Synovus will close 15% of its branches next year

Synovus Financial in Columbus, Georgia, expects to close more than 40 branches in 2022, generating $12 million in annual savings.

The $55.5 billion-asset bank announced its plan Tuesday in an investor presentation made public as part of its participation in Goldman Sachs’ U.S. Financial Services Conference in New York. Synovus is targeting the closure of 15% of its branch network, according to the presentation.

Synovus currently operates 281 branches, down from a high of 297 in 2019, when it acquired the $12.4 billion-asset FCB Financial Holdings in Weston, Florida.

Last week, Synovus named longtime executive Liz Wolverton as its head of consumer banking and brand experience. In announcing Wolverton's promotion, Synovus President and CEO Kevin Blair referred to rapid changes across the banking industry, including branch reductions.

Throughout the industry, the number of branches has been drifting downward for several years as customers have opted increasingly for online and mobile channels. That trend that has continued in recent months, as a number of banks have disclosed plans to pare back their brick-and-mortar networks.

In July, for instance, the $206.4 billion-asset Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati said it planned to consolidate 42 branches by early 2022, on top of the 43 it had already earmarked for closure this year.

In September, the $11.5 billion-asset OceanFirst Financial in Toms River, New Jersey, announced plans to sell or close about 30% of its branch network, generating as much as $8 million in annual cost savings.