October, when the New York Stock Exchange fell almost 50% from ...
was the lone interruption in the steady growth of Zions.[ However, deposits grew from $2 million in 1901 to $9 million in 1918.][
]
Great Depression
On the morning of February 15, 1932, 3 years after the Wall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...
, customers began a run on the bank, waiting in lines that ran out of the building and onto the street. Tellers were instructed to honor all withdrawal requests. In 2.5 days, a total of $1.5 million was withdrawn. Near the end of the second day, bank (and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) president Heber J. Grant
Heber Jeddy Grant (November 22, 1856 – May 14, 1945) was an American religious leader who served as the seventh president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Grant worked as a bookkeeper and a cashier, then wa ...
placed a sign in the bank's window that read, in part:
he bankis in a very strong, clean, liquid condition. It can pay off every depositor in full. Fear of its failure is not only without foundation, but positively foolish. There is not a safer bank in the State or the Nation.[
]
Lines of customers that had been as long as a city block began to dwindle, and within five or six days many customers returned to deposit their money. By month's end, total deposits were more than withdrawals, and Zions had survived the Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
.
In 1957, Zion's merged with Utah Savings and Trust Company and First National Bank of Salt Lake City.[ The surviving institution was named Zions First National Bank.
]
1960–2007
In 1960, Keystone Insurance and Investment Company, which had been founded in 1955, bought a majority stake in Zions from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
and changed its name to Zions Utah Bancorporation. It kept that name until 1987, when it was shortened to Zions Bancorporation, its present name, to reflect the growing presence of the company outside of Utah.[
In January 1966, Zions became a ]public company
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...
via an initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
.[
The bank expanded into ]Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
in 1985 with the purchase of Nevada State Bank.[
The bank entered ]Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
in 1986 with the acquisition of Mesa Bank.[
It expanded into ]Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
and New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
in 1996 by acquiring Aspen Bancshares, which operated Pitkin County Bank and Trust, Valley National Bank of Cortez, and Centennial Savings Bank.
Zions made many acquisitions in 1997 and 1998.
In 1997, Zions acquired Vectra Banking Corporation and Tri-State Finance Corporation of Colorado. Zions also acquired Tri-State Bank of Idaho. It also bought 27 branches in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah from Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...
.
In 1999, the company bid for First Security Corporation
First Security Corporation was a multistate bank holding company in the western United States, primarily in Utah, Idaho, New Mexico, Oregon, Nevada, and Wyoming. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, First Security merged with Wells Fargo in 2000 ...
but lost to Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...
after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
forced Zions to restate its results in prior years due to the way it accounted for acquisitions. Despite the unsuccessful pursuit of First Security, Zions became the largest bank headquartered in Utah.
In 2001, the company was added to the S&P 500 Index
The Standard and Poor's 500, or simply the S&P 500, is a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 large companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. It is one of the most commonly followed equity indices. As of D ...
.
In 2005, the company expanded into Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
with the purchase of Amegy Bank
Amegy Bank of Texas (previously known as Southwest Bank of Texas) is a US bank operating in Texas that is a subsidiary of Zions Bancorporation. It is headquartered in the Five Post Oak Park building in the Post Oak Park business park in Houston, ...
.
2008–present
On October 27, 2008, Zions received a $1.4 billion investment from the U.S. government as a result of the Troubled Asset Relief Program
The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is a program of the United States government to purchase toxic assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen its financial sector that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President G ...
. It repaid the final $700 million on September 26, 2012, and the government realized a profit of $253 million from its investment in the company.
On August 31, 2010, Zions announced the sale of its NetDeposit subsidiary to BankServ
BankServ, was a legacy financial services company headquartered in Enterprise, Nevada, develops electronic banking software and operates outsourced data processing centers used by banks and other businesses to move money electronically. Founded i ...
.
On June 1, 2015, Zions Bancorporation announced a corporate restructuring, which included the consolidation of seven bank charters into a single charter and $120 million in expense reduction initiatives.
In November 2017, Zions announced plans to merge the holding company and its banking subsidiary ZB, N.A. into one Zions Bancorporation, N.A.
Leadership
Board
Gail Miller of the Larry H. Miller Company serves on the board of Zions Bank.
References
External links
Zions Bancorporation SEC EDGAR Filings History
{{Authority control
1873 establishments in Utah Territory
Banks based in Utah
Companies based in Salt Lake City
Banks established in 1873
Companies listed on the Nasdaq
History of the Latter Day Saint movement