Vectra Bank Colorado will hand over its independent banking charter as part of a larger restructuring at its parent company Zions Bancorp.
Zions, based in Salt Lake City, said Monday it will consolidate seven separate bank charters of its various subsidiaries into a single charter. The move is expected to cut costs for regulatory compliance, financial reporting and maintaining separate bank boards.
“This will make us more efficient and effective and allow us to focus more resources on customers,” said Bruce Alexander, president and CEO of the Denver-based bank.
Vectra Bank Colorado has 38 branches in the state and one in New Mexico, the actual home of its charter.
Alexander said a few individual positions most closely tied to maintaining that charter may go away, but that larger job cuts aren’t planned among the bank’s 500 workers.
Vectra Bank will maintain local management and branding.
Zions has been under pressure from regulators after doing poorly on its last two rounds of “stress tests.” Dragging down its score were holdings of bundled mortgages and other collateralized debts obligations lingering from before the 2008 financial crisis.
Zions has shed those holdings to improve its financial position and estimates the charter consolidation along with technological improvements should save it $120 million a year.
Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410, asvaldi@denverpost.com or
