‘These Relationships Improve the Health of Our Organization’

Regions Bank has a long history of supporting CDFIs – and these community partnerships are more important than ever before.

Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) come in many forms including banks, credit unions, loan funds and venture capital funds that focus on lending and financial services for people and businesses in low-income areas that often lack access to traditional banking.

At Regions, our guiding principle is the concept of Shared Value. Leroy Abrahams, head of Community Engagement at Regions

According to Leroy Abrahams, head of Community Engagement at Regions, support of CDFIs  is central to the bank’s priority to promote economic growth in underserved communities across the Regions footprint.

Through lending, equity investments and technical support, Regions collaborates with CDFIs to expand access to affordable capital for small businesses, housing and community development projects and financial wellness.

“At Regions, our guiding principle is the concept of Shared Value,” Abrahams said. “It shapes how we make business decisions, because we believe our success is tied to the success of the communities we serve – the individuals, families, small businesses and support organizations that make communities thrive. CDFIs are a crucial component of that, because they help us expand our reach.”

As part of its commitment, Regions hosts an annual CDFI Convening, bringing together industry leaders and Regions executives to share insights and strategies. The 2025 convening was held Oct. 1, which happened to coincide with the first day of the federal government shutdown.

Federal closures create a ripple of anxiety for many Americans, especially in many low- and moderate-income communities that CDFIs serve.

As a backdrop, earlier this year, federal actions were taken to limit the operations of the CDFI Fund and propose significant budget cuts for 2026. Recently, staff received notices of termination effective in December, though the matter is now in litigation.

The CDFI Fund, housed within the U.S. Treasury, provides grants, tax credits, and other resources to CDFIs. The Fund has strong support from members of Congress from both parties, and lawmakers representing rural and underserved areas strongly opposed the budget cuts, expressing concern they could limit lending opportunities for many Americans.

With those industry issues in the background, along with the ongoing economic uncertainty, higher interest rate environment and continued market volatility, CDFI executives were eager to engage in dialogue with Regions leaders and with each other.

The first topic of discussion was the macroeconomic environment, and Regions Treasurer Deron Smithy had a captive audience when speaking about tariffs, inflation and employment. He acknowledged the uncertainty, but said, “We’re actually pretty upbeat.” He pointed out improving inflation, steepening yield curve, strong liquidity and good consumer health.

Steve Ross, Specialized Industries New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) leader for Regions, discussed the NMTC environment, activity, timing and trends – engaging topics for this audience. Borden Hoskins from Regions Government Affairs provided insight and background on the government shutdown. Chief Risk Officer Russ Zusi and a panel of Risk leaders discussed Consumer and Commercial products they’re keeping an eye on in this dynamic environment – as well as technology risks, including cyber, AI and business resiliency.

Those technology-related topics sparked a robust exchange, and the group was pleased when day two kicked off with Chief Enterprise Operations and Technology Officer Dan Massey, who was joined by Ivana Cojbasic, Chief Information Security Officer and Manav Misra, Chief Data and Analytics Officer. The Regions panel received several questions around asset management, staying on top of tech trends, AI use cases, prioritization and specific AI tools and products.

Andrew Nix, Chief Governance Officer and Susan Anderson, head of Legal and Reputational Risk, were joined again by Borden Hoskins for a conversation about regulatory news, legislative updates and policy changes.

All these topics hit the right chords at the right time, according to participant feedback at the end of the session.

Darrin Williams, CEO of Southern Bancorp expressed appreciation to the Regions hosts. “You are always willing to help every time I’ve asked,” he said. “Even beyond this convening – the ongoing technical assistance is needed.”

Jason Eppenger, President and CEO of BHM Bank, agreed, saying, “The Regions team is very helpful and responsive and always offers resources to help. Relationships like this have improved the health of our organization.”

Each convening gives us deeper insight into these organizations – their challenges, opportunities, capabilities and the unique contributions they make. Wendi Boyen, head of Regions Community Development Lending & Investments

Wendi Boyen, head of Regions Community Development Lending & Investments, organizes the event each year and serves as the primary liaison between Regions and the CDFI leaders. She, too, was pleased with the convening and said the ongoing community partnerships are beneficial not just for the CDFI leaders but also for Regions’ teams.

“Each convening gives us deeper insight into these organizations – their challenges, opportunities, capabilities and the unique contributions they make,” Boyen said. “My goal is to ensure these gatherings are valuable for our guests, but they’re just as important for us. These institutions provide essential services to our communities that we simply couldn’t deliver on our own.”