Credit is an important way Regions serves its customers and communities – from helping a family buy their first home to supporting a major company as it grows. No matter the situation, disciplined credit management is essential to how Regions supports clients and manages risk.
As the company continues sharpening alignment across its credit functions, Courtney Jeans has stepped into the role of Chief Credit Officer. He now reports to Chief Risk Officer Russ Zusi and is helping bring even more consistency and connectivity to how Regions approaches credit.
“In today’s dynamic operating environment, disciplined credit performance is vital,” Zusi said. “This new role unifies our credit risk management efforts, creating stronger connectivity across our businesses with a client-focused approach that ensures soundness while enabling sustainable growth.”
This new role unifies our credit risk management efforts, creating stronger connectivity across our businesses with a client-focused approach that ensures soundness while enabling sustainable growth.
Russ Zusi, Regions Chief Risk Officer
As Chief Credit Officer, Jeans oversees all credit risk-related activities across the enterprise, helping to ensure the strength and soundness of Regions’ portfolio.
The decision to more centralize risk management strategies into the position also created an opportunity to bring greater alignment to the company’s business model – an intentional step to strengthen consistency, communication and partnership across the organization.
Zusi said Jeans was a natural choice to lead that effort.
“Courtney is well known and respected in the industry, and with more than 30 years in the business, he brings extensive experience in credit as well as commercial and corporate banking,” Zusi said. “Just as importantly, he has a people-first leadership style that aligns with our culture.”
Zusi has frequently emphasized that people and trusted relationships are central to effective risk management, particularly the ability to deeply understand the business to provide effective challenge while supporting teams in achieving their goals.
Jeans joins us to share his first impressions of the role and how the transition is progressing, and discuss what excites him as he looks ahead.
Tell us about your background and the experiences that shaped your career. How did your journey prepare you for this role?
I began my career at a regional bank in Texas, which gave me a solid foundation in relationship banking, partnership and credit fundamentals. Ultimately, that regional bank became an important part of a much larger financial institution, JPMorgan Chase. I spent nearly three decades there, and I had the opportunity to work across a wide range of roles, from banker and underwriter to credit risk portfolio manager, business development and regional business leader in both commercial banking and asset-based lending. Moving from a regional institution to a global systemically important bank was a significant transition, but it allowed me to gain broad exposure, deepen my credit knowledge and understand how different parts of a large organization work together.
That experience has been incredibly valuable. When I joined Regions in 2022 to lead Regions Business Capital, and later took on oversight of Regions Equipment Finance, it felt like a natural opportunity to bring together what I’ve learned across credit, risk and different lines of business. Those roles – and now my current one – have allowed me to leverage that experience in a way that supports healthy credit outcomes while staying closely connected to our associates, lines of business and clients.
What have you learned on your listening tour with business groups and credit teams? What has surprised you most since stepping into this role?
One of my earliest and most meaningful impressions has been the depth of talent across our Credit Risk teams. I wouldn’t say I was surprised by that – I knew we had high performers – but I hadn’t had the opportunity to work as closely with many of these teams, and I’ve been incredibly impressed by their expertise, judgment and commitment.
The work they do is complex and fast‑paced, and it requires balancing a lot of moving pieces while staying grounded in strong credit fundamentals. Spending time listening to both our business partners and our credit teams has reinforced just how intentional and thoughtful this work is – and how much collaboration it requires to do it well.
What stands out to me most is the level of engagement and the willingness of teams to lean in, ask questions and share perspectives. That openness has been invaluable as I get up to speed, and it’s given me a lot of confidence in both the team and the opportunities ahead. I have tremendous respect for the work they do and for the role credit plays in enabling our businesses to serve clients while maintaining strong risk discipline.
What are your top priorities as Chief Credit Officer? Where are you spending most of your time right now?
Credit Risk at Regions spans five core areas – Corporate Banking Risk, Consumer Banking Risk, Wealth Management Risk, Problem Asset Management and Enterprise Credit Risk, which includes portfolio management, risk data and analytics, credit policy and governance and risk rating activities. These teams work well together today, but one of my top priorities is strengthening connectivity across them through clearer communication, shared data and consistent analysis. With so many moving pieces, alignment is essential.
Another key focus is our partnership with line of business groups. There are meaningful opportunities to continue improving how Credit Risk works alongside our client-facing teams – ensuring we’re providing the right support, at the right time, in a way that enables effective decision-making and execution.
Finally, one of my most important priorities is talent and succession planning. We have an exceptional team, and I want to make sure we’re leveraging that talent at the highest level. That means creating opportunities for people to learn, grow and expand their experience, while also intentionally developing the next generation of credit leaders for the organization.
What do you want stakeholders to understand about the role of credit at Regions, and what gives you confidence as you look ahead?
Credit plays a critical role in the long‑term strength and stability of our company. Every credit decision we make has a real impact – not just on Regions, but on the clients and communities we serve. Disciplined credit risk management is essential to maintaining safety and soundness, and it’s also what allows us to support responsible growth over time.
What gives me confidence as I look ahead is the talent and dedication of our people and the way our teams work together. When we have clear expectations, transparent communication and a culture built on trust and accountability, we’re able to make thoughtful, well‑informed decisions. That combination of discipline, collaboration and clarity positions us well to navigate change and continue supporting our clients and stakeholders in a sustainable way.
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