Synovus Chairman and CEO Kessel Stelling will participate in a CEO Perspectives panel discussion during the 2015 Operation HOPE Global Forum scheduled for January 15-17 in Atlanta. Operation HOPE is a non-profit organization focused on providing financial literacy and opportunities to advance the economic development and quality of life in low and moderate income communities.
During the session, titled “Making the Business Case for Financial Inclusion,” CEOs will discuss why more and more financial services providers and other consumer-based industries are expanding their focus to include underserved populations. The leaders will also discuss how financial inclusion is not only good for individuals, markets, and countries, but also a sound business practice.
Synovus also plans to work with Operation HOPE beyond the Global Forum to make financial education opportunities more readily available to underserved individuals and families in targeted markets.
Since its inception in 1992, Operation HOPE, a global nonprofit focused on financial dignity, has empowered more than two million individuals and directed more than $1.5 billion in private capital to America's low-wealth communities. It has recruited a growing army of 20,000 HOPE Corps volunteers, and helped raise average credit scores for financial case management clients more than 120 points over an average 18-month period. It currently serves more than 300 U.S. cities, as well as South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and most recently, the United Arab Emirates. Its effort to empower underserved communities is a “silver rights” mission to make free enterprise work for everyone. For more information, see operationhope.org.
Synovus Financial Corp. is a financial services company based in Columbus, Georgia with approximately $27 billion in assets. Synovus provides commercial and retail banking, investment, and mortgage services to customers through 28 locally-branded divisions, 258 branches, and 342 ATMs in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee. See Synovus on the web at synovus.com.
