Alan Kline

The Women to Watch

"You can get a lot done if you don't care who gets the credit," Stevens is fond of saying. Judging by the pace of innovation at the $169 billion-asset Fifth Third, that team-first message is clearly resonating.

Marla Willner has returned to TD Bank to be its head of corporate and specialty banking, and she has a plan for building the unit she leads into a national powerhouse.

Ellen Patterson, the general counsel at TD Bank Group, has spearheaded a program across the Toronto company's footprint that aims to reinforce the idea that men need to be a big part of any organization's diversity and inclusion efforts.

As head of strategic planning, Danella works with department heads to identify strategic priorities across all business lines and communicating those priorities, and management's vision for the company, to investors and employees.

The success of Erminia "Ernie" Johannson's United Way campaign is a testament to her skills as a leader and motivator and goes a long way toward explaining why BMO Financial CEO Darryl White keeps giving her bigger and more important jobs.

Tepid loan demand, falling interest rates and heightened competition from nonbank lenders are just some of the headwinds facing commercial lenders these days, but Ardalan believes MUFG can expand its credit appetite without compromising safety and soundness.

First Republic Bank has been understandably mum about who might replace founder and Chief Executive James Herbert when he retires in two years, but Hafize Gaye Erkan, its 39-year-old president, is considered a leading candidate.

Seitz is using her influence as CEO of one of the world's leading money managers to call attention to the $70 trillion retirement gap that she said could grow to $400 billion by 2050 if her industry doesn't address it.

Paulette Mullings Bradnock is on a mission to bring more diversity to BNY Mellon's workforce, and she is leading by example.

As head of commercial banking at PNC Financial Services Group, Stephanie Novosel knows full well that competition for loans is intense and that to win business banks need to add value that goes beyond offering competitive loan terms.

Anne Clarke Wolff, the head of global corporate banking and global leasing for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, wants to open banking’s doors to more Hispanic and African-American college students.

In her role as head of virtual channels at Citizens Financial Group, Beth Johnson is relentlessly focused on making banking simpler for consumers.

The retirement and investment group Grace runs for Aon is the global firm's second-largest business unit, wit more than $150 billion of assets under management.

Of the world's 10 largest financial services firms by revenue, only JPMorgan Chase has a woman as its chief information officer.

Innovation in banking typically means developing or investing in some cutting-edge technology that will appeal to younger, tech-savvy customers. But to Luanne Cundiff, it can also mean finding new ways to meet the needs of senior citizens who aren't all that interested in digital banking.

McNiff, American Banker's No. 1 Woman to Watch for 2019, was promoted to the CEO role in April following the retirement of Barbara Desoer.

In the last two fiscal years, the treasury and payments solutions unit that Haward-Laird runs has had the highest return on equity of all BMO Financial's business lines.

In an increasingly competitive financial services marketplace, tiny Citizens is thriving, thanks largely to tech innovations Castilla has pioneered and the loyalty built through Castilla's relentless promotion of the bank's customers and the broader Edmond community.

"I had a vision of upping our client servicing game to give Citizens' commercial clients a best-in-class experience," Wyper said, "no matter how large or small their relationship with us."