Consumer banking

Raj Vig, president of business development company TCP Capital, discusses the crowded landscape in middle-market lending, regulators' concerns and how nonbanks and banks can sometimes work together.

HSBC's Irene Dorner reflects on her 30-year banking career and offers this parting thought to her industry colleagues: "Do the right thing in all circumstances." She also calls for more emphasis on diversity in the banking industry and offers regulators some advice on achieving positive outcomes in her speech at the Most Powerful Women in Banking and Finance awards gala, where she accepted a Lifetime Achievement award.

C-suites will remain overwhelmingly male unless women in senior roles make it a priority to "lift up" their younger female colleagues, says Beth Mooney, the Most Powerful Woman in Banking. "The importance of mentoring, coaching and sponsorship cannot be overstated," she said.

Jane Fraser, the British-born head of Citigroup's consumer and commercial bank, shares a lesson she's learned from her 13-year-old son that has helped her adapt to her new role. She also talks about making a scary transition to a job overseeing U.S. mortgages and training yourself to overcome fear and take on "stretch assignments" at work. "You just have to be 'all in' — mind, heart, guts, hours," says Fraser, the No. 1 Woman to Watch, in her speech at the Most Powerful Women in Banking and Finance awards gala.

Three of the most powerful women in banking go beyond the balance sheet.

The banking industry needs women to polish its tarnished image, insists Jill Castilla, the CEO at Citizens Bank of Edmond (Okla.).

Institutional investors are betting that Americans still want backyards and porches even if they don't have the credit to buy stand-alone homes of their own, according to equity research analyst Ivy Zelman. She says that's a good thing for renters. "They can professionalize a very antiquated industry and provide the consumer with more choices for a different type of shelter," she says.