Zions Bancorp. executive Dale Moroni Gibbons resigned as chief financial officer of the bank holding company Thursday while declaring his innocence of three felony charges involving drugs and child abuse.
Zions said today that W. David Hemingway, a 28-year veteran with the financial services company, will serve as interim chief financial officer until a new CFO is hired. Hemingway is currently executive vice president of capital investments at Zions and will continue with those duties.
"I cannot effectively execute my obligations and duties to the company with criminal charges pending," said Gibbons in a statement.
"As an innocent man, my focus must be on the court proceedings ahead. I regret reaching this decision at this time, but I feel strongly that I must put my personal considerations and those of my family first."
Gibbons, 41, was arraigned Wednesday in 3rd District Court on charges of possession of methamphetamine, dealing in material harmful to a minor and endangering a child, all third-degree felonies. He has been free on $150,000 bail since Monday following his arrest at his home on June 21.
Sheriff's Sgt. Dean Adams said following the arrest that Gibbons had been under investigation "for quite some time," prompted by numerous complaints from neighbors about loud, late-night parties at Gibbons' near-million-dollar home at 4294 S. Wander Lane (2370 East).
On June 11, paramedics were called to the home and found Gibbons' 15-year-old daughter and her unidentified friend intoxicated and "comatose." The daughter has since been sent to Arizona to be with her mother.
Gibbons had been suspended from his job since June 21, when Zions Bancorp. president and CEO Harris H. Simmons issued a statement saying: "We are all stunned and saddened by these allegations. Mr. Gibbons has been a very responsible, talented and valued employee who has earned a great deal of respect in our industry and whose behavior at work is inconsistent with these charges."
Simmons said Friday that he has hired an unnamed but "highly respected" executive recruiting firm to search for Gibbons' permanent replacement, adding that Zions is in good shape to continue operating effectively during the search. "We have a deep pool of financial talent at Zions, including capable CFOs within each of our subsidiary banks."
That includes Simmons, who served for 10 years as Zions CFO prior to being named president and CEO.
The first thing people ask about Gibbons since the scandal broke is how he could have led what has been termed a "double life" without his associates at Zions knowing that something was wrong. If anyone did have suspicions, they aren't talking, and neither are most other members of the Utah banking community, either for attribution or off the record.
One exception is Douglas C. Black, president of KeyBank's Utah District. He told the Deseret News he doesn't know Gibbons well but was impressed when he saw the man in action.
"Did you ever hear him speak? The guy was spectacular," Black said. "I was impressed with his grasp and knowledge. He didn't have to think about the numbers, he knew them cold. He was one of the brightest, most articulate individuals I've ever met or listened to."
Do the charges against Gibbons give the entire Utah banking industry a black eye? Black doesn't think so.
"Number one, it's premature; he hasn't been convicted. Number two, he's a person. He has a personal life. And I don't know that this had anything to do with banking."
Maybe not, but most industry watchers believe it's unrealistic to expect anyone in the banking community with so high a profile not to become a subject of gossip and conjecture, which Gibbons clearly has been since his arrest and the revelations made by police after searching his home about his "party clothes," "hard-core" pornographic magazines, a sexual device and the vanity license plate on his Jaguar that reads "ROLLING," which sheriff's deputies say is a commonly used term among drug users.
One banking insider, who asked not to be named, said "it must be a real blow to the bank culture," but added that, despite Gibbons' high position in the largest Utah-based bank, he was not especially well-known among the local banking hierarchy, most of whom are gathering this weekend in Sun Valley for the annual meeting of the Utah Bankers Association, where Zions Bank president and CEO Scott Anderson will be named the new UBA chairman.
Gibbons joined Zions in 1996 from First Interstate Bank in Arizona. He is a graduate of Arizona State University.
E-MAIL: max@desnews.com