Synovus Bank, the Georgia-chartered, FDIC-insured bank, today announced plans to combine two of its bank divisions - Bank of North Georgia, based in Alpharetta, and Bank of Coweta in Newnan.

Synovus expects the consolidation to be completed early next year. The combined division will use the Bank of North Georgia trade name.

The newly expanded Bank of North Georgia division will have a total of 41 branches in 16 counties. Don Howard will continue in his role as Chairman of Bank of North Georgia and Synovus Regional CEO, and Rob Garcia will remain as President and COO of the Bank of North Georgia division.

Following the consolidation, Anne Bell, President of Bank of Coweta, will serve as Regional Community Executive overseeing the Coweta, Fayette, Henry, Rockdale, and Newton county markets.

"Bank of Coweta has met the financial needs of customers and prospects in Coweta County for 40 years and we are proud of the tremendous success this team has achieved," said D. Copeland, Chief Banking Officer of Synovus. "The team has built a loyal customer base and is highly regarded for providing exemplary customer service and being very active in the local community. The Coweta County branches located in Newnan and Senoia will remain an important part of Synovus' future success."

"Our team members will make the transition for customers as seamless as possible, and will continue to offer the same level of superior customer service," said Howard. "This initiative will ultimately make our organization more successful in this important Synovus market."

"By bringing together the banking professionals, expertise, and resources of the two Synovus Bank divisions as one united team, we can leverage our talent, a common name, consistent branding, and advertising for future success in these markets," said Bell.

"Our customers will continue to be served by the same team members they've been banking with for years."