Special Program Root Tag

With its new branding effort, Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks is declaring its purpose: Lighting the Way to Financial Well-Being. Rilla Delorier personally developed and spearheaded the concept, after she came to the conclusion that SunTrust had been focused too much on perspiration rather than inspiration.

Perhaps it is a manifestation of Maura Markus' get-things-done attitude that new technology and products are rolling out so quickly at Bank of the West these days. Outstanding results are a priority too, and she is not falling short in that regard either.

Caryl Athanasiu might not contribute directly to profit at Wells Fargo, but at a time when operational risk is a key concern for regulators, keeping the bank out of trouble ultimately can have an earnings impact.

This summer, with JPMorgan still in the hot seat over a spate of regulatory issues, it was Marianne Lake who did most of the talking on the company's second-quarter earnings call, which immediately inspired talk about her potential as a Jamie Dimon successor.

A top priority at Capital One last year was the integration of the card business it acquired from HSBC. Leading the task was Heather Cox, the company's EVP of domestic card operations.

Dispatched to Charlotte, N.C., after Wells Fargo's acquisition of Wachovia, Laura Schulte has played a central role in making Wells a major retail force throughout the eastern half of the country.

As she continues to help guide Comerica to the financial performance targets she established for the company, Karen Parkhill will take on a brand new challenge: preparing Comerica to join the list of large bank holding companies stress tested each year by the Federal Reserve.

Righting the ship at Bank of America is a monumental task, and employee engagement is crucial. That's where Andrea Smith comes in.

The tireless Peyton Patterson says she has a five-year strategic plan for Connecticut's BNC Financial. If the first 12 months of her tenure are any indication, it's going to be a busy five years.

With designs on expanding its commercial business from Southern California to Washington state, and perhaps points beyond, Union Bank in July announced it was putting Ardalan in charge of commercial banking for its western region.

With the future of Fannie and Freddie still up in the air, Diana Reid has spent significant time strategizing for the different possible outcomes. It would have been easy to get engulfed by all the contingency planning, but Reid has kept a steady hand on deals in the pipeline.

Theresa McLaughlin has substantial credibility as a marketer. Time magazine put one of the TV spots for Citizens Bank on a Top 10 list, and her work for Horizons for Homeless Children received an Emmy. At least as valuable to RBS Citizens is the holistic approach that McLaughlin brings to problem-solving.

Amy Brady, Keycorp's new technology and operations chief, has quickly brought an "on time, on budget" philosophy to the Cleveland-based company, which previously struggled with the delivery of strategic projects.

Patti Husic, absent from our ranking last year, returns after making a series of bold moves at the $311 million-asset bank she runs in Harrisburg, Pa., and at the Pennsylvania Bankers Association, which she began chairing in July.

Collen Taylor's goal this year for the treasury management division of Capital One has been nothing less than the complete transformation of the group's service and support models.

For years Zions First National Bank has been a top SBA lender in its markets, but Lori Chillingworth keeps finding ways to make this highly profitable business even stronger.

As Citigroup's liaison to legislators and policymakers around the globe, Candi Wolff still uses her deep Rolodex of government contacts to put out political fires that flare up and threaten to harm Citigroup's interests.

In the two years since we last featured Shaza Andersen on this list, she raised $28 million in new capital for WashingtonFirst Bank, doubled its assets to $1.1 billion through the acquisition of Alliance Bankshares, and took the combined company public on the Nasdaq exchange.

You hear a lot of talk about business line executives in banking wanting to get closer to their customers. At Chicago-based BMO Harris Bank, they have more freedom to do just that because of Ann Benschoter.

A commercial banker with deep experience covering the apparel, jewelry and retail sectors, Diane D'Erasmo took on a new role at HSBC last October, overseeing the flow of foreign business into the company's U.S. subsidiary.