The Latest from Women in Banking

Maria Coyne has spent the better part of the last two years reorganizing KeyBank's sprawling branch network and various aspects of its retail and small-business lines.

As head of Wells Fargo's eastern region, Laura Schulte oversees more than a third of the bank's footprint.

Michelle Van Dyke is respected throughout Fifth Third Bancorp for her ability to drive results and develop talent.

Royal Bank of Canada has ranked among the best-performing banking companies in North America over the last couple of years and ex-CEO Gord Nixon says that Janice Fukakusa, its chief financial officer and chief administrative officer, deserves much of the credit for its recent success.

Andrea Smith joined Bank of America in 1988 and was named global head of human resources four years ago, reporting directly to CEO Brian Moynihan.

The focus in corporate banking is more emphatically on the word "global" since Anne Clarke Wolff became head of the unit in 2011.

Talk to Jane Haskin about the responsibilities that go into being CEO of First Bethany Bank & Trust and you get a microcosm of the business of banking: one part account officer, one part technology advocate, one part head of operations.

After FirstMerit bought Citizens Republic Bancorp last year, adding branches in Michigan and Wisconsin and nearly doubling the bank's headcount to over 5,000, Sandy Pierce helped lead an effort to hold sit-down meetings with employees across the entire region.

Beth Mooney cares more about her legacy than she does about being the first female CEO at a top 20 U.S.-based bank. One of her primary goals is to make sure KeyCorp always does right by its customers.

• The 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking

"Most powerful" and "low profile" are descriptors that rarely go together, but both describe Abigail Johnson well.