CB&T to change its name in 2018

It won’t be Columbus Bank & Trust anymore.

Synovus Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kessel D. Stelling revealed in the recently released annual report a plan to change the name of all of the company’s 28 banks in its five-state footprint. That includes the flagship bank, CB&T, which has operated under that name since 1930.

The switch to the name Synovus will take place sometime next year, company officials said.

“CB&T customers are already using Synovus-branded cards, ATMs, and mobile banking apps — so the name will be familiar to many of them,” said Synovus spokesman Lee Underwood.

The biggest change will come in the signage, Underwood said.

“As for signage and other customer-facing name changes, specific timing in 2018 is being mapped out as we focus on near-term steps to ensure customers have a consistent banking experience during the transition,” he said. “But customers can be assured we’ll move carefully to ensure they are well informed about the name change — and that nothing about their relationship with our bank will change. All to say that we’ll have more details about signage changes as we move through this year.”

In his letter to shareholders in the annual report, Stelling outlined the reason for taking all of the Synovus branches in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and South Carolina and placing them under a single corporate name.

“(It) will increase our value proposition and improve the customer experience; reduce brand confusion by aligning signage in all markets with Synovus-branded cards, statements, digital channels, and other specialty lines; and raise awareness of Synovus’ broader capabilities as a regional bank,” Stelling wrote.

The only difference for those who bank at CB&T or CB&T of Russell County is the name change, Underwood said.

“Nothing else — only the name,” he said. “We will still be the same local team in Columbus and Phenix City, with the same local leadership, relationships and commitment to community that our customers have always known and expected.”

The company’s annual meeting is scheduled for April 20 in Columbus and more details on the name change will likely be made public, Underwood said.

“We will communicate the exact dates of sign changes in our markets later this year, but the general timeline is 2018, which, again, will be done gradually, not as a one-time event,” he said. “More importantly, we continue to take steps inside the company every single day to improve our customers’ experiences and attract new customers to our kind of capable, personal, relationship banking.”

CB&T is the dominant bank in the Columbus market. The local bank, with nearly $4.3 billion in deposits, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., has just over 64 percent market share in the city. That compares to a market share of nearly 13 percent for Wells Fargo and just over 10 percent for SunTrust Bank.

It also has the richest banking history in the city.

CB&T was formed in 1930by the merger of Third National Bank and The Columbus Savings Bank as the nation’s financial markets were in collapse.

In 1972, under the leadership of CEO Jimmy Blanchard, CB&T Bancshares Inc. was formed as a holding company for CB&T. In 1977, the company began acquiring smaller banks, first in Georgia. By 1988, the company was acquiring banks in Alabama and Florida.

A year later, it changed its name to Synovus Financial Corp.

Stelling gave some of the reasoning for the name change in his letter to shareholders.

“Synovus’ 28 locally-branded bank divisions include seven that were founded more than a century ago and two that haven’t yet reached their third decade,” he wrote. “But they are united by a culture based on long-standing values — strong and caring leadership, trusting relationships, dedication to communities, and excellence in all we do — that transcend history, geography, and brand. This culture assimilated more than 60 acquisitions over the past 40 years and remains the cornerstone of our company today. It saw us through the financial crisis with team members, customers, and community members who relied on us. And it continues to determine every aspect of the way we run our business, including our ability to deliver solid results.”

This story was originally published March 22, 2017 at 10:49 AM with the headline "CB&T to change its name in 2018."