Columbus Bank and Trust name about to enter the history books | Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

The end is near for the Columbus Bank and Trust name, with its parent company now carrying out its long-planned decision to put all 28 of its banking divisions in five states under the single Synovus banner.

The transition, which began a couple of weeks ago at Synovus Financial Corporation’s two Cohutta Banking Company branches in Chattanooga, Tenn., will come to the Columbus market starting Jan. 3, with signs being replaced at the 16 local branches by Jan. 19, along with other smaller changes, said Synovus spokesman Lee Underwood.

The three offices operated by CB&T Bank of East Alabama, as well as three more in LaGrange and Troup County, just north of Columbus, will be outfitted the week of Jan. 15-19.

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Calling the Chattanooga changes “sort of a warmup for the main event” in the Columbus market, which includes CB&T Bank of East Alabama in Phenix City, Underwood said the only signage exception locally — strictly from a historical standpoint — will be the vertical Columbus Bank and Trust lettering on the main downtown office and branch at the corner of Broadway and Twelfth Street. It will remain.

Aside from Chattanooga, Synovus, a regional banking firm also headquartered in Columbus, this week was working to complete installation of new signs in the Florida market of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota — which already operated as Synovus, but are being updated with the new brands’ look.

Other markets undergoing “conversion” in January include Jacksonville, Warner Robins and Houston County, and Fernandina Beach and Yulee in Florida. Bank of North Georgia in the Atlanta metro area, which includes 43 locations, will be “the largest wave,” Underwood said, will begin seeing new signage starting Feb. 1. The final market to eliminate local branding will be the 42 offices scattered throughout South Carolina, with that effort expected to wrap up in June.

For Columbus, it will be significant moment in that the roots of Columbus Bank and Trust date to the late 1800s, with the company starting out of simple vault at the Eagle & Phenix textile mill overlooking the Chattahoochee River. Legend has it that G. Gunby Jordan, the plant’s treasurer, offered to store a female worker’s money in the vault rather than have her lose the cash while carrying it in her dress.

Local entrepreneur W.C. Bradley and Jordan incorporated Third National Bank of Columbus and Columbus Savings Bank in 1888, with Jordan first serving as president, followed by Bradley, the latter in 1930 forming Columbus Bank and Trust Company, also known as CB&T.

Heath Schondelmayer, who succeeded CB&T President Billy Blanchard about a year ago, appeared to downplay the significance of the name change, pointing out the bank’s people, operations and community feel will survive the transition.

“We’ve been part of this community since 1888 so the new name — if you want to call it new — won’t change who we are,” Schondelmayer said in a statement. “We’ll continue to have a local community-first focus with an emphasis on personal relationships. That’s a different approach in today’s environment, and it means everything to us. Using the Synovus name in our five-state footprint will increase awareness of our presence, and of our ability to meet the banking and investment needs of customers and prospects in the Southeast.”

Synovus Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kessel Stelling, in a letter to shareholders earlier this year, also talked about how his company has continually changed through the years, often adding other banks through strategic acquisitions, but maintaining a community feel in a world filled today with plenty of banking competitors and options. The latter these days include online and smartphone banking.

“... They are united by a culture based on long-standing values — strong and caring leadership, trusting relationships, dedication to communities, and excellence in all we do — that transcend history, geography, and brand,” Stelling said of the firm’s banks in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee. “This culture assimilated more than 60 acquisitions over the past 40 years and remains the cornerstone of our company today. It saw us through the financial crisis with team members, customers and community members who relied on us. And it continues to determine every aspect of the way we run our business, including our ability to deliver solid results.”

From an operational perspective, all Synovus banks, including Columbus Bank and Trust, have been using Synovus-branded debit and cards, automated teller machines and mobile banking apps for some time, Underwood has noted. Thus, customers will see no difference at all when they conduct retail transactions or take out money at ATMs.

It’s still not an insignificant effort on the branding side, however. The company estimates nearly 3,400 branded building items will be changed companywide — 150 or so in Columbus — during the transition to brand everything Synovus, rather than using, for example, The Bank of Tuscaloosa, Tallahassee State Bank, Sea Island and The Bank of Nashville. Those items include interior and exterior signs, teller line signage and drive-thru banners.

The company also said items not connected to signage that are being changed within the Synovus bank branches and offices include stationery, business cards, name tags, pens, email signatures, voice mail recordings, caller ID and check starter kits.

“Anything that had a local brand will change to Synovus,” Underwood said.

Synovus Chief Financial Officer Kevin Blair, in past discussions, has informed investors and stock-market analysts who follow the company’s progress that the financial outlay for the conversion to a “single brand” in 2018 will be similar to the $3 million spent already this year. That would put the total price tag in the neighborhood of $6 million.

Entering this year, Synovus operated nearly 250 bank branches, including 114 in Georgia, 37 in Alabama, 38 in South Carolina, 48 in Florida and 11 in Tennessee.

This story was originally published December 13, 2017 5:25 PM.