National Bank of Arizona (NB|AZ), a division of Zions Bancorporation, has appointed Howard Barrett as Vice President of Agribusiness Lending. Barrett brings extensive agribusiness lending experience with a focus on the southwestern agricultural sector.
“It is a great opportunity to be a part of the NB|AZ Corporate Banking team, leveraging my professional experience in agricultural credit,” said Barrett. “We plan to pursue specialty lending opportunities in the agribusiness market. Our team will benefit from the industry expertise and support of Zions Bancorporation and its legacy of agricultural lending, which dates back more than a century.”
Zions Bancorporation enjoys a long and rich history within the agricultural industry. Zions Agricultural division marked 20 years of growth last month as a leading originator of agricultural lending. As an enterprise, ZB, N.A. has originated nearly $2 billion in farm and ranch purchase loans across 44 states.
“Combining Barrett’s terrific agricultural knowledge with that of Zions Bancorporation, National Bank of Arizona will be a prominent provider of financial services to the agricultural industry,” said Mark Young, CEO. “We are committed to delivering highly competitive financial products and services to the agricultural community in Arizona.”
Barrett’s agribusiness and commercial lending career began with Valley National Bank of Arizona and later moved to Bank One Arizona. Most recently, Barrett worked with Bank of the West, BNP Paribas, Agribusiness Division as a relationship manager in the central valley agricultural sector in California. Additionally, he independently brokered agricultural mortgages to various institutional investors. Barrett’s experience also includes brokerage of agricultural real estate as an independent commercial real estate broker.
“I’m so pleased Howard chose to join the team at National Bank of Arizona,” said Gary Naquin, Executive Vice President of Corporate Banking. “He’s going to be instrumental in forming and maintaining relationships with those in the agricultural sector operating in
Arizona, and his knowledge of Arizona communities will only strengthen our foothold in agribusiness.”
Barrett is an Arizona native with a family history rooted in agriculture. He graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Agriculture and is a US Army Intelligence Veteran.
