A US-based banking and financial services company. It has been a major financier of private prison company CoreCivic.
Synovus Financial Corp. is a banking and financial services company headquartered in Columbus, Georgia. It conducts banking operations through its principal subsidiary, Synovus Bank. In 2022, Synovus operated 246 bank branches in the U.S., primarily throughout Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee, and generated just under $1.8 billion in revenue.
Synovus Bank has been one of several major financiers of private prison and immigrant detention companies, having provided revolving lines of credit and term loans to CoreCivic. While other major private prison financiers announced in 2019 that they would exit their relationships with private prison companies, Synovus has made no such public commitment.
In 2022, CoreCivic signed a new credit agreement, replacing a 2018 $1 billion credit facility. Synovus Bank was part of the 2018 agreement, having provided a $20 million revolving line of credit and a $5 million term loan. Unlike in previous years, public disclosures regarding the 2022 agreement only named the administrative agent, Alter Domus. While other lenders are also involved, they were not named. Therefore, Synovus Bank's current involvement is unclear.
Involvement in Cop City
Synovus Bank is a corporate backer of the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF), the nonprofit arm of the Atlanta Police Department (APD), which, together with the City of Atlanta, is constructing a militarized police training compound—'Cop City'—on protected forest land. As of August 2023, Synovus Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Allan Kamensky, serves on the APF's Board of Trustees. The bank has also been a repeat corporate sponsor of APF events, including its May 2023 "Crime Stoppers" Ball and November 2023 "Night in Blue" celebration.