On July 1, 1873, Brigham Young called together a group of twelve of the leading citizens of the Salt Lake Valley to consider the organization of a savings bank. The office of Brigham Young in which this meeting took place still stands across the street from Zions Bancorporation’s headquarters.
At this meeting, Brigham Young discussed the need to form a savings bank and suggested that the new bank be named Zion’s Savings Bank and Trust Company. All present agreed and four days later, on July 5, 1873, the bank was incorporated under the laws of the Utah Territory with a capital stock of $200,000
At the time of the Bank’s incorporation, the first settlers had been in the Salt Lake Valley only 26 years and Utah was still 23 years away from statehood.
On October 3, 1873, Brigham Young wrote this letter to his friend Albert Carrington in England:
“Zions Savings Bank and Trust Company opened for business on Thursday last. This institution is a cooperative one, and we think it is likely to meet with favor. The interest allowed is at a rate of ten per cent per annum, compounded semi-annually. It will be found of considerable advantage to those who wish to save money for the emigration of their families, as the interest is large; and sums as low as $1.00 will be received, which, if continually added to, will soon reach a considerable amount, and the depositors will hardly miss the money.”
During its first day of business on October 1, 1873, the bank’s cashier and tellers recorded deposits of $5,876.20, placed there by 46 depositors. Notably, five of the 15 depositors listed on the original ledger were women and another was an organization for women. At a time when many financial institutions did not allow women to open their own accounts, the bank’s by-laws stated: “All deposits made by minors or by married women shall be fully under their own control payable to them on their own receipt, without regard to any guardian or husband.”
Utah’s first chartered savings bank and first trust company prospered and grew during the next 20 years. In the panic of 1893, Zion’s Savings Bank met its first economic challenge, created in part by the controversy over gold versus the American monetary base. The economic downturn was felt especially hard in Utah and the West. The faith and integrity of Zion’s Savings Bank and Trust met this test. The bank remained solvent and continued to grow.
It was at this period — prior to and just after the turn of the century — that Zions’ financial assistance helped in the initiation of such industrial firms as Bingham Copper Company (Kennecott Copper); Salt Lake and Los Angeles Railroad Company (Union Pacific); Big Cottonwood Power Company (Rocky Mountain Power); and Salt Lake Gas Company (Dominion Energy).
Since it was bank policy to engage in long-term business loans, there are very few major industries in Utah today that did not receive some service from Zion’s Savings Bank and Trust Company in their formative years.
In the first decade of the new century, the depression of 1907 was the lone interruption in the steady, progressive growth of Zion’s Savings Bank and Trust Company. From 1901 to 1918, under bank president Joseph F. Smith, deposits grew from just over $2 million to a healthy $9 million. At the time of the stock market crash in October 1929, the bank was in a very sound financial condition.
Unfortunately, however, many banks were not so strong. With a growing tide of involuntary bank closings across the nation, depositors became nervous about the safety of their funds at Zion’s. On the morning of February 15, 1932, worried depositors began a severe run on the bank, waiting in lines that ran out of the building 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 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 no 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 customers began returning to redeposit their money. By month’s end total deposits were more than withdrawals, and the Bank had survived the most severe crisis in American banking history.
A major event in the history of the bank occurred on December 31, 1957. On that date Zion’s Savings Bank and Trust Company (1873), Utah Savings and Trust Company (1889) and First National Bank of Salt Lake City (1890) merged to form Zions First National Bank. The newly enlarged institution had a total of $109.5 million in deposits. At this time the long-familiar apostrophe in Zion’s was dropped.
In early 1960 authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints decided that the church should divest itself of its banking interests, and on April 22, 1960, the church sold majority control of Zions First National Bank to Keystone Insurance and Investment Company, a Utah corporation that had been organized in 1955 to acquire controlling interest in the Lockhart Corporation, a consumer finance company. Keystone was owned by a group of businessmen headed by Leland B. Flint, Roy W. Simmons and Judson S. Sayre. At the time of the sale, the bank had total deposits of just under $120 million.
