Zions Bancorporation

Great Depression

On the morning of February 15, 1932, 3 years after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, 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 In 2.5 days, a total of $1.5 million was withdrawn.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 LDS Church) 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.^[2]

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.^[3]

In 1957, Zion's merged with Utah Savings and Trust Company and First National Bank of Salt Lake City.^[3] 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 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.^[2]

In January 1966, Zions became a public company via an initial public offering.^[3]

The bank expanded into Nevada in 1985 with the purchase of Nevada State Bank.^[2][4]

The bank entered Arizona in 1986 with the acquisition of Mesa Bank.^[2][5]

It expanded into Colorado and New Mexico in 1996 by acquiring Aspen Bancshares, which operated Pitkin County Bank and Trust, Valley National Bank of Cortez, and Centennial Savings Bank.^[6]

Zions made many acquisitions in 1997 and 1998.^[7]

In 1997, Zions acquired Vectra Banking Corporation and Tri-State Finance Corporation of Colorado.^[8] Zions also acquired Tri-State Bank of Idaho.^[9] It also bought 27 branches in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah from Wells Fargo.^[10]

Zions expanded into California in 1997 and Washington in 1998, Oregon in 2005.

In 1999, the company bid for First Security Corporation but lost to Wells Fargo after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission forced Zions to restate its results in prior years due to the way it accounted for acquisitions.^[11][12] 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.^[13]

In 2005, the company expanded into Texas with the purchase of Amegy Bank.^[14]

2008–present

On August 31, 2010, Zions announced the sale of its NetDeposit subsidiary to BankServ.^[15][16]

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.^[17] It repaid the final $700 million on September 26, 2012,^[18] and the government realized a profit of $253 million from its investment in the company.^[19][20]

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 initiaves.^[21][22]

In November 2017, Zions announced plans to merge the holding company and its banking subsidiary ZB, N.A. into one Zions Bancorporation, N.A.^[23]