Most Powerful Women in Banking: No. 5, HSBC's Diane Reyes

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Group General Manager and Global Head of Liquidity and Cash Management | HSBC

As electronic payments continue their steady ascent, Diana Reyes has an enormous job.

Reyes is the global head of liquidity and cash management at Europe's largest bank by assets. From her office in midtown Manhattan, she oversees a division of the bank that operates in more than 50 countries, serving the cash management needs of more than 400,000 business clients.

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Those needs are changing fast. Between 2011 and 2015, the number of noncash transactions globally rose by 40%, amid a decline in the popularity of checks and a proliferation of digital payment options.

With Reyes providing leadership, HSBC is trying to stay ahead of the curve.

"What got companies to where they are now will not necessarily serve them well going forward," she said. "The status quo is no longer a comfortable place to be."

Among the payment modernization steps the London-based bank has taken: launching "Move Money," a screen for online banking users that is designed to offer an intuitive look at various ways of making payments; and rolling out "Track Money," a self-service tool that documents each stage of the payment process.

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In India, where the government is pushing to build a cashless society, HSBC has enabled its corporate customers to send and receive money on mobile devices.

Reyes is a former Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase executive who joined HSBC in 2011. Today she leads a staff of roughly 9,300 employees.

She said that she has learned to become more resilient over the course of a 20-plus-year career.

"When something happens in a meeting or during an interaction that bothers you, don't stew on it," she advised. "Allow yourself 48 hours to digest and reflect, and then put it in a box and let it go."

This article originally appeared in American Banker.
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