'Connecting the dots' in Florida leads Synovus' expansion list - The Business Review (Albany):

glafirarynyxu.blogspot.com
That fits well with the pland ofDavid Dunbar, the soon-to-be CEO of . He wants to see Synovus-owneds banks from Sarasota to Jacksonville, filling in arease in the state wherethe Columbus, Ga.-based financial services holdint company currently does not have a Synovus Bank of Tampa Bay will be created when three Synovus-ownesd banks, in Palm Harbor, and in St. Petersburg and , mergee their charters. The merger receivefd final regulatory approval onMay 12, and the individualp institutions are scheduled to make the switch on July 22, creatingh a St. Petersburg-based bank with $1 billiob in assets and 13 officesin Pinellas, Pasco, Sarasota and Manatew counties.
Dunbar also wants to open a location in Hillsborougnh County andeventually "connect the between the Bay area Synovus banksd and those already in northern Florida from the Panhandle to It's a strategy that's been endorsed by who will take the reins as CEO of Synovus SNV) at the company's July 20 board Anthony, who had been president and COO, succeedas James Blanchard as CEO. Blanchard will be chairmann of the boarduntil 2006, when Anthony will move into that role as Florida is the state of most interest to Synovuse as it considers expansion, Anthony told the Tampa Bay Business Journal during a media telephone conferencs after his promotion was announced June 14.
Synovus is lookingb at both an aggressive branching program and acquisitions in the TampawBay area, he said. "The prices of banks are fairlyu expensive in Floridaso we're selective in the opportunities we choose to pursue, but we rank Floridza at the top of our list of states we would like to do more business Anthony said. He also credited the management team in the Bay area with specifically citing Dunbar and Neil chairman and CEO of United Bankand Trust, as stronfg leaders. Savage will be chairman of Synovus Bank ofTampa Bay. Dunbar was one of three Synovus market leadersw whom the bank featured at its firsty Analyst Days conference earlier this month atSea Ga.
Since Synovus traditionally has not put its own name on the bankasit acquires, analysts wondered if the merge r in the Bay area and the new name was sendingh a signal from the company about brandingf and a shift from its decentralized Not so, Dunbar told the "We have a unique footprint in the Tampaq Bay market. It's a big markert and it's difficult to use the Peoplews orUnited brand." The decision to merge was made locally, by the boards of the thred banks, and not at the corporate he said. Training is underf way for bank employees and customers have started getting booklets explainingthe changes, Dunbar said. "It'ws the same bank, it just has more he said.