Zions Bancorp: For Utah bank, rescue cash a blessing, a burden

(SALT LAKE TRIBUNE) -- Faced with rising loan demand in the wake of the meltdown in the nation's commercial credit markets, Zions Bancorp decided last fall to accept $1.4 billion in capital from the federal government.

Provided under the government's TARP initiative, short for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the capital was offered to bank holding companies such as Zions to encourage them to continue providing loans to help offset the ravages of the recession.

It wasn't a straightforward decision, though. Zions didn't really need the capital and there were painful trade-offs to be considered. In the end, Zions said yes, because it feared that saying no could make it a takeover target. Original Article