National Bank of Arizona is the first Arizona-based bank to benefit from the U.S. Treasury Department’s capital purchase program — a program in which the federal agency purchases preferred stock in a bank.

According to an announcement from National Bank of Arizona, the U.S. Treasury Department has preliminarily approved investing $1.4 billion in Utah-based Zions Bancorporation. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Zions, National Bank will share in part of that investment.

“This is not a bailout situation,“ said Will Holburn, National Bank spokesman. Instead, this is part of the Treasury Department’s capital purchase program. The investment in Zions will allow the federal agency to “make money on the deal,” Holburn said.

Keith Maio, president and chief executive officer of National Bank, said the federal government’s investment is a positive event.

“This infusion of new capital is recognition of our financial strength and our preparedness to help lead future economic growth,” Maio said in a written statement. “It fuels the credit market in Arizona, provides a safe environment for depositors and solidifies our ability to grow.”

This investment comes about eight weeks after National Bank acquired the Arizona branches of Silver State Bank, which became insolvent. That acquisition was arranged by the FDIC and Zions — National Bank’s parent company.

An Oct. 28 news release from Zions states the bank’s board of directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share of common stock. The dividend, payable Nov. 19 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 5, represents a 26-percent reduction from the previous dividend level.

“This modification to our dividend will allow us to further strengthen our capital base during a period of slower activity in the economy while enabling us to continue to expand our lending in ways that will help bring the country out of the current financial crisis, said Harris Simmons, Zions’ chairman and chief executive officer.