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Consumer Protection

Regions’ customers and communities are at the heart of our businesses, and we are strongly committed to treating prospective and existing customers in a manner that is equitable, transparent, fair and consistent with consumer protection laws and regulations. Regions is committed to offering products and services based on an assessment of customer needs, and we have prohibitions against engaging in any predatory or unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP). All Regions associates are expected to adhere to both the letter and spirit of fair and equal treatment laws and principles, not simply because they are the law, but because fair and responsible banking principles are built into Regions’ corporate values.

Regions established a Fair and Responsible Lending (FRL) Policy to which all business groups are expected to adhere. Additionally, Regions is strongly committed to making the financial products and services we offer available to prospective and existing customers on a fair and responsible basis. Accordingly, Enterprise Customer Protection and Privacy Compliance (ECPPC), a component of Risk Management, is an essential part of Regions’ business and growth strategies. The ECPPC team identifies, measures, mitigates, monitors and reports compliance with all fair lending laws and UDAAP. Regions, as part of its overall Compliance Management Program, works to foster and promote a culture of compliance with regulatory requirements, internal policies and industry guidance impacting consumer and business products and services.

Regions associates are required to complete Mandatory Annual Compliance (MAC) courses related to Fair and Responsible Banking, Risk Management, and Business Conduct and Ethics. Every associate also has a responsibility to adhere to Regions’ FRL Policy, as well as to ensure all aspects of the lending process, including application, underwriting, closing, servicing and beyond, are executed consistently, fairly and accurately without regard to any specific characteristics or basis as prohibited by law.

Regions’ commitment to fair and responsible lending is incorporated throughout the product lifecycle, including product development, advertising, marketing, training and established Customer Assistance Program. Regions also established credit policies, procedures and product guidelines that direct all phases of the lending process and govern activities such as pricing, product eligibility, servicing and other functions of offering and extending credit.

In an effort to better understand our customers, Regions captures concerns and feedback to identify opportunities to improve our products, services and processes. This includes capturing issues raised by our customers in the Centralized Customer Complaint (CCC) database. In addition, we conduct customer surveys and participate in national syndicated studies, and then use this information to measure satisfaction and further enhance our customer service.

Our Mortgage team has a programmatic focus on meeting Regions’ fair and responsible banking commitment. The program includes a needs-based, customer-focused strategy designed to further transparency and clarity throughout the loan process. Our online mortgage application, along with the consumer portal, creates increased efficiencies and allows borrowers to track loan progress and receive the information necessary to make informed decisions during the origination process. A communication and training plan also helps ensure all mortgage associates understand our fair and responsible banking/lending commitment. To read more about the efficiencies provided by eSignature to our mortgage lending program, see here.

Fair and Responsible Banking Objectives

  • Inform customers about products and services that meet their needs and give them the information they need to use these solutions appropriately
  • Share product communications and disclosures in a clear, transparent way
  • Deliver financial education to customers and communities
  • Improve customer satisfaction and loyalty through fair and responsible banking practices
  • Comply with all regulations and laws related to fair and responsible banking

Regions’ customer clarity documents, in both English and Spanish, tell customers, in straightforward language, about our products and services. These Regions Quick Guides® support our Regions Simplicity Pledge®, which is our commitment to providing customers with the information they need to make good financial decisions and to understand how their accounts and services work — simply, clearly and using plain language.

Centralized Customer Complaint Program

Regions’ CCC Program is one of our many Voice of the Customer programs, which are designed to gather the opinions and thoughts of our customers in order to help us measure and enhance our products, services and the customer experience. All associates, regardless of their role, are trained on the CCC Program and have access to and a responsibility to record customer complaints in the CCC database. Through the CCC Program, we can more thoroughly document and address each individual customer complaint; further, the CCC Program allows us to identify emerging trends and areas for improvement. Key components of the program include:

  • A centralized application, the CCC database, that is used to record customer complaints and any actions taken to resolve the customer’s concerns
  • A process to ensure every customer complaint is reviewed for timely and thorough resolution
  • Root cause analysis that is performed by leadership and subject-matter experts throughout the Company — analysis is used to identify and correct issues, and find ways to enhance our customers’ experience, products and services

Sales Practices

A company can be successful in a variety of ways, but how it achieves that success is just as important as the success itself. At Regions, our values and our culture serve as the foundation for how we want to be successful — by listening to our customers, understanding their needs and meeting those needs.

Placing the customer first — before our products or services — ensures that we are furthering their interests and helping them reach their unique financial goals. This service-centric culture is reinforced through a series of checks and balances that help make sure we work in our customers’ best interests. Such checks and balances include:

  • Consumer Services Team. The Consumer Services team monitors associate incentives and management metrics for potential unintended outcomes. Where appropriate, our bankers only receive incentives for opening accounts that result in the customer using the account or keeping required balances. And, for most products, if a customer closes an account in a predetermined timeframe, incentive credit is charged back to the associate.
  • Retail Integrity Team. As part of our commitment and corporate value to do what is right for our customers, our Retail Integrity Team uses a systematic model and analytics-based review process to uncover potential deviation from the spirit and intent of the incentive plan or our approach to meeting customer needs. We created this Retail Integrity Team within Consumer Services to continue evolving our banker oversight program with the changing environment. The Team is tasked with identifying potential risks and elevating them for appropriate action.
  • Routes for Protection. We use information from our CCC Program and internal Report It! associate hotline to help identify potential instances of sales practices not aligned with our needs-based approach.
  • Training. All retail associates, including those working at our branch locations, as well as our Consumer Banking executives, must complete, at a minimum, a semiannual training on retail integrity. Completion and attestation of this training is required for associates to participate in the incentive plan.