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Goldman Sachs Group paid out well over $12 million to a veteran executive who complained internally about a toxic workplace for women in the highest echelons of Wall Street's most prestigious firm.

Ninety institutions made American Banker's 10th annual list of the Best Banks to Work For. Here are insights about communication, leadership, culture and more from executives at this year's honorees.

Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and other institutions — including more than two-thirds of honorees that made the Best Banks to Work For — show no let-up in their commitment to add transitioning service personnel. In fact, they're expanding their reach to include military spouses.

Highly acquisitive banks that pack on assets without sacrificing employee morale pepper American Banker's annual Best Banks to Work For rankings.

The CEO of Seattle-based Washington Federal says Luther Burbank Corp. was an attractive acquisition target because it offers an entree into California and has a commercial lending operation that could follow WaFd's recipe for growth over the past decade.

Lee joined the EBN team in 2022, and covers areas including caregiving, employee health and wellness, healthcare innovation, and company culture. She created EBN's popular Benefits in Action and Manager Diaries series, interviewing top leaders from Walmart, AT&T, Aflac, DoorDash, and EY. Her reporting on EBN's podcast, Perk Up!, earned the team a regional silver award from the AZBEE Award of Excellence in 2025. She has also interviewed several winners of EBN's Excellence in Benefits Awards, including top CEOs and CHROs from Hyatt and Hendry Marine Industries. 

Her favorite parts of the job are connecting with people who are passionate about providing great benefits and a positive work environment, and writing about strategies and tools that help them do this. Previously, she taught high school and middle school, and worked as a freelance writer in healthcare and advertising. She has a BA in English from George Mason University.

Questions about whether reserve banks are federal agencies and what role the Board of Governors plays in master account decisions should be answered in court, a federal judge ruled.

After a Texas bank settled allegations by the Department of Justice, experts were split about the extent of the exposure for banks and fintechs that took part in the pandemic-era program.

Martin Gruenberg has been acting chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. since February and is the longest-serving member of the FDIC board.

Grace Ata, AVP of product development at Equisoft has 17+ years of experience in fintech and insurtech, Grace has led the development of several game-changing digital transformation initiatives within the automotive lending sector and Insurance and Wealth Management industries in North America. As AVP, Product Development, Grace brings a deep knowledge of the insurance distribution space and extensive network of industry subject matter experts to lead the strategy and development team working on our core Digital Insurance Agency Platform, Equisoft/centralize.

• Deep knowledge of insurance distribution and its challenges

• Focused on performance and results for on-time, on-budget digital transformation initiatives

• Completed 60+ projects that drive operational efficiencies for financial institutions and MGAs
• Subject matter expert on data utilization including CITS/ACORD data feeds

An active member of CLIEDIS, CAILBA, NAILBA, and FundServ, Grace's exceptional talent rests on her ability to analyze & leverage industry trends to build exceptional high-value products. Passionate about operational excellence, she has successfully helped clients optimize their use of technology to accelerate efficiency, growth and digital transformation. A Bachelor of Science graduate of the University of Waterloo, Grace applies a thorough approach to product development.