SALT LAKE CITY, March 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Zions Bank President and Chief
Executive Officer A. Scott Anderson has been named the U.S. Small Business
Administration's Region VIII "Financial Services Champion of the Year."
Region VIII encompasses Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, North Dakota and
South Dakota. Earlier this month, Anderson was named the Utah District
Office's Financial Services Champion.
The Financial Services Champion of the Year award honors "individuals who
assist small businesses through advocacy efforts to increase the usefulness
and availability of accounting or financial services," according to the SBA.
The award is given to an individual who has demonstrated leadership in small
business financing; advocacy of changes in the financial services industry to
assist small companies; encouragement of the flow of investment capital to
small ventures; and active support for legislative or regulatory action
designed to help small firms.
"Utah's small business community is fortunate to have a champion like
Scott Anderson and Zions Bank supporting the financial needs of entrepreneurs
across the state. Last year alone, Zions Bank approved 667 SBA-backed loans
to small business worth an amazing $48 million," said Elton W. Ringsak, SBA's
Region VIII administrator based in Denver. "Zions Bancorporation, the parent
company of Zions Bank, is ranked second in the country in SBA 504 loans, and
eighth in SBA 7(a) loans. Zions Bank continues to be at the forefront of
economic development and outreach to small business in Salt Lake City and
rural Utah. We at the SBA hope our relationship with Scott and Zions Bank
continues to flourish."
Zions Bank has previously received several SBA recognitions, including the
designation as one of the top "Ten Outstanding SBA Lenders" from across the
United States, awarded in May 2004 at the SBA's annual Expo. Zions has also
been the Utah District's top 7(a) SBA lender for the past 11 years, and has
been the top SBA lender in Idaho's Boise District for the past three years.
"Thanks to companies like Zions Bank and people like Scott, small
businesses in the Mountain West are growing, expanding and creating jobs for
their communities," added Ringsak.
Anderson joined Zions Bank in 1991 as the executive vice president of
Retail Banking, responsible for the bank's consumer and small business banking
activities in its branch network. He assumed current responsibilities as
president and CEO in January 1998.
Under his leadership, Zions Bank has created programs to support and
finance small business owners and has provided educational resources for
entrepreneurs. Through his creation of the Women's Financial Group and his
partnership as the founding sponsor of the Pete Suazo Small Business Center,
Anderson has helped women and minority entrepreneurs develop their companies.
To further assist small businesses, Zions Bank has provided office space
for the SBA's Business Information Center (BIC) and its SCORE business
counselors, as well as the local chapter of the National Association of Women
Business Owners (NAWBO). Zions Bank is also a supporter of Snow College's
business incubator programs, which help grow new businesses.
"I am honored and humbled to receive the SBA's Champion Award on behalf of
Zions Bank, but the true 'champions' are the hard-working and visionary
entrepreneurs who help build our economy and create jobs, said Anderson. He
will be honored with other Utah district SBA Champion Award winners at a
luncheon May 9 at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City.
America's 23 million small businesses employ more than 50 percent of the
private workforce, account for more than half of the nation's private sector
output, and are the principal source of new patents as well as creating over
75 percent of the new jobs in the U.S. economy. In Utah and Idaho,
approximately 97 percent of businesses qualify as "small businesses"
(businesses with fewer than 500 workers). Entrepreneurs in Utah and across
the country continue to strengthen America's economic recovery and create
jobs.
Zions Bank, a subsidiary of Zions Bancorporation (Nasdaq: ZION), operates
134 full-service branches 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. The
company is also a leader in providing electronic banking services, including
odd-lot electronic bond trading. Founded in 1873, Zions has been serving the
communities of the Intermountain West for more than 130 years. Additional
information on Zions Bank is available at www.zionsbank.com.
SOURCE Zions Bank
-0- 03/21/2005
/CONTACT: Heidi Prokop, Public Relations Officer of Zions First National
Bank, +1-801-594-8016/
/Web site: http://www.zionsbank.com /
(ZION)
CO: Zions Bank; Zions Bancorporation
ST: Utah, Idaho
IN: FIN
SU: AWD
TU-IL
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