Executive Summary

Q4 2017 GAAP diluted EPS was $0.23 (vs. $0.78 in Q3 and $0.54 in Q4’16) due to a $47.2M tax reform charge and a $23.2M loss on early debt extinguishment; adjusted diluted EPS rose to $0.72 (+10.7% q/q; +32.4% y/y) .
Core trends improved: net interest income increased to $269.7M (+2.7% q/q; +15.5% y/y) with NIM at 3.65% (+2 bps q/q), while average deposits grew to $26.29B (+15.7% annualized q/q; +6.6% y/y) .
Credit normalized after Q3 restructuring: annualized NCO ratio fell to 0.15% (from 0.62% in Q3), NPA ratio improved to 0.53% (from 0.57% in Q3) .
Capital return stepped up: $39.2M buybacks in Q4 (FY17 $175.1M), new $150M 2018 repurchase authorization, and a 67% dividend increase to $0.25/quarter (annual $1.00) effective April 2018; 2018 outlook targets 4–6% loan/deposit growth, 11–13% NII growth (with two Fed hikes), 0–3% expense growth, 23–24% tax rate, and 15–25 bps NCOs .
Potential stock catalysts: sizable dividend hike, fresh repurchase authorization, and explicit 2018 growth/efficiency targets issued with the quarter .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well
- NIM expansion and volume: NIM rose to 3.65% (+2 bps q/q), net interest income to $269.7M (+2.7% q/q), supported by 4.15% earning asset yields (+4 bps q/q) and stable effective cost of funds at 0.50% (+2 bps q/q) .
- Core growth and mix: average deposits +$999M q/q (annualized +15.7%), with core transaction accounts +$189M q/q (annualized +4.0%); total loans ended at $24.79B (+$300M q/q) with sequential C&I and consumer growth .
- Credit normalization: NCO ratio fell to 0.15% (from 0.62% in Q3 impacted by HFS transfers), NPA ratio improved to 0.53% (from 0.57% in Q3) .
- Management tone: “2017 was another outstanding year… double-digit EPS growth, 1+% adjusted ROA, efficiency ratio <60%,” and a 67% dividend increase highlights confidence (Kessel Stelling, CEO) .
What Went Wrong
- GAAP EPS compression: $47.2M tax reform charge (DTA remeasurement and related items) and $23.2M debt extinguishment loss reduced reported EPS to $0.23 despite strong adjusted operating performance .
- Non-interest income down sequentially: total non-interest income fell to $69.4M (-$66.1M q/q) as Q3 included a $75.0M Cabela’s fee and $8.0M securities losses; adjusted non-interest income was flat at ~$69.3M .
- Expense inflation: total non-interest expense rose to $226.5M (+10.2% q/q) on the $23.2M extinguishment loss and higher advertising (+$4.5M), a one-time $1,000 award ($3.3M), and $2.5M asset impairments; adjusted efficiency ratio still improved y/y to 59.29% .
- NPL ratio ticked up q/q (0.47% vs. 0.40% in Q3), though still improved y/y (0.64% in Q4’16) .

Financial Results

Metric	Q4 2016	Q2 2017	Q3 2017	Q4 2017
Adjusted Total Revenues ($MM)	$302.5	$321.4	$331.3	$339.2
Net Interest Income ($MM)	$233.5	$251.1	$262.6	$269.7
Non-Interest Income ($MM)	$74.0	$68.7	$135.4	$69.4
Diluted EPS ($)	$0.54	$0.60	$0.78	$0.23
Adjusted Diluted EPS ($)	$0.54	$0.61	$0.65	$0.72
Net Interest Margin (%)	3.29	3.51	3.63	3.65
Efficiency Ratio (%)	63.98	59.90	50.62	66.77
Adjusted Efficiency Ratio (%)	61.81	59.56	58.59	59.29
ROA (annualized, %)	0.90	1.00	1.27	0.37
Adjusted ROA (annualized, %)	0.91	1.01	1.05	1.12

Non-interest income breakdown (selected):

Component ($MM)	Q4 2016	Q3 2017	Q4 2017
Service charges on deposit accounts	$20.653	$20.255	$19.952
Fiduciary & asset management fees	$11.903	$12.615	$13.195
Brokerage revenue	$7.009	$7.511	$7.758
Mortgage banking income	$5.504	$5.603	$5.645
Bankcard fees	$8.330	$7.901	$7.893
Other fee income	$4.965	$5.094	$4.042
Other non-interest income	$10.256	$9.439	$10.767
Adjusted non-interest income	$68.620	$68.418	$69.252

KPIs and balance sheet trend:

KPI	Q2 2017	Q3 2017	Q4 2017
Loans EOP ($B)	$24.43	$24.49	$24.79
Total Average Deposits ($B)	$24.99	$25.29	$26.29
NPA Ratio (%)	0.73	0.57	0.53
Annualized NCO Ratio (%)	0.26	0.62	0.15
CET1 (transitional, %)	10.02	10.06	9.99
Share Repurchases ($MM)	$30.2	$90.6	$39.2
Common Dividend/Share (quarterly)	$0.15	$0.15	$0.25 (effective April 2018)

Notes: Q3’17 non-interest income included a $75.0M Cabela’s transaction fee and $8.0M securities losses; Q4’17 included a $23.2M loss on debt extinguishment and a one-time $1,000 employee award ($3.3M) .

