Regulatory Capital

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

Regulatory Capital Disclosure [Abstract]

Regulatory Capital

Note 14 - Regulatory Capital

Synovus is 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 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.

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. The capital measures used by the federal banking regulators include the total risk-based capital ratio, Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio, and the leverage ratio. Synovus Bank is a state-chartered bank under the regulations of the GA DBF. Under applicable regulations, Synovus Bank is well-capitalized if it has a total risk-based capital ratio of 10% or greater, a Tier 1 capital ratio of 6% or greater, a leverage ratio of 5% or greater, and is 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. However, even if Synovus Bank satisfies all applicable quantitative criteria to be considered well-capitalized, the regulations also establish procedures for “downgrading” an institution to a lower capital category based on supervisory factors other than capital. Management believes that, as of December 31, 2013, Synovus and Synovus Bank meet all capital requirements to which they are subject.

During 2013, the Federal Reserve released final United States Basel III regulatory capital rules implementing the global regulatory capital reforms of Basel III and certain changes required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The FDIC and OCC also approved the final rule during 2013. The rule applies to all banking organizations that are currently subject to regulatory capital requirements as well as certain savings and loan holding companies.  The rule strengthens the definition of regulatory capital, increases risk-based capital requirements, and makes selected changes to the calculation of risk-weighted assets. The rule becomes effective January 1, 2015, for Synovus and most banking organizations, subject to a transition period for several aspects of the rule, including the new minimum capital ratio requirements, the capital conservation buffer, and the regulatory capital adjustments and deductions.

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

The following table summarizes regulatory capital information at December 31, 2013 and 2012 on a consolidated basis and for Synovus’ significant subsidiary, defined as any direct subsidiary with assets or net income levels exceeding 10% of the consolidated totals.

	Actual				For Capital Adequacy Purposes		To Be Well Capitalized Under Prompt Corrective Action Provisions (1)
(dollars in thousands)	2013			2012	2013	2012	2013	2012
Synovus Financial Corp.
Tier 1 capital	$	2,351,493		2,832,244	1,030,420	1,029,860	n/a	n/a
Total risk-based capital	2,900,865			3,460,998	1,785,287	1,711,035	n/a	n/a
Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio	10.54		%	13.24	4.00	4.00	n/a	n/a
Total risk-based capital ratio	13.00			16.18	8.00	8.00	n/a	n/a
Leverage ratio	9.13			11.00	4.00	4.00	n/a	n/a
Synovus Bank
Tier 1 capital	$	2,806,197		3,173,530	1,026,057	1,023,060	1,335,572	1,279,277
Total risk-based capital	3,084,756			3,441,364	1,780,763	1,705,703	2,225,954	2,132,129
Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio	12.61		%	14.88	4.00	4.00	6.00	6.00
Total risk-based capital ratio	13.86			16.14	8.00	8.00	10.00	10.00
Leverage ratio	10.94			12.41	4.00	4.00	5.00	5.00

⁽¹⁾ The prompt corrective action provisions are applicable at the bank level only.