The Most Powerful Women in Banking

Running the securities side of the house with co-head Pablo Salame, Isabelle Ealet helped Goldman Sachs' institutional client services division generate net revenue of $9.5 billion in the first half of 2013 while also focusing on compliance issues.

The color is still going to be orange, but there's a lot changing at ING U.S. Retirement Services under CEO Maliz Beams.

Margaret Keane has spent the last two years readying GE Capital Retail Finance for the virtual worlds of its digitally active customers. So far, so good: customers now generate 4 million mobile logins a month and about 10 percent of them use mobile devices exclusively for account interaction.

A new chapter possibly awaits Nicole Arnaboldi. The 28-year investment banking veteran could soon be leading a spin-off unit servicing the assets of Credit Suisse affiliate DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, which in July was reported to be in talks to be sold by its parent.

Cost control is a mantra for Charlotte McLaughlin, who prods her PNC Capital Markets managers and employees to be as sparing as possible when it comes to business expenses. The result is a flattening expense structure that is producing an improved efficiency ratio as revenues rise.