At December 31, 1999, the recorded investment in loans that were considered to be impaired was $29.6 million (of which $25.2 million were on a nonaccrual basis). Included in this amount is $25.0 million of impaired loans for which the related loan loss reserve is $12.3 million, and $4.6 million of impaired loans for which there is no related allowance determined in accordance with SFAS No. 114, "Accounting by Creditors for Impairment of a Loan".

At December 31, 1998, the recorded investment in loans that were considered to be impaired was $27.5 million (of which $18.8 million were on a nonaccrual basis). Included in this amount is $14.7 million of impaired loans for which the related loan loss reserve is $5.4 million, and $12.8 million of impaired loans for which there is no related allowance determined in accordance with SFAS No. 114.

The loan loss reserve amounts for impaired loans were primarily determined using the fair value of the loansÕ collateral. The average recorded investment in impaired loans was approximately $26,500,000, $29,000,000, and $31,000,000 for the years ended December 31, 1999, 1998, and 1997, respectively, and the related amount of interest income recognized during the period that such loans were impaired was approximately $1,468,000, $1,573,000, and $1,956,000 in 1999, 1998, and 1997, respectively.

In the ordinary course of business, Synovus has direct and indirect loans outstanding to certain executive officers, directors, and principal holders of equity securities (including their associates). Management believes that such loans are made substantially on the same terms, including interest rate and collateral, as those prevailing at the time for comparable transactions with other customers. The following is a summary of such loans outstanding and the activity in these loans for the year ended December 31, 1999.

Note 4 Other Assets

Included in other assets are the following significant balances: mortgage servicing rights, bank-owned life insurance programs, TSYS' computer software costs, contract acquisition costs, and investments in joint ventures.

At December 31, 1999 and 1998, Synovus had approximately $33,411,000 and $28,317,000, respectively, in capitalized mortgage servicing rights. There was no valuation allowance as of December 31, 1999 and 1998.

At December 31, 1999 and 1998, Synovus serviced mortgage loans for unaffiliated investors of approximately $2,519,000,000 and $2,115,000,000, respectively.

At December 31, 1999 and 1998, Synovus maintained certain bank-owned life insurance programs with a carrying value of approximately $75,000,000 and $40,000,000, respectively. The following table summarizes TSYS' computer software at December 31, 1999 and 1998:

Amortization expense related to purchased and capitalized software development costs at TSYS was $21,627,000, $16,774,000 and $11,668,000 for the years ended December 31, 1999, 1998, and 1997, respectively.