Zions Public Finance

What Zions Public Finance does

Zions Public Finance is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ: ZION) that provides municipal advisory, underwriting, consulting, and capital financing services to public-sector and nonprofit clients across the United States. Operating from offices in Salt Lake City, Boise, and Boston, the firm delivers eight integrated service lines: municipal advisory, underwriting (run through the only combined municipal underwriting and trading desk in Utah), direct purchase of municipal bonds, continuing disclosure, special assessment administration, municipal leasing, municipal consulting, and national nonprofit banking. Its client base spans state and local governments, school districts, water and power districts, housing authorities, affordable housing developers, and a national book of nonprofit organizations including charter schools, hospitals, museums, and media outlets. Underlying revenue mechanics are predominantly professional services and transaction-based: advisory and consulting fees on bond issuances and feasibility studies, underwriting spreads on negotiated and competitive sales, interest spread on direct bond purchases held for investment, and recurring fees for continuing disclosure and special assessment administration.

The firm's competitive position rests on regulatory registrations (SEC and MSRB municipal advisor and municipal securities dealer), SEC/MSRB-registered senior advisors with 30+ years of shared tenure, capital backing from a parent bank with $65 billion+ in assets and a Corporate Trust platform administering $89 billion+ in municipal and asset-backed securities, and an integrated referral channel through Zions Bancorporation's 11-state affiliated banking network. The go-to-market motion is sales-led and relationship-driven, with bankers working directly with municipal finance officers, district leadership, and nonprofit executives to structure and execute transactions. Pricing is quote-based, varying with transaction size, complexity, and client type, and the firm emphasizes flexibility across structures including direct purchases, Cinderella bonds, and special assessment financings.

Name

Zions Public Finance

Legal name

Zions Public Finance, Inc.

Website

https://zionspf.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Zions Public Finance is a Zions Bancorporation subsidiary providing municipal advisory, underwriting, consulting, and capital financing services to state and local governments, school districts, housing authorities, and nonprofits across the western United States and nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Finance / Public Finance

NAICS

Commercial Banking (522110)

SIC

National Commercial Banks (6021), Functions Related To Depository Banking, Nec (6099)

akta.pro primary industry

Municipal/Local Government Development Banks (FSABAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

SBA/Government-Backed & Development Finance Loans (FSAKAGAI)

Keywords

• Municipal advisory services
• Municipal bond underwriting
• Public sector finance
• Nonprofit capital financing
• Special assessment administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Newton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Municipal Advisory Fees: Fees earned from providing advisory services to municipal governments for bond issuance, financial planning, and debt management.
2. Underwriting Revenue: Revenue from serving as underwriter or co-managing underwriter for municipal bond issuances, creating markets for clients' bonds.
3. Direct Purchase of Municipal Bonds: Zions Bank purchases municipal bonds directly from issuers, holding them for investment purposes.
4. Continuing Disclosure Services: Fees for preparing and submitting disclosure reports on behalf of governmental entities.
5. Special Assessment Administration: Fees for administering special assessment areas including billing, collection, and compliance services.
6. Municipal Leasing: Equipment and real estate leasing services to municipal clients, generating interest income and fees.
7. Consulting Services: Fees for economic development strategic plans, redevelopment studies, market analysis, and fiscal sustainability modeling.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Zions Public Finance is the public finance subsidiary of Zions Bancorporation, N.A., providing municipal advisory, underwriting, direct purchase of municipal securities, continuing disclosure, special assessment administration, municipal leasing, and consulting services to state and local governments, agencies, authorities, and nonprofit issuers. Through its dedicated National Nonprofit Group it delivers capital financing and related banking services to nonprofit institutions nationwide, including higher education, healthcare, arts and culture, social services, and K-12 independent schools.

Product overview

Zions Public Finance offers a unified suite of eight integrated municipal finance services. The core offerings include Municipal Advisory and Consulting services for strategic financing planning, Direct Purchase and Underwriting for bond issuance and market creation, and Continuing Disclosure for regulatory compliance. Supporting services include Special Assessment Administration, Municipal Leasing, and National Nonprofit financing programs. These services are delivered through affiliated entities including Zions Public Finance, Inc. (ZPFI), Zions Bank Public Finance (ZBPF), and Zions Bank Capital Markets (ZBCM), all divisions of Zions Bancorporation, N.A.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Municipal Advisory Independent financial advisory services for state, local, education, authority and special district issuers — including capital planning, debt structuring, method-of-sale analysis, RFP procurement, pricing-day support, and refunding analysis. Service is performed under SEC Rule 15B and MSRB standards and is targeted at public finance officers, treasurers, CFOs and procurement officials.
• Underwriting Underwriter/placement agent services for tax-exempt and taxable municipal bond issues, including negotiated sales and competitive bidding on general obligation, revenue, conduit, lease and refunding transactions. Pricing is set via the firm's integrated underwriting and trading desk and is targeted at government and nonprofit issuers using negotiated sale or competitive bid workflows.
• Direct Purchase Bank direct-purchase of municipal notes, loans and securities as an alternative to public bond issuance, leveraging the parent's bank balance sheet to fund government and nonprofit borrowers via private placement. Targeted at smaller or unrated issuers, interim financing, or transactions where speed, flexibility and certainty of execution matter more than public-market pricing.
• Municipal Consulting Project-based consulting for municipalities and authorities covering fee and rate studies, special-district formation, utility and water/wastewater financing analysis, and economic-development/public-private project advisory. Targeted at CFOs, utility directors, and economic-development executives at cities, counties, and special districts needing independent analysis outside of an underwriter mandate.
• Continuing Disclosure Continuing disclosure administration on behalf of issuers subject to SEC Rule 15c2-12, including preparation and filing of annual financial information, operating data and material event notices on EMMA. Targeted at finance officers and disclosure officers at public agencies with outstanding municipal debt who need compliant post-issuance reporting.
• Special Assessment Administration (SAA) Comprehensive administration of Municipal Improvement Districts (MIDs) and similar special assessment districts, including billing, collection, delinquency enforcement, foreclosure administration, and trustee/paying-agent functions. Targeted at cities, counties, and special districts that finance local improvements through property assessments and need outsourced administration.
• Municipal Leasing Tax-exempt municipal lease financing provided to government entities and qualifying nonprofits to fund equipment, vehicles, technology and small-to-mid-sized facility projects that do not warrant a full bond issuance. Targeted at finance officers and procurement officers needing quick, flexible, fixed-rate capital financing.
• National Nonprofit Group Dedicated national practice delivering capital financing and related banking services to nonprofit institutions including higher education, healthcare, arts and culture, social services, and K-12 independent schools. Targeted at nonprofit CFOs, treasurers, controllers, and executive directors needing tax-exempt or taxable debt along with deposit, treasury management and merchant services bundled into one relationship.

