Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Note 12 - Commitments and Contingencies

In the normal course of business, Synovus enters into commitments to extend credit such as loan commitments and letters of credit to meet the financing needs of its customers. Synovus uses the same credit policies in making commitments and conditional obligations as it does for on-balance sheet instruments. Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to a customer as long as there is no violation of any condition established in the contract. Commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may require payment of a fee.

The contractual amount of these financial instruments represents Synovus' maximum credit risk should the counterparty draw upon the commitment, and should the counterparty subsequently fail to perform according to the terms of the contract. Since many of the commitments are expected to expire without being drawn upon, total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements. Additionally, certain commitments (primarily consumer) can generally be canceled by providing notice to the borrower.

The carrying amount of loan commitments and letters of credit closely approximates the fair value of such financial instruments. Carrying amounts include unamortized fee income and, in some instances, allowances for any estimated credit losses from these financial instruments. These amounts are not material to Synovus' Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Unfunded lending commitments and letters of credit at March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 are presented below.



(in thousands)	March 31, 2017		December 31, 2016
Letters of credit*	$	156,187	150,948
Commitments to fund commercial real estate, construction, and land development loans	1,359,986		1,394,162
Unused credit card lines	1,135,102		1,103,431
Commitments under home equity lines of credit	1,131,277		1,096,052
Commitments to fund commercial and industrial loans	4,960,671		4,792,834
Other loan commitments	303,084		307,772
Total unfunded lending commitments and letters of credit	$	9,046,307	8,845,199

* Represent the contractual amount net of risk participations of approximately $76 million and $83 million at March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively.