Regulatory Capital

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Regulatory Capital Disclosure [Abstract]

Regulatory Capital

Note 11 - Regulatory Capital

Synovus and Synovus Bank are subject to regulatory capital requirements administered by the federal and state banking agencies. Failure to meet minimum capital requirements can initiate certain mandatory, and possibly additional discretionary actions by regulators that, if undertaken, could have a direct material effect on the consolidated financial statements. Under capital adequacy guidelines and the regulatory framework for prompt corrective action, Synovus and Synovus Bank must meet specific capital levels that involve quantitative measures of both on- and off-balance sheet items as calculated under regulatory capital guidelines. Capital amounts and classification are also subject to qualitative judgments by the regulators about components, risk weightings, and other factors.

The Basel III capital rules became effective January 1, 2015, for Synovus and Synovus Bank, subject to a transition period for several aspects, including the capital conservation buffer. When fully phased-in on January 1, 2019, the Basel III capital rules include a capital conservation buffer of 2.5% that is added on top of each of the minimum risk-based capital ratios (the capital conservation buffer in effect in 2018 is 1.9%). As a financial holding company, Synovus and its subsidiary bank, Synovus Bank, are required to maintain capital levels required for a well-capitalized institution as defined by federal banking regulations. Under the capital rules, Synovus and Synovus Bank are well-capitalized if each has a CET1 ratio of 6.5% or greater, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 8% or greater, a total risk-based capital ratio of 10% or greater, a leverage ratio of 5% or greater, and are not subject to any written agreement, order, capital directive, or prompt corrective action directive from a federal and/or state banking regulatory agency to meet and maintain a specific capital level for any capital measure.

Management currently believes, based on internal capital analyses and earnings projections, that Synovus' capital position is adequate to meet current and future regulatory minimum capital requirements inclusive of the capital conservation buffer.

The following table summarizes regulatory capital information at December 31, 2018 and 2017 for Synovus and Synovus Bank.

	Actual Capital						Minimum Requirement For Capital Adequacy(1)						To Be Well-Capitalized Under Prompt Corrective Action Provisions(2)
(dollars in thousands)	2018			2017			2018			2017			2018			2017
Synovus Financial Corp.
CET1 capital	$	2,897,997		$	2,763,168		$	1,310,460		$	1,250,488		N/A			N/A
Tier 1 risk-based capital	3,090,416			2,872,001			1,747,280			1,660,074			N/A			N/A
Total risk-based capital	3,601,376			3,383,081			2,329,706			2,213,432			N/A			N/A
CET1 capital ratio	9.95		%	9.99		%	4.50		%	4.50		%	N/A			N/A
Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio	10.61			10.38			6.00			6.00			N/A			N/A
Total risk-based capital ratio	12.37			12.23			8.00			8.00			N/A			N/A
Leverage ratio	9.60			9.19			4.00			4.00			N/A			N/A
Synovus Bank
CET1 capital	$	3,382,497		$	3,155,163		$	1,309,527		$	1,247,462		$	1,891,538		$	1,795,004
Tier 1 risk-based capital	3,382,497			3,155,163			1,746,035			1,656,927			2,328,047			2,209,236
Total risk-based capital	3,633,457			3,406,243			2,328,047			2,209,236			2,910,059			2,761,545
CET1 capital ratio	11.62		%	11.43		%	4.50		%	4.50		%	6.50		%	6.50		%
Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio	11.62			11.43			6.00			6.00			8.00			8.00
Total risk-based capital ratio	12.49			12.33			8.00			8.00			10.00			10.00
Leverage ratio	10.51			10.12			4.00			4.00			5.00			5.00

⁽¹⁾  The additional capital conservation buffer in effect in 2018 and 2017 was 1.9%, and 1.3%, respectively.

⁽²⁾  The prompt corrective action provisions are applicable at the bank level only.