Commitments, Guarantees, and Contingent Liabilities

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2021

Guarantees, Commitments And Contingencies [Abstract]

COMMITMENTS, GUARANTEES AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES

COMMITMENTS, GUARANTEES, AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES

Commitments and Guarantees

Contractual amounts of various off-balance sheet financial instruments used to meet the financing needs of our customers are as follows:

(In millions)	June 30, 2021		December 31, 2020
Net unfunded commitments to extend credit 1	$	24,808	$	24,217
Standby letters of credit:
Financial	617		531
Performance	233		167
Commercial letters of credit	31		34
Total unfunded lending commitments	$	25,689	$	24,949

1 Net of participations.

Our 2020 Form 10-K contains further information about these commitments and guarantees including their terms and collateral requirements. At June 30, 2021, we had recorded $4 million as a liability for the guarantees associated

with the standby letters of credit, which consisted of $2 million attributable to the RULC and $2 million of deferred commitment fees.

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. 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. 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.

At June 30, 2021, we were subject to the following material litigation or governmental inquiries:

•a civil suit, JTS Communities, Inc. et. al v. CB&T, Jun Enkoji and Dawn Satow, brought against us in the Superior Court for Sacramento County, California in June 2017. In this case four investors in our former customer, International Manufacturing Group (“IMG”) seek to hold us liable for losses arising from their investments in that company, alleging that we conspired with and knowingly assisted IMG and its principal in furtherance of an alleged Ponzi scheme. This case is in the final discovery phase with a summary judgment motion to be heard on August 26, 2021. Currently, trial is scheduled September 28, 2021.

•a civil class action lawsuit, Evans v. CB&T, brought against us in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California in May 2017. This case was filed on behalf of a class of up to 50 investors in IMG and seeks to hold us liable for losses of class members arising from their investments in IMG, alleging that we conspired with and knowingly assisted IMG and its principal in furtherance of an alleged Ponzi scheme. In December 2017, the District Court dismissed all claims against the Bank. In January 2018, the plaintiff filed an appeal with the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The appeal was heard in early April 2019 with the Court of Appeals reversing the trial court’s dismissal. This case is in the post-pleading phase and trial will not occur for a substantial period of time.

•two civil cases, Lifescan Inc. and Johnson & Johnson Health Care Services v. Jeffrey Smith, et. al., brought against us in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in December 2017, and Roche Diagnostics and Roche Diabetes Care Inc. v. Jeffrey C. Smith, et. al., brought against us in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in March 2019. In these cases, certain manufacturers and distributors of medical products seek to hold us liable for allegedly fraudulent practices of a borrower of the Bank who filed for bankruptcy protection in 2017. The cases are in early phases, with initial motion practice and discovery underway in the Lifescan case. Trial has not been scheduled in either case.

•a civil class action lawsuit, Gregory, et. al. v. Zions Bancorporation, brought against us in the United States District Court for Utah in January 2019. This case was filed on behalf of investors in Rust Rare Coin, Inc., alleging that we aided and abetted a Ponzi scheme fraud perpetrated by Rust Rare Coin, a Zions Bank customer. The case follows civil actions and the establishment of a receivership for Rust Rare Coin by The Commodities Futures Trading Commission and the Utah Division of Securities in November 2018, as well as a separate suit brought by the SEC against Rust Rare Coin and its principal, Gaylen Rust. During the third quarter of 2020, the Court granted our motion to dismiss the plaintiffs' claims in part, dismissing claims relating to fraud and fiduciary duty, but allowing a claim for aiding and abetting conversion to proceed. The case is in the early discovery phase. Trial has not been scheduled.

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 meaningfully estimate such a range only for a limited number of matters. Based on information available at June 30, 2021, we estimated that the aggregate range of reasonably possible losses for those matters to be from $0 million to roughly $40 million in excess of amounts accrued. 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 a meaningful 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.