We Expect Commercial Loans to Drive Major Balance-Sheet Expansion at Zions in 2026

Zions Bancorp focuses primarily on small and midsize businesses across its Western US footprint. We think its strategy of building on-the-ground relationships with SMB clients is sound. However, with roughly 80% of revenue coming from net interest income, Zions’ profitability is more sensitive to interest-rate movements and deposit performance than larger regional banks with more diversified fee income.