The Most Powerful Women in Banking

With designs on expanding its commercial business from Southern California to Washington state, and perhaps points beyond, Union Bank in July announced it was putting Ardalan in charge of commercial banking for its western region.

With the future of Fannie and Freddie still up in the air, Diana Reid has spent significant time strategizing for the different possible outcomes. It would have been easy to get engulfed by all the contingency planning, but Reid has kept a steady hand on deals in the pipeline.

Theresa McLaughlin has substantial credibility as a marketer. Time magazine put one of the TV spots for Citizens Bank on a Top 10 list, and her work for Horizons for Homeless Children received an Emmy. At least as valuable to RBS Citizens is the holistic approach that McLaughlin brings to problem-solving.

Amy Brady, Keycorp's new technology and operations chief, has quickly brought an "on time, on budget" philosophy to the Cleveland-based company, which previously struggled with the delivery of strategic projects.

Patti Husic, absent from our ranking last year, returns after making a series of bold moves at the $311 million-asset bank she runs in Harrisburg, Pa., and at the Pennsylvania Bankers Association, which she began chairing in July.