Zions Bancorporation

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Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ: ZION) is a member of the S&P 500, a bank holding company headquartered Salt Lake City, Utah. Among its subsidiaries are NSB Public Finance, Amegy Bank of Texas, California Bank & Trust, National Bank of Arizona, Nevada State Bank, the Commerce Bank of Oregon, the Commerce Bank of Washington, Vectra Bank of Colorado, Zions First National Bank, Zions Agricultural Finance, Zions Bank Capital Markets, Zions Credit Corporation, Zions Direct, Zions Management Services Company, Zions Public Finance, Zions Small Business Finance, NetDeposit, and Contango Capital Advisors. It has $47 billion in assets and over 11,000 employees.

[edit] History

The history of Zions Bancorporation stretches back to the early days of settlement in Utah. Zions can trace its history to the founding of Zion's Savings Bank and Trust Company, which was opened in the fall of 1873 by Brigham Young. At the time of the bank's formation, the first settlers had been in the Salt Lake Valley only 26 years and Utah was still 23 years away from statehood. It was the state's first chartered savings bank and trust company. The bank prospered and grew during the next twenty years. In the panic of 1893, the bank managed not only to remain solvent, but continue to grow.

As the twentieth century began, Zions was making significant contributions to the business community in Utah. Zions helped finance such firms as:

Bingham Copper Company (later Kennecott Copper)
Salt Lake and Los Angeles Railroad Company (now Union Pacific)
Big Cottonwood Power Company (later Utah Power and today Rocky Mountain Power)
Salt Lake Gas Company (later Mountain Fuel and today Questar Gas)

The depression of 1907 was the lone interruption in the steady growth of Zions. But even with this interruption, deposits grew.

At the time of the stock market crash in October 1929, Zions was in a very sound financial position. On the morning of February 15, 1932, 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 In two and a half days a total of $1.5 million was withdrawn. Near the end of the second day, bank president Heber J. Grant placed a sign in the bank's window that read, in part:

"[The bank] is 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 most severe crisis in American banking history.

At the end of 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.

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 and changed its name to Zions Utah Bancorporation. It kept that name until 1987,^[1] when it became shortened to Zions Bancorporation, its present name, to reflect the growing presence of the company outside of Utah.

Zions went public in January 1966, and has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since.^[1]

Throughout the long bear market of the 1970s, its stock performed well, rising from its low, early in that decade, to ten times in value by 1985, with a three-for-two split in 1981. By 1986 the company had a book value of over US$170 million, with steady annual earnings of over US$26 million.

It expanded into Nevada in 1985 and Arizona in 1986.

In 1993, the stock split again, two-for-one, and by then had more than doubled from its 1985 peak high.^[1]

By 1996, the company had become a member of the S&P MidCap 400, and the stock was halfway to yet another double from the prior early 1990s peak, with book value of nearly US$420 million, and earnings of over US$80 million.^[1]

It expanded into Colorado and New Mexico in 1996, Idaho and California in 1997, Washington in 1998, Oregon and Texas in 2005, and California in 2007. Today, Harris H. Simmons is CEO of Zions Bancorporation and A. Scott Anderson serves as CEO of Zions Bank.