Synovus Financial Corp. in Columbus, Ga., announced that it is combining four of its community banking units.
The $35 billion-asset company said it would merge Columbus Bank and Trust with two of its other Georgia banks — CB&T Bank of Middle Georgia in Warner Robins and Commercial Bank and Trust in La Grange — and with one of its Alabama banks, CB&T Bank of East Alabama in Phoenix City.
The combined unit, to be named CB&T, would have $7.5 billion of assets and 35 branches, the company said Tuesday. Steve Melton, the president and chief executive officer of Columbus Bank and Trust, would have those titles at CB&T. The merger is expected to be completed by midyear. Synovus, which operates 32 banks in all, has been grappling with significant losses on loans to home builders in Georgia and Florida. It reported last month that it swung to a fourth-quarter loss of $637 million, from a profit of $81.9 million a year earlier, as its chargeoffs and nonperforming assets spiked.
