Zions Celebrates a Quarter Century as Utah’s Top SBA Lender

Known for resident cats who lounge on its bookshelves, iconic Dolly’s Bookstore on Park City’s Main Street has steadily grown in sales and part-time employees with help from a U.S. Small Business Administration loan approved by Zions Bank. During the same period, family owned Prime Machine has grown from a handful to 100 employees, expanded globally and added new lines of business. They are among hundreds of businesses supported by Zions during the bank’s 25 consecutive years as the top provider of SBA 7(a) loans in the Utah District.

Both Dolly’s Bookstore and Prime Machine received SBA 7(a) loans from Zions Bank in the early 1990s.

“My vision from the start was to be a large company,” says Doug Murray, CEO of Prime Machine. “Zions Bank has allowed us to purchase new equipment when we’ve needed it to grow.” Established in 1979, Prime Machine manufactures, rebuilds and trouble-shoots mechanical equipment. Initially the company served utility, oil and gas, and power industries. Throughout the decades, it has expanded to serve chemical and aerospace industries and has added a field servicing business line.

Kathy Pederson, owner of Dolly’s Bookstore, realized her dream of entrepreneurship with help from Zions Bank’s financing.

“I don’t think, without the SBA loan, that I could’ve afforded opening the bookstore,” Pederson says. “I was young, out of college and had just come here. With Zions help, we have been able to grow the business and grow the economy and hire people. It’s been a win-win for both of us.”

While she notes that independent, brick-and-mortar booksellers are a “dying breed,” she says her store has bucked the trend. “I think we’re lucky to have such a good community and local following,” she says.

During the SBA’s fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, Zions Bank approved 207 SBA 7(a) loans in the district, totaling more than $38.8 million and representing 20 percent of the 997 SBA-backed loans approved in Utah.

In 2018, capital provided through Zions Bank’s loans led to 547 new employees and maintained 1,119 positions at Utah businesses, according to SBA data. Fifty-two percent of loans approved by Zions Bank were to women- and minority-owned businesses. The average SBA loan amount approved by Zions Bank was $188,000.

“We often talk about small businesses being a key sector for our market, and we refer to them internally as our bank’s ‘bread and butter,’” says Zions Bank President and CEO Scott Anderson. “This quarter-century milestone as Utah’s top SBA lender demonstrates that we are committed to supporting entrepreneurs as they create jobs and fuel our economy over the long term.”

Poised for an equally strong track record for small business lending in Idaho, Zions Bank approved 83 SBA 7(a) loans totaling $12.5 million in 2018, marking 17 consecutive years as the Boise District’s top lender.