The Most Powerful Women in Banking

The railroad industry executive will replace Raymond Fortin as general counsel.

Finding a perfect candidate could be tricky. Because the New York Fed oversees banks and operates in markets, someone with Wall Street experience is ideal — yet at the same time, it’s important to find a candidate who isn’t beholden to the banks. Some advisers are pushing for a woman or a minority to be appointed.

Rita Lowman recently joined the bank from C1 Financial, where she had been chief operating officer.

Davis, who stepped down as CEO a year ago, will retire as the company's chairman and as an employee at the end of 2017. Umpqua will then become one of the few publicly traded banking companies with a female chair.

It was a good year for CIT’s Ellen Alemany and JPM’s Sandie O’Connor, but Arjuna Capital’s Natasha Lamb hopes next year will be better. Mary Mack gets a bigger role at Wells Fargo, and Zoe Cruz gets a new one at Ripple. Plus, is Harvey Weinstein really Meryl Streep’s fault?