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By Mark Wright
Zions Bank Honors its Founder, Brigham Young, with Scholarship Program
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- In recognition of the 200th birthday of
Brigham Young, the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, Zions Bank has announced the creation of the
"Zions Bank Founders Scholarship Program." This new scholarship
program will award a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to each of
11 Utah high school students annually, with one scholarship bring
awarded to a student who will be attending each of the state's
institutions of higher learning -- Brigham Young University, College
of Eastern Utah, Dixie State College, Salt Lake Community College,
Southern Utah University, Snow College, University of Utah, Utah
State University, Utah Valley State College, Weber State University,
and Westminster College. In addition to the full-tuition scholarship
provided to each student, Zions Bank will honor the scholarship
recipients in an annual luncheon and will be involved with the
students as they progress through their years in higher education.
"This award is in honor of our founder Brigham Young and his
commitment to education," said Scott Anderson, president and chief
executive officer of Zions Bank.
While Zions Bank is certainly a well-known financial institution and
Brigham Young is a famous historical figure, the connection between
Zions Bank and Brigham Young is probably unknown to most members of
the Church and to most of Zions Bank's customers and business
partners. In July, 1873, President Young called together a group of
12 of the leading citizens of the Salt Lake Valley to consider a
matter which he said had been on his mind for some time, that of
organizing a savings bank. The records show that it was President
Young's suggestion that the new bank should be named Zion's Savings
Bank and Trust Company -- a suggestion that was unanimously adopted.
The bank was incorporated less than a week later under the laws of
the Utah Territory and with an initial capital stock of $200,000.
If Brother Brigham were alive today, he would probably have a hard
time recognizing his brainchild because today's Zions Bank bears
little resemblance to the financial institution he created more than
125 years ago. From its humble beginnings, Zions Bank has become a
very large, well-known and well-respected financial institution. In
1957, the Company merged with First National Bank of Salt Lake City
and became known as Zions First National Bank. In April 1960, the
Church sold the controlling stock in the Company to Keystone
Insurance and Investment Co., under the direction of Roy W. Simmons,
the current Chairman of the Board. Then, 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 the state of Utah.
Zions presently operates 124 full service branches throughout Utah,
as well as full service branches in Arizona, California, Colorado,
Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Washington, and more than 200 ATMs
throughout Utah and Idaho. In addition to a wide range of traditional
banking services, Zions offers a comprehensive array of investment,
mortgage, and insurance services, and has a network of loan
origination offices for small businesses nationwide. Through its
subsidiary, Digital Signature Trust, the company also provides
trusted Internet identity credentials and electronic banking
services, including electronic municipal bond trading. In addition,
Zions is the only primary government securities dealer headquartered
west of the Mississippi River.
Even though Brother Brigham might not understand all of the complex
financial dealings of his now-mature savings bank, he would no doubt
approve of using some of the profits to benefit the educational needs
of students in the state of Utah.
Sources:
Zions Bank Announces Founders Scholarship Program In Honor of Brigham Young's 200th Birthday
PRNewswire 8Jun01 B4
Four-Year, Full-Tuition Scholarship to Be Awarded Annually To Each of Utah's 11 Institutions of Higher Education
Zions' Young Lion
ABA Banking Journal Dec98 B2
By Steve Cocheo: executive editor
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