Both women emigrated from India to launch their careers.
By Raif Karerat
Two Indian Americans have made their mark on two buzz worthy lists published by American Banker, namely the “25 Most Powerful Women in Banking” and “25 Women to Watch”: Ranjana Clark and Nandita Bakhshi.
Ranjana Clark, the head of transaction banking at MUFG Union Bank North America, slotted into the most powerful list coming at No. 25.
When Clark joined MUFG Union Bank, she soon realized that its historically conservative approach to accepting deposits was limiting growth, according to American Banker.
Clark, a graduate of Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi, the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad and Duke University, saw an opportunity to expand deposits aggressively — but safely — by carving out a niche holding deposits from other financial institutions. She recognized that there are businesses in this category, such as insurance companies, that do not behave like stereotypical large financial firms.
As a result of her initiative, her group recently obtained clearance to raise more than $1 billion of deposits from select businesses in the financial institutions category, even as others like JPMorgan Chase and GE Capital have abdicated the business line.
Nandita Bakhshi, North America head of director channels at TD Bank, notched No. 21 on the “Women to Watch” list.
Since moving to Albany, N.Y., from Calcutta, India, 28 years ago, Bakhshi lived and worked in more than five cities and four countries, and pivoted from retail banking to payments to bank product management.
In her current role, she oversees digital, telephone and ATM banking. Previously, she was head of consumer banking.
She began her banking career as at the ground floor as a teller soon after moving from India with her husband, who now helps lead Ericsson’s telecom strategy in Africa and the Middle East.
Bakhshi started at the former Bank One, and followed her boss to a company on the West Coast. Then a fellow board member of MasterCard’s Maestro debit network offered her a position at Fleet Financial running products and channels. When Fleet was subsequently purchased by Bank of America, First Data hired her as managing director of its mobile solutions business unit, working out of Europe. She later moved to the former Washington Mutual in Seattle to run consumer deposits and payments before arriving at TD in 2009.
The 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking consist of:
- Beth Mooney – Chairman and CEO, KeyCorp
- Marianne Lake – Chief Financial Officer, JPMorgan Chase
- Karen Peetz President – BNY Mellon
- Carrie Tolstedt Senior – EVP, Community Banking, Wells Fargo
- Avid Modjtabai – Senior EVP, Head of Consumer Lending, Wells Fargo
- Cathy Bessant – Chief Operations and Technology Officer, Bank of America
- Heather Cox – Chief Client Experience, Digital and Marketing Officer, Global Consumer Bank, Citigroup
- Jana Schreuder COO – Northern Trust
- Barbara Desoer – CEO, Citibank
- Diane Reyes Group General Manager – Global Head of Payments and Cash Management, HSBC
- Sandie O’Connor – Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer, JPMorgan Chase
- Anne Finucane – Vice Chairman and Global Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, Bank of America
- Dorothy Savarese – President and CEO, The Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank
- Rilla Delorier – EVP, Consumer Channels, SunTrust Banks
- Mary Walworth Navarro Senior EVP – Retail and Business Banking Director, Huntington Bancshares
- Eileen Serra CEO – Chase Card Services, JPMorgan Chase
- Leslie Godridge EVP – National Corporate Specialized Industries and Global Treasury Management, U.S. Bancorp
- Karen Larrimer Chief Customer Officer – PNC Financial Services Group
- Patricia “Patti” Husic President and CEO – Centric Bank
- Andrea Smith Chief Administrative Officer – Bank of America
- Janice Fukakusa Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Financial Officer – Royal Bank of Canada
- Anne Clarke Wolff Head of Global Corporate Banking and Global Leasing – Bank of America
- Karen Parkhill – Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer, Comerica
- Sandy Pierce – Vice Chairman, FirstMerit Corp.; Chairman and CEO, FirstMerit Michigan
- Ranjana Clark – Head of Transaction Banking Americas, MUFG Union Bank
The 25 Women to Watch are:
- Jane Fraser – CEO, Latin America, Citigroup
- Maria Tedesco – Managing Director of Retail Banking and Customer Experience, Santander Bank
- Kathy Rogers – Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Bancorp
- LeeAnne Linderman – EVP, Retail Banking, Zions Bancorp.
- Michelle Van Dyke President – Fifth Third Mortgage, Fifth Third Bancorp
- Amy Brady Chief Information Officer – Technology and Operations Executive, KeyCorp
- Stacey Friedman – Managing Director and General Counsel, J.P. Morgan Corporate and Investment Bank, JPMorgan Chase
- Diana Reid – EVP and Head of PNC Real Estate, PNC Financial Services Group
- Diane Morais President and CEO – Ally Bank
- Janet Garufis – President and CEO, Montecito Bank and Trust
- Thasunda Duckett – CEO, Chase Auto Finance, JPMorgan Chase
- Helga Houston – Chief Risk Officer, Huntington Bancshares
- Bita Ardalan – Managing Director, Head of U.S. Middle-Market Banking, MUFG Union Bank
- Susan Skerritt – Head of Global Transaction Banking Americas, Deutsche Bank
- Barb Godin – Chief Credit Officer, Regions Financial
- Begonya Klumb – CEO, UMB Healthcare Services, UMB Financial
- Liz Dukes – Chief Strategy Officer, Synovus Financial Corp
- Cate Luzio – Head of Global International Subsidiary Banking Client Coverage, Global Commercial Banking, HSBC
- Wendy Breuder – Co-General Manager, Head of Midwest General Industries, U.S. Corporate Banking Division, MUFG Union Bank
- Jill Castilla – President and CEO, Citizens Bank of Edmond
- Nandita Bakhshi – North American Head of Direct Channels, TD Bank
- Kirsten Garen – Chief Information Officer, Bank of the West
- Yvette Hollingsworth Clark – Chief Compliance Officer, Wells Fargo
- Diane D’Erasmo – North America Regional Head of Retail, Corporate Banking, HSBC
- Laura Lee “Laurie” Stewart – President and CEO, Sound Community Bank.