The legendary Atlanta banking lawyer played a special, often behind-the-scenes role that was part diplomat, mentor and seer during his 50-year career. He died last week at 76.

The Atlanta company, which reported fourth-quarter results Tuesday, said that the lending partnership with American Express will launch in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and Dallas within the next 60 days.

The Georgia company will abstain from acquisitions this year as it looks to make internal improvements.

Synovus has given CFO Kevin Blair the additional title of COO. He will oversee three business lines, plus tech, operations and product and treasury management.

Zack Bishop has experience in blending the systems of merged banks, according to Synovus, which this summer announced its first whole-bank deal in more than a decade.

The pressure is on for banks to lean more heavily on capital markets, wealth management and other nonmortgage sources of fee income. That could get tougher in upcoming quarters.

The Columbus, Ga., company ramped up its business and consumer lending even as it scaled back lending on construction and commercial real estate projects.

As Synovus brought all of its 28 banks under the same name and logo, management made sure employees were well informed and comfortable with the changes.

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Double-digit consumer-loan growth more than offset a decline in commercial real estate loan balances.

Banks are capitalizing on changing consumer habits - and satisfying a pressing need to diversify their loan portfolios - with a spate of instant point-of-sale loans for everything from iPhones to home improvements.

The Super Bowl reminds that firms often have one shot to make a good impression with their advertising. Here are some of the best and worst ads from financial companies.

Net interest income has surged thanks to rising rates, but noninterest income has lagged as trading revenue has weakened, refi demand has softened and fees from deposit service charges have barely budged. Is this the new normal?

Net interest income climbed nearly 16%,, though overall profits declined as the Columbus, Ga., company paid down debt and took a one-time charge related to the new tax reform law.

This year has been very good to regional banks, bitcoin investors and several bank CEOs who pulled off big deals or successfully refined business models.

The British banking giant has been testing its new online lending platform with a handful of its U.S. customers and plans to roll it out in full force next year. It's all part of a broader effort to expand its U.S. consumer business beyond credit cards.

Flush with capital and facing stiff competition for customers, many regional banks appear to be mulling acquisitions to accelerate growth.

Third-quarter profits at the Georgia bank rose 52% thanks to doubled-digit growth in consumer lending and the sale of credit card assets it had obtained from the retailer Cabela's.

A change in the formula that banks use to calculate borrowers’ debt-to-income ratios, announced by Fannie Mae in April, appears to be spurring more lending.

Synovus is widely regarded as one of the industry’s most admired companies, and it is up to Liz Wolverton to ensure that it does not rest on its laurels.