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Average loan growth	FY 2018	N/A	4% – 6%	Introduced
Average total deposit growth	FY 2018	N/A	4% – 6%	Introduced
Net interest income growth	FY 2018	N/A	11% – 13% (assumes two 25 bps hikes); 9% – 11% with no hikes	Introduced
Adjusted non-interest income growth	FY 2018	N/A	4% – 6%	Introduced
Total non-interest expense growth	FY 2018	N/A	0% – 3%	Introduced
Effective tax rate	FY 2018	N/A	23% – 24%	Introduced
Net charge-off ratio	FY 2018	N/A	15 – 25 bps	Introduced
Share repurchases	FY 2018	$200M program (2017)	Up to $150M new authorization	New authorization
Common dividend	FY 2018	$0.60 annual in 2017 (0.15/qtr)	$1.00 annual (0.25/qtr) effective April 2018	Raised 67%

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Note: We attempted to retrieve the Q4 2017 earnings call transcript, but the source system returned a retrieval error (database inconsistency). The analysis below reflects press release and supplemental materials; Q&A themes will be updated when the transcript is accessible.

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q-2 and Q-1)	Current Period (Q4 2017)	Trend
Tax reform impact	Not applicable in Q2–Q3	One-time $47.2M tax expense from DTA remeasurement and related items; modest -5 bps impact to capital ratios .	New headwind to GAAP; capital ratios resilient .
Balance sheet restructuring	Q3 included HFS transfers ($77.8M) and ORE discounts ($7.1M) .	Debt redemption loss ($23.2M) to optimize funding and future NII .	Transitioning from Q3 cleanup to funding optimization .
Cabela’s/WFB transaction	Closed 9/25; $75M fee in Q3; retained ~$1.1B brokered deposits .	Lapped fee; deposit base remained larger; adjusted fees stable q/q .	Tailwind faded; broader deposit base persists .
Net interest margin	3.51% (Q2) → 3.63% (Q3) .	3.65% (Q4) on higher loan yields; cost of funds up 2 bps .	Gradual improvement .
Credit quality	NPA ratio 0.73% (Q2) → 0.57% (Q3) .	NPA ratio 0.53%; NCO ratio normalized to 0.15% .	Improving/normalizing .
Capital return	Buybacks: $30.2M (Q2), $90.6M (Q3) .	$39.2M (Q4); new $150M 2018 program; dividend +67% .	Accelerating shareholder returns .
Expense discipline	Adjusted efficiency 59.56% (Q2) → 58.59% (Q3) .	59.29% (Q4) despite one-offs; FY17 adjusted 59.87% .	Sustained sub-60% adjusted efficiency .

Management Commentary

“2017 was another outstanding year for Synovus, with strong financial and operating results… double-digit earnings-per-share growth, 1-plus percent adjusted ROA, and an efficiency ratio below 60 percent… We are pleased to begin 2018 by announcing a 67 percent increase in our common dividend” — Kessel Stelling, Chairman & CEO .
Q4 expense and capital actions: management highlighted a $23.2M loss from redeeming $300M senior debt and authorized a new $150M repurchase for 2018, alongside the dividend increase to $0.25/share .
Operating drivers: sequential NIM improvement (3.65%), higher loan yields (4.55%), stable deposit costs (effective cost of funds 0.50%), and resilient fee lines (fiduciary/brokerage/insurance +2.8% q/q) .

Q&A Highlights

We attempted to read the full Q4 2017 earnings call transcript, but it could not be retrieved due to a source database inconsistency. As a result, detailed Q&A themes and any guidance clarifications from the live call are not included and will be added when the transcript becomes available.

Estimates Context

Wall Street consensus (S&P Global) for Q4 2017 EPS and revenue was not retrievable due to an S&P Global request-limit error during this session. We will update estimate comparisons (beat/miss versus consensus) once access is restored.

Key Takeaways for Investors

Underlying operating momentum remained solid: adjusted EPS rose to $0.72 on stronger NII and a sub-60% adjusted efficiency ratio, despite large one-time GAAP charges from tax reform and a debt redemption .
NIM tailwinds: loan yields and asset mix supported a 3.65% NIM; management’s balance sheet optimization (debt redemption) should support NII into 2018 under its 11–13% NII growth target (with two hikes) .
Credit re-normalized after Q3’s restructuring spike; Q4 NCOs fell to 0.15% and NPAs improved to 0.53%—guidance embeds 15–25 bps NCOs for 2018, consistent with pre-cleanup levels .
Funding and deposit growth remain strengths: average deposits grew 6.6% y/y (Q4), with core transaction balances up 5.7% y/y; watch brokered deposit mix as retained WFB balances continue to roll through .
Capital return is a clear 2018 narrative: a new $150M repurchase authorization and a 67% dividend increase (to $1.00 annualized) are likely to resonate with income- and buyback-sensitive investors .
Watch non-interest income normalization: the year-over-year compares will cycle the $75M Cabela’s fee; adjusted fee income was steady q/q (~$69M), with fiduciary/brokerage/insurance trending positively .
Expense cadence should improve: 2018 expense-growth guidance (0–3%) suggests the Q4 spike was driven by discrete items; adjusted efficiency remained below 60% y/y .

Appendix — One-time items (context)

4Q17 items excluded from adjusted EPS included: $47.2M tax reform impact, $23.2M debt extinguishment loss, and other minor items; net impact to diluted EPS was -$0.49 .

SYNOVUS FINANCIAL CORP (SNV)·Q4 2017 Earnings Summary