Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE: SNV) today reported financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2019. The Board of Directors also approved a 10% increase in the Company’s quarterly common stock dividend from $0.30 to $0.33 per share, effective with the quarterly dividend payable in April 2020.

2019 Highlights

• Net income available to common shareholders for 2019 was $540.9 million or $3.47 per diluted share as compared to $410.5 million or $3.47 per diluted share for 2018.

  • Adjusted earnings per diluted share for 2019 were $3.90 as compared to $3.64 for 2018, an increase of 7.3%.

• Loans up $11.2 billion, or 43.2%, from 2018.  

• Deposits up $11.7 billion, or 43.7%, from 2018.

• Non-interest income was $355.9 million, an increase of $75.8 million from 2018. 

• Non-interest expense was $1.1 billion in 2019, an increase of $269.5 million from 2018.

• Net interest margin of 3.70%, a decline of 16 basis points from the previous year. Excluding the impact of purchase accounting adjustments (PAA), net interest margin was 3.47%, down 39 basis points from the prior year.

• Credit quality was strong, with the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio declining 14 basis points from year-end 2018 to 0.27% and the non-performing asset (NPA) ratio declining 7 basis points from the prior year to 0.37%. The net charge-off ratio was 0.16% in 2019 compared to 0.20% in the prior year.

• Completed integration of Florida Community Bank (FCB) and introduced new teams and products in legacy FCB markets.

• Following the FCB acquisition, the Company returned $893 million to common shareholders during the year with repurchases of $725 million in common stock and $168 million in common dividends.

• Total share count declined 10.9% from January 1, 2019. 

Fourth Quarter 2019 Highlights

• Diluted EPS of $0.97; adjusted diluted EPS of $0.94, down 3.0% sequentially and up 3.1% year-over-year.

• Period-end loan growth of $744.6 million, or 8.1% annualized, from prior quarter on total funded loan production of $3.55 billion.

• Period-end deposit growth of $972.4 million, or 10.3% annualized, from third quarter 2019.

  • Core transaction deposits increased $373.0 million from the prior quarter.

  • Total deposit costs declined 13 basis points from the previous quarter.

• Net interest margin of 3.65%, a decline of 4 basis points from the previous quarter. Excluding the impact of purchase accounting adjustments (PAA), net interest margin was 3.40%, down 2 basis points from the prior quarter.

• Non-interest income was $98.0 million in the fourth quarter, an increase of $9.2 million from the third quarter and $30.0 million from the prior-year quarter.

• Non-interest expense was $266.1 million in the fourth quarter, a decrease of $10.2 million from the third quarter and an increase of $56.2 million from the prior-year quarter.

• Credit quality metrics remained solid, with the NPL ratio and the NPA ratio each declining by 5 basis points, to 0.27% and 0.37%, respectively. The net charge-off ratio was 0.10%.

• Repurchased $36.5 million in common stock (1.1 million shares) during the quarter.

Fourth Quarter Summary

“The successful integration of Florida Community Bank (FCB), broad-based growth across multiple business lines throughout our five-state footprint, and continued strength in credit quality highlight our accomplishments in 2019,” said Kessel D. Stelling, Synovus Chairman and CEO. “In addition, strong growth in fee-based revenue reflects our success in attracting and retaining top talent and expanding customer relationships. We enter 2020 with considerable momentum, focused on expanding revenue sources and improving efficiencies that strengthen our company and create long-term shareholder value.”

Balance Sheet

• Total funded loan production in the quarter was approximately $3.55 billion.

• Commercial and industrial loans increased $364.4 million, or 8.8%, from the prior quarter, with broad-based growth across industries and geographies.

• Consumer loans grew $215.5 million, or 8.8%, from the third quarter 2019, with increases in all four categories.

• Commercial real estate loans increased by $167.5 million, or 6.4%, from the prior quarter, with growth in 7 of 10 asset classes.