Company history

Synovus began in 1888, based on a single act of kindness, when a mill worker at Eagle & Phenix Mills in Columbus, GA accidentally got her dress tangled in a piece of machinery. To the surprise of her coworkers, money she had sewn into the hem of her dress spilled across the floor. She explained that she believed this was the safest place to keep it. G. Gunby Jordan, the mill's secretary and treasurer happened by and offered to keep the money in the mill safe and pay her monthly interest on the deposits. He soon offered the same service to all the mill workers. These first deposits inspired Jordan to establish an institution that became Columbus Bank & Trust (CB&T), which later became Synovus Financial Corporation.

Decentralized philosophy

While other large banks in the country are merging and consolidating, Synovus has taken a different approach. Synovus has 40 community banks throughout their footprint in the southeast, and they all operate under separate charters, local CEO's, and their own independent, local boards of directors. They believe this creates a responsiveness that is essential to their strategy of attracting and retaining customers. A structure like this empowers community banks to make decisions on a local level, as close to the customers as possible. This decentralized structure, combined with also having the backing of a multi-billion dollar holding company and a broad array of high quality products that matches any large competitor, is what Synovus believes to be a key differentiator in the marketplace.

Synovus community banks

Alabama

Bank of Tuscaloosa (Tuscaloosa)
CB&T of East Alabama (Phenix City)
Community Bank & Trust Company (Enterprise)
First Commercial Bank (Birmingham)
First Commercial Bank (Huntsville)
First National Bank of Jasper (Jasper)
Sterling Bank (Montgomery)

Florida

Bank of Pensacola (Pensacola)
First Coast Community Bank (Fernandina Beach)
First Florida Bank (Naples)
Synovus Bank of Jacksonville (Jacksonville)
Synovus Bank of Tampa Bay (St. Petersburg)
The Tallahassee State Bank (Tallahassee)
Vanguard Bank & Trust (Valparaiso)

Georgia

Athens First Bank & Trust (Athens)
Locations in Athens, Commerce, Dacula, Hartwell, Lavonia, Monroe, and Watkinsville.
Augusta First Bank & Trust (Augusta)
Locations in Augusta and Evans.
Bank of Coweta (Newnan)
Bank of North Georgia (Alpharetta)
CB&T Bank of Middle Georgia (Warner Robbins)
Citizens & Merchants Bank (Douglasville)
Citizens Bank & Trust of West Georgia (Carrollton)
Citizens First Bank (Rome)
The Coastal Bank of Georgia (Brunswick)
Cohutta Banking Company (Chatsworth)
Columbus Bank & Trust (Columbus)
Commercial Bank (Thomasville)
Commercial Bank & Trust Company (LaGrange)
Community Bank (Tifton)
First Nation Bank (Covington)
First State Bank & Trust Company (Valdosta)
Georgia Bank & Trust (Calhoun)
The National Bank of Walton County (Monroe)
Peachtree National Bank (Peachtree City)
Sea Island Bank (Statesboro)
Security Bank & Trust (Albany)
Sumter Bank & Trust Company (Americus)

South Carolina

The National Bank of South Carolina
Locations in Anderson, Bishopville, Bluffton, Camden, Cayce, Charleston, Columbia, Florence, Goose Creek, Greenville, Greer, Hilton Head, Inman, Irmo, Lexington, Little River, Loris, Manning, Mt. Pleasant, Murrells Inlet, Myrtle Beach, North Charleston, North Myrtle Beach, Spartanburg, Summerville, and Sumter.

Tennessee

The Bank of Nashville (Nashville)
Cohutta Banking Company of Tennessee (Chattanooga)
Trust One Bank (Memphis)