From wrestling with the potential impact of Brexit to charting a course for responsible artificial intelligence, the Most Powerful Women in Banking have faced many challenges during the past year. See who earned the top spots in our ranking.

Early in her career, Strybel took a leap of faith when she followed her mentor's guidance and took a role outside her wheelhouse. It paid off, and it's a lesson she shares with younger bankers as part of her mission to pay it forward.

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.

Karen Larrimer, who oversees retail banking for PNC Financial, is encouraging women who frequently get caught up in trying to do it all to think harder about prioritizing.

The Pennsylvania community bank has seen rapid growth in recent years, thanks in large part to its success in attracting women clients.

Thurlow recognized that if she wanted to get serious about reaching the unbanked in her community, she needed to meet people where they were. That meant providing financial products they actually need and giving them access in their native language.

Laura Lee Stewart, president and CEO of Sound Community Bank in Washington, is set to be the third woman to serve as chairman of the American Bankers Association. She's already aiming how to make use of her tenure.

Thasunda Duckett, CEO of Chase Consumer Banking, has been a key architect of JPMorgan Chase's massive planned branch expansion.

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.

Maria Veltre knows what it's like to feel disrespected. Early in her career, she was in mid-sentence when a senior executive turned her back and walked away. Veltre vowed never to make others feel the way she did in that moment, no matter what their situation or station.

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 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.

Two newly minted CEOs, Citibank's Mary McNiff and City National Bank's Kelly Coffey, top the list of Women to Watch for 2019. Check out who else earned a spot in the ranking.

During the past year, Dorothy Savarese has pushed her bank's employees to think more creatively, introducing an innovation contest to facilitate the sharing of fresh ideas within the institution.

StreetShares, started as a peer-to-peer service for veterans, has added a platform intended to connect small financial institutions and underbanked companies.

See American Banker's 17th annual ranking of the Most Powerful Women in Banking and Finance.

How do you keep the all-male CEO club at the biggest banks intact? Let us count the ways. Could a woman be the next CEO at UBS? Maybe. At Wells Fargo? Less likely.

The consumer agency is investigating Bank of America over “potentially unauthorized” accounts; why fintech rollouts are magnets for fraud; KeyCorp’s Beth Mooney to retire next year; and more from this week’s most-read stories.

Increased adoption of The Clearing House’s faster payments system could put pressure on community banks and credit unions awaiting the launch of the Fed’s competing service, FedNow.

The company will gain 34 branches and $1.2 billion in assets when it buys State Capital in Mississippi.