The banking community was mourning the recent loss of Roy Simmons, the 90-year-old founder and former chairman of Zions Bancorporation, and father of current Zions' chairman Harris Simmons.
The passing of his father caused the younger Simmons, the chief nemesis of credit unions and chairman of the American Bankers Association, to cancel his scheduled testimony on CU conversions before the House Financial Services Financial Institution Subcommittee.
The elder Simmons and his business partners acquired a controlling interest in Zions First National Bank from the Mormon Church in 1960 and built the renamed Zions into one of the biggest locally owned banks in the West.
Zions is well-known among Utah credit unions as the leading backer of legislative efforts to tax credit unions and limit their membership, which has been elevated to the national level with this year's ascension of Harris Simmons as chairman of the ABA.
