Lou Whiteman

Most banks have an array of charitable endeavors designed to get workers involved. But the ones on our Best Banks list have built an emotional connection with employees

As Synovus brought all of its 28 banks under the same name and logo, management made sure employees were well informed and comfortable with the changes.

For each of the last three years, Choice Financial has unveiled an elaborate practical joke on April 1 as part of a quirky marketing campaign.

Every year communities are hit by hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes and other disasters. These banks have found novel ways to take care of customers and employees in those emergencies.

Judy Long, president of First Citizens National Bank in Dyersburg, Tenn., launched the Smart Women financial literacy program after seeing female customers struggle with managing their finances.

Chip Mahan, founder of Live Oak Bank, believes that if employees have their needs outside work met, they will work better with customers.

Michael Towbes, the owner of Montecito Bank & Trust who passed away last year, launched a program in 2003 that gives $1 million away to charities each year.

Oakworth Capital Bank, which topped our "Best Banks" list this year, takes a broad view of wellness by providing employees with free healthy snacks and classes on time management.

Inspired by the book "How Fargo of You," Bell Bank has an awards program that recognizes employees with a talent for the little touches that matter to customers.

Employees at First Federal Savings & Loan Association of Pascagoula-Moss Point love to eat, so much so that they started raising money for charity by selling lunches.

The film industry is painting an ugly picture of what life is like inside banks, and that could hurt banks' recruitment efforts.

Charles Schwab was founded to open up Wall Street to the masses, and Marie Chandoha has embraced that mission.

Diane Offereins manages relationships with 1,000 merchants and 3,300 financial institutions.

Climbing the ladder at a large company can be daunting. At Bank of America, promising women and minority candidates are given personalized attention early on to give their careers a boost.

Barbara Byrne is one of the public faces of Barclays, serving as one of its five official delegates at the Davos World Economic Forum.

PNC's Charlotte McLaughlin is frustrated by the lack of gender equality in the senior ranks across corporate America.

After she saw statistics showing that over the last 10 years the number of women on Fortune 1000 boards has not changed significantly, Centric's CEO decided to take action to increase the visibility of female leaders in her area.

Margaret Keane is mapping out Synchrony Financial's future.

Given that an estimated 44 million Americans graduate with student loans, offering a repayment benefit could be worthwhile for banks trying to recruit millennial employees.

Want employees to feel empowered to make decisions to help customers? Rewarding that behavior is one way to reinforce the message. Here’s how one South Dakota community bank goes about it — in a splashy, Super Bowl-sized way.