BankThink

For the second year in a row, Forbes puts Bair at No. 2

Forbes published its list of the 100 most powerful women in the world today and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair has come in second yet again. She was beat out for the top spot by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and she leads PepsiCo’ Chief Executive Indira Nooyi, who took third place.

The only other woman in finance who made it into the top 25 is Paula Reynolds, AIG’s chief restructuring officer.

But there are a few more bankers and financiers on the list. Barbara Desoer, the head of Bank of America Home Loans & Insurance, came in at number 27. Jane Mendillo, CEO of Harvard Management Co. is ranked 37th. Securities and Exchange Chairman Mary Schapiro is 55th, and all of these women are ahead of the female presidents of Liberia, Finland and Ireland in their perceived influence.

Despite its recent weakness on Wall Street, Citigroup has an executive on the list: Terri Dial, in 72nd place, is Citi’s CEO for its North America Consumer Banking division. She’s more important, in Forbes’ view, than the prime minister of Iceland and the queen of Jordan. In 76th place is Christina Gold, the CEO of Western Union. Not a bank, but possibly a future comrade-in-regulation if the Obama administration’s consumer protection agency is created.

Toward the bottom of the list, Sallie Krawcheck, formerly a top Citi exec, now the CEO of global wealth management for BofA, takes 87th place. The last two slots go to JPMorgan Chase executives. In 99th place is Heidi Miller, CEO of Treasury & Securities Services for the firm and in 100th place is Mary Erdoes, the chairman of its global wealth management business.

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