On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of our 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking program, it is my pleasure to invite applications to our 2012 rankings.

• Exports: A Concerted Effort
• Greasing the Supply Chain

Could Congress let a popular mortgage relief measure die? Some worry it will happen.

Ignoring the outrage over compensation will at some point cease to be a viable option.

In these hyper-competitive times, banks are pulling out all the stops to lure customers into their branches. One bank is even offering its own breath of fresh (and fragrant) air.

Full-service customers can't relate to feeling comfortable with all those fees. But it sure beats being surprised by them.

Financial adviser Mary Anne Ehlert uses her online training program to help peers better serve clients with special needs.

Can the CFTC get there while it's focused on swaps?

A legislator responds, "Do you think we can screw up this more than y'all have?"

Banks are back on billboards, in mailboxes, and over the airwaves. But what executives call "investment spend" can be heartburn-inducing profligacy to analysts and investors.

For all the anxiety over low interest rates, net interest margins are higher now than they were for much of the last decade. For banks with less than $10 billion of assets, NIMs have been climbing for two and a half years.

Broadway Financial's new CEO; Goldman's Blankfein stands up for gay marriage; CenterState's preemptive strikes; Peetz's Penn State gig; ICBA's Nashville meet.

The current regulatory approach to compliance has led bankers to stop offering certain consumer loan products or to increase what they charge. We all lose if the cost of compliance forces regulated lenders to send customers to the back-alley loan shark.

Select quotes from the world of financial services.

In early 2010, the Obama Administration announced a concerted push to double the level of U.S. exports over five years, to $3.14 trillion. The effort so far is on track.

An increasing number of businesses are using trade finance products not just as a risk-mitigation tool as they wait for payment from foreign customers, but also as collateral to obtain more funding from banks.