On February 17, 1961, Zions First National Investment Company was incorporated in Nevada and became the majority owner of the bank stock controlled by the Keystone group. In 1965 the name of the investment company was changed to Zions Bancorporation. From late 1965 until April 1987, Zions Bancorporation was known as Zions Utah Bancorporation, but the original name was revived to reflect the growing presence of the company outside of Utah.
The first public offering of shares in Zions Bancorporation was made in January 1966. There continued to be some minority shareholders in Zions First National Bank until April 1972 when the remaining bank shares were exchanged for Zions Bancorporation shares.
In July 1997, Zions Bank entered the Idaho market with the acquisition of Tri-State Bank, which had three offices in eastern Idaho, and 10 Wells Fargo branches. Growth was rapid, and the bank opened its 17-story Boise headquarters building in 2014. Today, the bank employs 260 people in Idaho.
In July 2014, Zions opened a new Commercial Services Office in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Seasoned relationship managers at the office provide commercial lending, treasury management, private banking, commercial real estate lending and residential mortgage services to help Teton County businesses reach their full potential.
Over the decades, Zions has continued its legacy of helping entrepreneurs dream big, fueling job growth and strengthening the local economy. For several years, Zions has been the top U.S. Small Business Administration’s 7(a) Lender in the SBA’s Utah and Boise Districts and continues to be a leading lender of small business loans.
Recognizing the importance of serving women clients and people of color, Zions Bank operated the Women’s Financial Group from 1997 to 2015 and a Diverse Markets department from 2004 through 2015. Today, the bank serves diverse clients from all walks of life across all geographies in its branch system. Launched in 2021, the bank’sSmall Business Diversity Banking programaddresses some of the common hurdles faced by women-, minority-, veteran, and LGBTQ-owned businesses seeking access to capital.
As businesses and nonprofits struggled with shutdowns during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Zions Bank acted quickly to provide them relief, approving 22,000 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans totaling $2.4 billion by the program’s end in May 2021. The bank’s parent company ranked tenth in the nation in overall PPP loan approvals.
Today, Zions Bank has grown to operate 121 full-service branches and nearly 200 ATMs throughout Utah, Idaho and in Jackson, Wyoming. The bank provides jobs for nearly 1,200 employees. It reported $14.2 billion in average loans and $20.2 billion in average deposits, as of December 31, 2023.
Zions Bank is a division of Zions Bancorporation, N.A., a $90-billion-in-assets bank which operates under local management teams and unique brand identities through nearly 416 branches offices across 11 Western states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. The company is a national leader in U. S. Small Business Administration lending and is included in the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Financial 100 indices.
In 2022, Zions Bancorporation opened its state-of-the-art 400,000-square-foot technology center in Midvale, Utah. The Platinum LEED-certified building accommodates 1,500 employees involved in the company’s technology and operations.
Employees across Idaho, Utah and Wyoming play an active role in giving back to their communities. In 2020 alone, employees donated an estimated 100,000 hours toward community service projects, and they serve on more than 100 different nonprofit boards and committees. The bank’s annual community service project, the Paint-a-Thon, has been observed for 31 years, with more than 30,000 volunteer participants painting 1,287 homes.
Over the years, Zions Bank and Zions Bancorporation have receivednumerous awardsand widespread recognition in the banking industry for its accomplishments and innovations.
To launch its 150th anniversary year, Zions publicly pledged to continue its legacy of community stewardship. In January 2023, Zions Bank’s Advisory Board formally signed the“Five Commitments to Create Value,”a document outlining the bank’s vision for its next 150 years. The “Five Commitments” include: bolstering business growth and innovation; making our clients stronger; fostering economic opportunity for all; supporting our employees; and building our communities These commitments were endorsed by more than 400 Zions Bank managers at the bank’s management conference. The bank also has a fleet of Jeeps featuring 150thanniversary logos traveling to community events throughout Idaho, Utah and Wyoming.
From the vision of founder Brigham Young to the reality of one of the nation’s most impressive banking organizations, Zions continues to be a pioneer in banking . . . and will be for another 150 years.
