The Most Powerful Women in Banking

When Sandy Pierce broke into banking in the early 1980s, her street smarts gave her a decided advantage over other young loan officers. She just didn't know it at the time.

Ranjana Clark's aggressive — but safe — pursuit of deposits has allowed MUFG Union Bank to beef up its commercial lending.

Despite years of diversity initiatives, senior management teams remain overwhelmingly male. Now a growing number of women are coming around to the idea that real change starts in the boardroom.

Our top woman in finance for the third straight year, Mary Callahan Erdoes, is overseeing record growth at JPMorgan Chase's asset-management arm.

Fidelity is America's second-largest mutual fund company, behind Vanguard Group, with nearly $2 trillion in assets under management, and Abigail Johnson is now in charge of it.