Think diversity doesn't affect profits? Think again. Research indicates that the most highly diverse executive management teams generate far greater revenues and profits than those organizations with the lowest percentage of women on their executive teams. In its third-annual ranking of the Top 3 Banking Teams, U.S. Banker examines the effect of gender diversity on the overall performances of top U.S. financial institutions-something that savvy CEOs and their boards are paying closer attention.

A new class of megabanks, led by JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, has been willing to eat mountains of bad assets to get their hands on more deposits. Investment banks, once dismissive of the value of such holdings, now want in on the action, too. Why? In the midst of a funding crunch, deposit levels have emerged as the chief determinants of a bank's health.

Each year US Banker conducts a confidential survey of honorees to get their take on what it takes to rise to the top, and what the view is like from there.

Before the credit storm hit, the waters were calm for Gary Holloway. "I was doing a lot golfing and boating on Lake Travis [near Austin]," says Holloway, who took an early buyout and retired from the FDIC in 2005. "But in March, the FDIC called and said 'We need some people."

High employee turnover at a community bank can be a serious financial drain. Knowing exactly who you are hiring in the first place stops the bleeding before it starts.

A deteriorating market-further complicated by investment information overload-is stressing out future retirees and challenging financial advisors aiming to help secure their futures

Bonds backed by credit cards could be victim of mortgage crisis

Hispanics in the United States will soon be the majority minority. And while leading banks have fine-tuned their efforts to reach Hispanic consumers, the rest of the industry has yet to react.

Often, in tough times, there's suspicion that others secretly enjoy your strife. Sometimes this schadenfreude is real, but often it is not. R. Seetharaman, the CEO of Qatar-based Doha Bank, on a press tour in New York last month, was certainly displaying none of it.

A relatively minor bankruptcy case in Pennsylvania might have closed the book on some subprime suits, if the feds now weren't supremely interested in Countrywide's dealings.

If you haven't already noticed, driving business results in old fashioned ways just isn't working anymore-nor should it. Key talent is leaving organizations, a phenomenon expected to accelerate over the next few years.

Chase is using the US Open tennis tournament to draw attention to mobile banking via an SMS text marketing campaign; text-based marketing of bank products could be next.

Flashier, customizable cash management portals-think iGoogle-and small business networking sites herald the next era in business banking online

In today's competitive marketplace, branding can be the final factor that affects a consumer's decision of where to bank. Whether you are a de novo just starting out or an established bank with many branches, branding should be an important part of your business strategy.