Quantifiable outcome

• Zions Public Finance has served as State of Utah's Municipal Advisor for at least three decades
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers26 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Salt Lake City Airport AuthoritymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerZions Bank serves as co-managing underwriter for the $3.5 billion Airport Redevelopment Program, which includes a new 895,000 square foot terminal facility and related infrastructure.
• Utah Housing CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership where Zions Bank's municipal securities dealer underwrites certain transactions for affordable housing programs, having underwritten over a dozen transactions totaling over $432 million in par amount.
• Housing Authority of Salt Lake CountymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerZions Bank works with the Housing Authority on affordable housing financing solutions in Salt Lake County.
• Housing Authority of Salt Lake CitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerZions Bank partners with the Housing Authority on affordable housing bond financing in Salt Lake City.
• Housing Assistance Management Enterprise (HAME)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerZions Bank purchased a $2 million Multi-Family Housing Loan to help construct 108 affordable housing units in downtown Salt Lake City. HAME is the nonprofit financing arm of the Housing Authority of Salt Lake City.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Loop Capital Markets: A minority-owned, full-service investment bank with a strong public finance practice serving municipal and nonprofit issuers. Comparable to ZPF given its focus on underserved and mid-market municipal clients, tax-exempt bond underwriting, and emphasis on relationship-driven coverage of government and nonprofit issuers.
• Stifel Financial: A publicly traded diversified wealth management and investment banking firm with a Public Finance group serving municipal and nonprofit issuers. Comparable to ZPF in providing municipal underwriting and advisory services, though operating at significantly larger scale with a national footprint.
• Robert W. Baird: An employee-owned international financial services firm with a Public Finance group providing municipal advisory and underwriting to state and local government clients. Comparable to ZPF in its mid-market municipal focus, relationship-driven coverage model, and full-service capital markets offerings.
• D.A. Davidson: A regional employee-owned financial services firm with a Public Finance Department that underwrites municipal bonds and provides advisory services to cities, counties, school districts, and special districts in the Western U.S. Directly comparable to ZPF in geographic orientation, mid-market municipal focus, and full-service public finance offerings.
• FHN Financial: The capital markets and public finance arm of First Horizon Bank, providing fixed income sales, trading, underwriting, and municipal advisory services. Comparable to ZPF as a bank-affiliated municipal securities dealer and advisor serving state and local government issuers, with a similar integrated banking/finance model.
• Hilltop Securities: A mid-size broker-dealer and registered municipal advisor owned by Hilltop Holdings, providing public finance, retail, and capital markets services to municipalities, school districts, and special districts. Highly comparable to ZPF given its bank-holding-company parent, mid-market municipal focus, and emphasis on Texas/regional government clients.
• Piper Sandler: A publicly traded investment bank with a dedicated Public Finance group serving state and local governments, school districts, and nonprofits. Comparable to ZPF in providing municipal advisory, underwriting, and continuing disclosure services to similar public sector and nonprofit end markets, albeit at significantly larger scale.
• Crews & Associates: A regional investment bank specializing in municipal finance, with a focus on small and mid-sized municipal issuers, school districts, and nonprofits across the South and Midwest. Comparable to ZPF in its regional focus, tax-exempt bond underwriting, and emphasis on serving issuers with limited access to the largest national underwriters.
• PFM Financial Advisors: A leading independent financial advisory firm specializing in public finance, with municipal advisory, swap advisory, and asset management practices. Directly comparable to ZPF in providing independent municipal advisory, disclosure, and consulting services to state and local governments and nonprofit issuers.

Broad incumbents

• Wells Fargo Public Finance: The public finance arm of Wells Fargo, one of the largest U.S. banks, providing municipal underwriting, advisory, and direct purchase services nationwide. A broad incumbent comparable to ZPF's combined underwriting/advisory/direct purchase model, though operating at vastly larger scale with national distribution and a much deeper balance sheet.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Zions Public Finance