Zions Benefiting From Improved Credit Quality and Higher Yields

In the first quarter, Zions posted exceptional earnings growth. Pretax income was $308 million, growing 19% from the previous quarter and more than 57% from the previous year. The two biggest contributors to Zions' strong quarter were improved credit quality and increasing yields on loans. Yields on its loan portfolio expanded to 4.5% from 4.3% last quarter. However, the biggest boost to earnings came from a $40 million release in credit allowances, which is a $63 million decline in loss provisi...