The Most Powerful Women in Banking

After five years of ranking the industry's most influential women, it's clean top performers are going places.

Success in business requires that leaders see the race to the top as a marathon and not a sprint. The most effective leaders have the ability to size up competitors, while also gauging the distance between where they are and where they want to be. Those who make perseverance an inherent part of their behavior set the pace for rivals in their pursuit of excellence.

Women have gained ground in executive management ranks, but not much. They held 17.9 percent of executive positions at the 100 largest nationally charted banks last year, an increase of only 1.9 percentage points since 2003. The women who have reached that level in their institutions have the influence to change this, both in their banks and the financial industry. Inside, U.S. Banker presents its fifth anniversary of The 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking.

Ask any Beltway insider what oils the innards of the capital city and the answer won't have a thing to do with the greenback. Of course, money helps oil the wheels of progress more efficiently, but it can never surpass the premier power of the relationship, this town's only true currency.

Women hold only 12.6 percent of executive positions at the top 50 U.S. commercial banks, according to a recent survey by Financial Women International Foundation. But U.S. Banker's third-annual ranking zeroes in on the industry's 25 top performers, each of whome has amazzed power and influence. Who has the most clout? Bank of America's Amy Brinkley.