Salt Lake City-based Zions Bancorp. is shaking up its top ranks as the longtime head of its bank, A. Scott Anderson, prepares to retire.
Paul Burdiss, the chief financial officer at the $87 billion-asset parent company, will become the new president and CEO of Zions Bank in April, the company said Friday. He will take over the spot from Anderson, who'd been in the role since 1998 and will become nonexecutive chairman.
Anderson, 77, has had a prominent role as head of Zions Bank, both through community engagements in the bank's footprint along with chairing the American Bankers Association recently.
"Scott epitomizes the best of leadership in the industry," Harris Simmons, the chairman and CEO of Zions Bancorp., said in an interview. Anderson, he said, is involved in "almost every important community issue" in the bank's markets and was once referred to as Utah's "unelected governor."
Burdiss, 58, has been Zions' CFO for nine years and previously worked in treasurer positions at Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks, which is now part of Truist Financial, and at Dallas-based Comerica.
Ryan Richards, Zions' corporate controller, will replace Burdiss as the CFO of the parent company.
The company is also making some changes to its legal department. Thomas Laursen, who's been general counsel since 2004, is also retiring in April. Rena Miller, Zions' deputy general counsel since 2015, is taking over the post.
Simmons said the timing of transitions at top of the bank and in its legal team were coincidental. In a news release, he said the three elevated Zions executives will "bring a great deal of energy and fresh perspectives" to their new roles.
Anderson and Simmons have worked together for decades to expand the bank, whose roots date back to Utah's early days and its founding by Mormon church leader Brigham Young.
Both Zions executives have overseen the bank's expansion into states such as Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, California, Washington, Oregon and Texas. The bank had more than 400 branches in 11 states and more than 9,500 employees at the end of 2023, according to the company's annual report.
Like other regional banks, particularly out West, the bank's stock price has struggled after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank. Its share price is down some 24% over the past year.
The company's net interest margins have dropped as rising interest rates have prompted it to pay depositors more, though analysts noted in January that the situation had stabilized at the end of 2023. The quality of its loan portfolio also continues to be "very strong and healthy," RBC Capital Markets analyst Jon Arfstrom wrote in a note to clients after the company reported its fourth-quarter earnings.
But earnings growth "will be challenging through 2025 with a muted loan growth outlook," Truist Securities analyst Brandon King wrote in a research note.
Simmons, 69, took over his father's job as Zions' CEO in 1990. During his tenure, the bank has grown from $3 billion of assets to its current size of $87 billion, according to a recent proxy statement biography.
Asked about succession planning for his post, Simmons said the company always ensures it has "people that have a variety of experiences" who can be elevated. The company's governance documents say its board reviews its succession plan with the CEO every year.
In addition to Burdiss, other top executives at Zions Bancorp. include Scott McLean, the company's president and chief operating officer.
