American Banker has ranked U.S. Bank’s Indian American Chairman and CEO Gunjan Kedia No. 2 on its 2026 Most Powerful Women in Banking rankings after Citi Bank’s Jane Fraser.
Kedia who jumped two spots to the No. 2 position posted a 46% stock gain in her first year as CEO. She and Fraser, who delivered $85.2 billion in revenue last year—the bank’s highest level in more than a decade, remain the only two women leading top-50 U.S. banks.
Now in its 24th year, the program highlights women navigating simultaneous pressures — economic uncertainty, AI advancement and operational reinvention — without established playbooks to guide them.
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Kedia took the reins as CEO of $726 billion-asset U.S. Bancorp in April 2025 and hasn’t looked back, according to the American Banker. Under her leadership, U.S. Bancorp has already acquired capital markets firm BTIG, partnered with Amazon to issue the retailer’s new small-business credit card and struck a landmark deal with Commissioner Roger Goodell to be the official bank and wealth management sponsor of the NFL.
It’s a coming out, Kedia says, for a “beautiful brand” that doesn’t get the national recognition it deserves. “We’re spreading out from here,” she gestures past the windows of a conference room in the company’s Minneapolis headquarters. “Our goal is to be known and loved everywhere the NFL is known and loved.”
Kedia recognized for ninth consecutive year became CEO in April 2025 and was named Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors earlier this year. She is responsible for U.S. Bank’s day-to-day management, financial performance and long-term growth strategy, while reinforcing its culture of ethics and integrity.
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Another Indian American Tasnim Ghiawadwala, Citi Global Head, Citi Commercial bank, was ranked 20th on the list. runs one of the world’s largest commercial banking franchises out of New York, but she leads from the field, wherever Citi’s clients are. This summer she was in Poland one week, Brazil the prior month and Hong Kong and Shanghai before that.
“I’m a big believer that you have to be there with the teams, to talk directly with the folks on the ground and make sure there’s a good alignment of strategy and vision,” Ghiawadwala said. “I could go to a country 15 times and there is always something new to learn,” from her bankers and Citi clients.
Meanwhile, the Women to Watch list ranks Franklin Templeton’s Sandy Kaul at No. 5 with Santander U.S.’s Christiana Riley jumping four spots to the #1 position.
The Top Teams are ranked, with HSBC securing the No.1 spot for its startup-focused Innovation Banking team, followed by Sound Community Bank (2), BNP Paribas (3), Mizuho Americas (4) and Fifth Third (5) for their outstanding team performances on a specific project, initiative, business unit or group.