The Latest from Women in Banking

A former regulator, Yvette Hollingsworth Clark is boosting compliance staff at one of the nation's largest retail banks.

With 25 years of experience as a small-bank CEO, Laurie Stewart has emerged as a leading advocate for community banking in her home state and nationwide.

Having aced the challenges she faced in 2014, Diane D'Erasmo was rewarded with a new position overseeing HSBC's business with core industries in key growth markets.

When the Japanese-owned bank was undergoing an exhaustive review of its operations, senior executives gave Wendy Breuder perhaps the daunting task: identifying cost savings across six business lines spanning eight countries. She more than delivered.

For the chief executive of a bank with just $253 million of assets, Jill Castilla has had an outsized influence on the banking industry.

The statistics are dismal: Last year, just 16% of board seats at S&P 1500 companies were held by women, less than the percentage held by directors named John, Robert, James and William. But plenty of women are working to change that, including quite a few in our rankings.

KeyCorp's Beth Mooney tops the 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking list; the 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance list is led by Mary Callahan Erdoes at JPMorgan Chase; and Jane Fraser at Citigroup heads the 25 Women to Watch list.

One of the things that struck me in getting to know the women in our rankings better is that some of them have had significant career setbacks along the way. But they exude confidence anyway, because they have learned how to be fearless.

Confidence, accountability and a willingness to take risks are common traits among highly motivated executives. But true power comes from execution, says HSBC's North American CEO, who advises women to "be in it to win it."

Successful. Influential. Innovative. These women are driving results at their institutions, and paving the way for the female talent behind them.