Economic lessons learned over the past 150 years

Robert Spendlove 

One of the worst economic crises in U.S. history began in September 1873, just a month before Zions Bank opened for business. When banking institution Jay Cook & Co., which had invested heavily in the railroad, failed, it set off a wave of panic across the United States.

Back in the Utah Territory a few months earlier, pioneer leader Brigham Young had called together a group of prominent citizens to form a savings bank. Concerned about the economic climate, he felt it more important than ever to create a safe place for people to save their money.

Zion’s Savings Bank and Trust Co., its name eventually shortened to Zions Bank, opened for business on Oct. 1, 1873. Over the next 150 years, the tiny, one-room pioneer bank would evolve and grow along with the surrounding economy of the Please log in to see the rest of this story.