Synovus Bank has not shied away from the lending market recently, closing five transactions and more than $115 million in commitments in the second quarter, so far. That follows 13 loans closed in the first quarter and more than $300 million in volume. It’s true that most of these transactions were largely worked out before COVID-19 really hit the country in March, but the parties still all had to agree on terms in the end. And the deals that were all but closed pre-COVID-19 had little to no changes to the final terms.
April and May’s activity consisted of two construction loans, two acquisition loans and one refinance of a matured Fannie Mae loan that also included funds for some capital improvements. They were closed for five separate clients and featured four- or five-year terms.
The rest of the quarter bodes well for Synovus Bank as well, with six loans scheduled to close by the end of it, two of which were initiated pre-COVID and the remaining four since March 15. And while terms largely remained the same for deals worked on before the pandemic, some things will change going forward. That includes the implementation of LIBOR floors averaging around 100 basis points, some changed assumptions regarding PPE and labor expenses going forward, and an increase in caution and selectivity. Also, the lending strategy will change region by region, state by state, and case by case.
