GUARANTEES, COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Guarantees

The following are guarantees issued by the Company:



(In thousands)	September 30, 2012		December 31, 2011
Standby letters of credit:
Financial	$	856,360	$	914,986
Performance	182,216		165,298
	$	1,038,576	$	1,080,284

The Company’s 2011 Annual Report on Form 10-K contains further information about these letters of credit including their terms and collateral requirements. At September 30, 2012, the Company had recorded approximately $12.0 million as a liability for these guarantees, which consisted of $7.9 million attributable to the reserve for unfunded lending commitments and $4.1 million of deferred commitment fees.

As of September 30, 2012, the Parent has guaranteed approximately $300 million of debt of affiliated trusts issuing trust preferred securities.

Legal Matters

We are subject to litigation in court and arbitral proceedings, as well as proceedings, investigations, examinations and other actions brought or considered by governmental and self-regulatory agencies. At any given time, litigation may relate to lending, deposit and other customer relationships, vendor and contractual issues, employee matters, intellectual property matters, personal injuries and torts, regulatory and legal compliance, and other matters. While most matters relate to individual claims, we are also subject to putative class action claims and similar broader claims. Current putative class actions and similar claims include the following:


•	three complaints relating to allegedly wrongful acts in our processing of overdraft fees on debit card transactions in which the plaintiffs seek monetary awards on the basis of various common law claims,


◦	Barlow, et. al. v. Zions First National Bank and Zions Bancorporation, pending in the United States District Court for the District of Utah,


◦	Sadlier, et. al. v. National Bank of Arizona, pending in the Superior Court for the State of Arizona, County of Maricopa, and


◦	Starr, et. al. v. California Bank & Trust, pending in the Superior Court for the State of California at San Diego;


•	a complaint relating to our banking relationships with customers that allegedly engaged in wrongful telemarketing practices in which the plaintiff seeks a trebled monetary award under the federal RICO Act, Reyes v. Zions First National Bank, et. al., pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; and

•

a complaint arising from our banking relationships with Frederick Berg and a number of investment funds controlled by him using the “Meridian” brand name, in which the liquidating trustee for the funds seeks an award from us, on the basis of aiding and abetting liability, for monetary damages suffered by victims of a fraud allegedly perpetrated by Berg, In re Consolidated Meridian Funds a/k/a Meridian Investors Trust, Mark Calvert as Liquidating Trustee, et. al. vs. Zions Bancorporation and The Commerce Bank of Washington, N.A., pending in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington.

Discovery has commenced in each of these matters other than the Meridian Funds litigation, which was filed against us in the third quarter of 2012.

At any given time, proceedings, investigations, examinations and other actions brought or considered by governmental and self-regulatory agencies may relate to our banking, investment advisory, trust, securities, and other products and services; our customers’ involvement in money-laundering, fraud, securities violations and other illicit activities or our policies and practices relating to such customer activities; and our compliance with the broad range of banking, securities and other laws and regulations applicable to us. At any given time, we may be in the process of responding to subpoenas, requests for documents, data and testimony relating to such matters and engaging in discussions to resolve the matters. Significant investigations and similar inquiries to which we are currently subject relate to:


•	possible money laundering activities of a customer of one of our banking subsidiaries and the anti-money laundering practices of that bank (conducted by the United States Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York); and


•	the practices of our subsidiary, Contango Capital Advisors, Inc., relative to certain investment products acquired by Contango clients from sponsors and issuers unaffiliated with us (conducted by the staff of the Salt Lake City office of the SEC).

At least quarterly, we review outstanding and new legal matters, utilizing then available information. In accordance with applicable accounting guidance, if we determine that a loss from a matter is probable and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated, we establish an accrual for the loss. In the absence of such a determination, no accrual is made. Once established, accruals are adjusted to reflect developments relating to the matters.

In our review, we also assess whether we can determine the range of reasonably possible losses for significant matters in which we are unable to determine that the likelihood of a loss is remote. Because of the difficulty of predicting the outcome of legal matters, discussed subsequently, we are able to estimate such a range only for a limited number of matters. We currently estimate the aggregate range of reasonably possible losses for those matters to be from $0 million to not more than $90 million in excess of amounts accrued. This estimated range of reasonably possible losses is based on information currently available as of September 30, 2012. The matters underlying the estimated range will change from time to time, and actual results may vary significantly from this estimate. Those matters for which an estimate is not possible are not included within this estimated range and, therefore, this estimated range does not represent our maximum loss exposure.

Based on our current knowledge, we believe that our current estimated liability for litigation and other legal actions and claims, reflected in our accruals and determined in accordance with applicable accounting guidance, is adequate and that liabilities in excess of the amounts currently accrued, if any, arising from litigation and other legal actions and claims for which an estimate as previously described is possible, will not have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows. However, in light of the significant uncertainties involved in these matters, and the very large or indeterminate damages sought in some of these matters, an adverse outcome in one or more of these matters could be material to our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows for any given reporting period.

Any estimate or determination relating to the future resolution of litigation, arbitration, governmental or self-regulatory examinations, investigations or actions or similar matters is inherently uncertain and involves significant judgment. This is particularly true in the early stages of a legal matter, when legal issues and facts have not been well articulated, reviewed, analyzed, and vetted through discovery, preparation for trial or hearings, substantive and productive mediation or settlement discussions, or other actions. It is also particularly true with respect to class action and similar claims involving multiple defendants, matters with complex procedural requirements or substantive issues or novel legal theories, and examinations, investigations and other actions conducted or brought by governmental and self-regulatory agencies, in which the normal adjudicative process is not applicable. Accordingly, we usually are unable to determine whether a favorable or unfavorable outcome is remote, reasonably likely, or probable, or to estimate the amount or range of a probable or reasonably likely loss, until relatively late in the course of a legal matter, sometimes not until a number of years have elapsed. Accordingly, our judgments and estimates relating to claims will change from time to time in light of developments and actual outcomes will differ from our estimates. These differences may be material.