NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The money center banks that caused the 2008 financial crisis have massive balance sheets to pay for the additional protocols put in place in its aftermath. Unfortunately, it's not as easy for smaller players like Oklahoma-based Citizens Bank of Edmond to foot the bill for these "crushing regulations", said the company's CEO Jill Castilla.

"Dodd-Frank was well-intentioned, and it was addressing the crisis in a way in which the government could control some of the activities that were a little aggressive. But on Main Street we weren't doing those things," said Castilla.

Not that Castilla is afraid to compete with the banking industry's giants. She said community banks may not have the resources of a JPMorgan Chase (JPM) - Get Report or Bank of America (BAC) - Get Report , but they do have an edge when it comes to knowing their customers.

"We know our communities inside and out," said Castilla. "We know the oil and gas industry and what impact it can have, and those leading indicators allow us to be a little more conservative and weather that storm."

Castilla was named for the second year in a row as one of American Banker's "Top 25 Women to Watch in Banking." Her team has also earned American Banker's "Top Teams" award for 2014 and 2015.

Castilla began her banking career with Citizens Bank of Edmond in 1998, before heading to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, where she managed multiple departments from check automation to HR for nine years. She then joined the senior management team at a Minnesota community bank. Prior to Castilla's employment at Citizens, she served in the U.S. Army and Oklahoma Army National Guard. In 2009, she rejoined Citizens and served in the positions of Chief Credit Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. In 2014, she was appointed CEO.

Oklahoma is heavily dependent on the energy industry, and Castilla admits that her customers' fortunes often rise and fall with the price of natural gas or crude oil. Right now, the drop in production has been stinging the regional economy.

Still, she says the banking sector has learned a lot of restraint after being burned by the bust in the 1980s.

"We have the ability to be more resilient," said Castilla. "Oklahomans are very scrappy. We can survive just about anything, and that's what we are enduring through this situation as well."