Zions might buy failed Texas banks

Zions Bancorp, the Utah lender that operates in 10 Western states, may buy one or more failed Texas banks if given the opportunity next year, said Chief Financial Officer Doyle Arnold.

"There may be more failures in Texas, I think the problems there are just beginning," Arnold said at a conference in New York hosted by Barclays Capital. "We won't do any more FDIC-assisted transactions in the next two quarters."

Zions already operates Houston-based Amegy Bank of Texas, with $9.1 billion in deposits, $11.7 billion in assets and 84 branches. Zions has purchased four failed banks since last September in California and Nevada under the watch of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.