The broker-dealer unit of Synovus Financial Corp. will pay $315,000 to settle Financial Industry Regulatory Authority claims that a records review oversight prevented the firm from spotting an emerging "pattern of forging and falsifying customer electronic signatures" at one of its branches.

In a Thursday letter of acceptance, waiver and consent, FINRA said Synovus Securities Inc. agreed to the fine and censure without admitting wrongdoing to resolve allegations that it failed to review electronic signatures for authenticity, resulting in "hundreds of inaccurate books and records," including those associated with money movement requests and account maintenance forms.

Specifically, FINRA had said that a certain Synovus branch, the firm failed to detect that its associated persons forged or falsified more than 100 customer signatures across over 150 documents. Separately, registered representatives' names were forged or falsified on more than 500 documents by firm personnel at that branch, FINRA said.

According to FINRA, the fake signatures came to light in September 2023 as Synovus operations workers processed paperwork from the branch.

FINRA said the improper signatures were detected because Synovus Securities' e-signature process required signers use their email address or cell phone to authenticate their identity.

After an electronic signature is completed, FNIRA said, Synovus receives a certificate of completion for the signature, which identifies the cell phone number and email address associated with the signer.

For the improper signatures, FINRA said, workers at that Synovus branch had "provided their own cell phone numbers and email addresses in place of the customers' and then electronically signed documents on the customers' behalf."

The FINRA letter doesn't include any allegations of customer fund misappropriation. According to FINRA, Synovus attempted to contact all affected customers to verify that the underlying transactions were authorized and seek reexecution of the documents, with no customer complaints during that process.

Between January 2022 and September 2025, FINRA said Synovus allowed its personnel to sign documents on behalf of its registered representatives in "certain limited circumstances." But it revised its procedures in September to prohibit the practice.

Since October 2023, FINRA said, Synovus has reviewed electronic signature certificates weekly for red flags indicating the signatures might not be genuine. The review officially became a part of the firm's written procedures in April 2024, FINRA said.

Columbus, Georgia-headquartered Synovus Securities, which has been a FINRA member since October 1983, has 250 registered representatives across its 90 branches, FINRA said.

Representatives for the parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

FINRA is represented by its own Alex Wynne.

Synovus Securities is represented by Thomas K. Potter III of Burr & Forman LLP

The matter is Re: Synovus Securities Inc, letter of acceptance, waiver, and consent number 2023080354703, before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.