The Most Powerful Women in Banking

Andrea Smith has been a member of Bank of America's executive leadership team since 2010, first serving as global head of human resources before transitioning last year to chief administrative officer.

Banks just keep creating new roles for Heather Cox, who is making another job switch this fall: USAA announced that it had lured Cox away from Citi and appointed her chief technology and digital officer.

One big job apparently isn't enough for Deutsche Bank's Susan Skerritt. Since the start of this year, the German banking giant has named Skerritt to not one but two new leadership posts to go along with her role as head of global transaction banking for the Americas.

U.S. Bancorp wouldn't have much of a wholesale banking business without Leslie Godridge. The wholesale unit's two main business lines are national corporate banking and global treasury management and Godridge, who joined U.S. Bancorp in 2007, has been the driving force in the growth of both.

To understand what drives Bita Ardalan, you have to go back to the Iranian revolution of 1979.