National banks

In recruiting for its commercial bank, BMO Financial is increasingly looking at the athletic rosters of Big Ten colleges. Here's what it has learned.

As electronic payments continue their steady ascent, the job Diana Reyes does for HSBC has become enormous.

Women looking to balance their high-powered careers with a family life can take inspiration from Marianne Lake. "You can have it all," the U.K. native said in a recent interview. "But you just might not be able to have all of it at the same time."

Although she oversees one of the world's largest corporate technology teams, Cathy Bessant is not the kind of fervent cheerleader for digital breakthroughs that one encounters in Silicon Valley. That said, Bessant, who is American Banker's Most Powerful Woman in Banking for 2017, is a big believer in the power of technology.

Across asset management, investment banking, capital markets and cards, these finance executives stand out for their performance and for helping to create a path to parity for women in sectors that tend to be even more male-dominated than the banking industry.

For Sandie O'Connor, the importance of sponsoring talented young women in banking is personal.

In 2017, it's critical that large foreign-owned banks have finely tuned eyes and ears in Silicon Valley. At Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, the parent of MUFG Union Bank, those duties fall to Ranjana Clark.

In our Most Powerful Women rankings, you'll read about a lot of impressive female leaders. But there are still more standouts we'd like to introduce you to. These five offer proof that big changes are possible in just a short time.

Citigroup plans to purchase or produce all of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, the company said during Climate Week New York.

How do you restore profits after a banking scandal that victimized both customers and employees — without inflicting more pain on either side?