Zion's Savings Bank & Trust Company was established by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in July 1873 to take over the savings department of the Deseret National Bank, the fourth attempt at creating a national bank in Utah, incorporated in 1868. It opened for business on October 1, 1873 and received $5,876 in deposits from 46 depositors.
Brigham Young, LDS Church
president, was the bank's first president, and the bank was intended to encourage immigration to Utah and further the financial interests of the church. During the
Panic of 1893, the bank managed to remain solvent despite difficulties. Lines of depositors 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. In 1957, Zions merged with Utah Savings and Trust Company, established in 1889, and First National Bank of Salt Lake City, established in 1890.
1960–2007 Keystone Insurance and Investment Co. was formed in April 1955 to acquire Lockhart Corporation. In April 1960, Keystone, together with several individual investors, acquired a 57.5% interest in Zions First National Bank from the LDS Church. It entered
Arizona in 1986 with the acquisition of Mesa Bank, and 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. In March 1997, Zions acquired 27 branches in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah from
Wells Fargo. In July 1997, Zions acquired Tri-State Bank of Idaho. In September 1997, Zions acquired Vectra Banking Corporation and Tri-State Finance Corporation of Colorado for a total of $200 million. 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. Despite the unsuccessful pursuit of First Security, Zions became the largest bank headquartered in Utah. In 1999, the company proposed a $5.9 billion acquisition of
First Security Corporation. The acquisition was delayed due to accounting revisions Zions made at the request of federal regulators. By March 2000, the deal's value fell to $3.8 billion after First Security's stock plummeted following an earnings warning. Zions' shareholders ultimately rejected the merger. In December 2005, the company expanded into
Texas with the acquisition of
Amegy Bank.
Since 2008 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. 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. In 2010, Zions sold NetDeposit to
BankServ. 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 October 2018, Zions merged the holding company and its banking subsidiary ZB, N.A. into Zions Bancorporation, N.A. ==References==