Three long time directors of the state's second-largest banking company, including the previous two CEOs, will retire in April from the board of the Columbus-based Synovus Financial.
Jimmy Blanchard, chairman and chief executive of Synovus for more than 35 years, will not stand for reelection to the board, the company said Friday. Synovus is the parent of several major Georgia banks including Bank of North Georgia and Columbus Bank & Trust.
Richard Anthony, Blanchard’s successor, and long-time director Richard “Bo” Bradley also will leave the board of Synovus, which has struggled to right itself after the financial collapse.
The departures bring to seven the number of long-time directors who will have left in the past two years.
Blanchard is largely credited with shaping Synovus into a parent company of 30 community banks across five states, and he was behind financial technology spinoff TSYS. He retired as CEO in 2005 and as chairman in 2006 but remained on the board.
Anthony was CEO from 2005 to 2010, when he left day-to-day operations due to a severe illness, though he returned that year as chairman and stayed on until January of this year.
Kessel Stelling, current Synovus chairman and CEO, said the moves are part of a “long-planned transition,” and did not result from any disagreements over the direction of the bank.
“They’ve been rocks for me and they’ve all just been wonderful sounding boards in their own way," Stelling said. Synovus was rocked by billions in loan losses and two restructurings in the wake of the financial crisis as the Southeastern real estate market imploded. It has been profitable in its two most recent quarters.
Synovus accepted nearly $1 billion in federal aid that it has yet to repay.
Synovus on Friday nominated two new director candidates who will stand for election at the company's annual meeting in April. They are: Stephen Butler, chairman of W.C. Bradley Co., and Jerry Nix, chief financial officer at Genuine Parts Co.
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