POWER OF ATTORNEY


         Know by all these presents, that the undersigned director or executive
officer of Synovus Financial Corp. (the "Company") hereby constitutes and
appoints each of G. Sanders Griffith, III, Kathleen Moates and Garilou Page,
signing singly, his true and lawful attorney-in-fact to:

         (1)      execute for and on behalf of the  undersigned  Forms 3, 4 and
                  5 in accordance  with Section 16(a)
                  of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules
                  thereunder;

         (2)      do and perform any and all acts for and on behalf of the
                  undersigned which may be necessary or desirable to complete
                  the execution of any such Form 3, 4 or 5 and any amendments
                  thereto, and the timely filing of such form with the United
                  States Securities and Exchange Commission and any other
                  authority; and

         (3)      take any other action of any type whatsoever in connection
                  with the foregoing which, in the opinion of such
                  attorney-in-fact, may be of benefit to, in the best interest
                  of, or legally required by, the undersigned, it being
                  understood that the documents executed by such
                  attorney-in-fact on behalf of the undersigned pursuant to this
                  Power of Attorney shall be in such form and shall contain such
                  terms and conditions as such attorney-in-fact may approve in
                  his discretion.

         The undersigned hereby grants to each such attorney-in-fact full power
and authority to do and perform all and every act and thing whatsoever
requisite, necessary or proper to be done in the exercise of any of the rights
and powers herein granted, as fully to all intents and purposes as the
undersigned might or could do if personally present, with full power of
substitution or revocation, hereby ratifying and confirming all that such
attorney-in-fact, or his or her substitute or substitutes, shall lawfully do or
cause to be done by virtue of this power of attorney and the rights and powers
herein granted. The undersigned acknowledges that the foregoing
attorneys-in-fact, in serving in such capacity at the request of the
undersigned, are not assuming, nor is the Company assuming, any of the
undersigned's responsibilities to comply with Section 16 of the Securities and
Exchange Act of 1934.

         This Power of Attorney shall remain in full force and effect until the
undersigned is no longer required to file Forms 3, 4 and 5 with respect to the
undersigned's holdings of and transactions in securities issued by the Company,
unless earlier revoked by the undersigned in a writing delivered to the
foregoing attorneys-in-fact.

         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has caused this Power of Attorney
           to be executed as of this 15 day of October, 2003.


							/s/ J. Neal Purcell
                                                     ---------------------------
                                                              J. Neal Purcell