Undergoing an annual physical exam gets employees a day off.

A loaner car is available for employees to use for free and with no mileage restrictions.

Employees in mortgage and commercial lending can earn bonuses worth up to half their base salaries based on performance triggers set by the department's senior vice president.

The bank offers discounts on health clubs and fitness classes.

For the bank's annual cook-offs, teams are chosen randomly to foster relationships across departments.

An "appointment time" benefit provides eight hours of paid time off for employees who need to schedule all kinds of daytime appointments, ranging from oil changes to parent-teacher conferences, during work hours.

Every year, the bank collects worn U.S. flags and honorably retires them during Veterans' Day ceremonies.

Sonic Lunch is a free outdoor concert series promoted by the bank in summer that brings people downtown to enjoy free music at a city park in Ann Arbor.

On most holidays, banks shut their doors and employees head home. Team Day, a holiday dreamed up by 1st National Bank, is different.

Forget radio ads, Umpqua promoted a new branch in San Francisco with surprise gifts and a novel Twitter campaign with a bricks-and-mortar twist.

Small banks often find themselves squeezed out of the derivatives market by larger players. To former BB&T executive Dolf Roell, that's a sign of opportunity.

The Museum of American Finance delves into rarely heard personal stories behind the century-old institution in a new exhibit.

A longtime Chicago CDFI executive looks ahead to influencing job creation through a new advisory post as Treasury.

Bankers facing the futility of trying to repeal new rules have moved on to other tactics—including, in some cases, acceptance of the new oversight regime.

Even for community banks, Sterling Bank CEO Greg Seibly writes, corporate social responsibility can yield strong dividends.

Building up postitive engagement in the office? It can happen. You just need the right tools and creative thinking to get there.

Customized pages, more integrated content, transaction analytics. Banks are motivated to making corporate portals more useful than ever.

A successful prosecution of JPMorgan would throw into disarray the bank’s substantial and highly lucrative asset management business, among other disincentives for the government to pursue a criminal case.

These companies, featured on American Banker's Best Banks to Work For list, go beyond salaries and health benefits to make their employees feel valued at the office.

Personal visits from the company president, special training for those making the leap to supervisor, notes of encouragement from the boss and from staffers - the institutions on American Banker's list of the Best Banks to Work For offer up interesting examples of what companies can do to boost employee engagement at the office.