Gritty Insights

Where bank, credit union and fintech leaders turn for unbiased, data-driven analyses, and perspectives.

Featured Insights

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Vendor Management: How Banks and Credit Unions Can Gain a Competitive Edge

In this whitepaper, learn how effective vendor management can transform your organization by helping you reduce expenses, control risk, increase agility and boost efficiency.

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How This 177-Year-Old Bank Innovates

Al and Steve pick the brain of Nitin Mhatre, the CEO of Berkshire Bank, on the most pressing issues in banking. They explore the tension of a bank changing for the times while preserving its relationship-driven company culture, how to recruit senior talent and the importance of investing in technology.

Listen to the Podcast

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Are Community Banks Getting Squeezed Out of Existence?

GonzoBanker | Ron Shevlin, Chief Research Officer

A recent Wall Street Journal article nailed the title—Main Street Banking Model Is Being Squeezed—but missed the mark on the cause.

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Research Reports

Financial service industry leaders use Cornerstone’s authoritative research to stay current on market developments. Discover what we offer.

Cornerstone Advisors Gritty Insights - All Research 2025

Research Reports & Guides

Where bank, credit union and fintech leaders turn for unbiased, data-driven analyses, insights and perspectives.

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Cornerstone Advisors Gritty Insights - WGOIB 2025 Report

What's Going On In Banking 2025

The economy is fragile, the interest rate environment isn’t stable, and regulations and compliance remain a burden. But optimism among bankers is as high as it’s been in a decade, and this year’s report sails on calmer seas to explore ways financial institutions and their technology providers can plan for the changes and challenges ahead.

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Executive Education & Roundtables

Level up on the dynamic financial services industry from our pros. Our curriculum includes interactive lectures, case studies, group discussions
and hands-on projects that simulate real-world scenarios.

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GonzoBanker Newsletter & Articles

Cornerstone Advisors’ “alter ego,” GonzoBanker is our blog dispatched along with a good helping of irreverence to more than 10,000 readers around the world. Get a dose of our opinionated take on the technologies, vendors, strategies and anything else we run across in the trenches of the banking industry, delivered to your inbox several times a month.

GonzoBanker

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customer experience ,

2 min read

What Are Banks’ and Fintechs’ Real Customer Acquisition Costs?

Ron Shevlin

Customer acquisition cost (CAC): The metric that keeps CMOs awake at night, CFOs grumbling about marketing spend, and CEOs demanding “more growth, faster!” Few metrics in the banking and fintech arena are as hard to reliably quantify as thi...

Fintech ,

4 min read

Fintechs Could Win the Post-CFPB Sweepstakes

Scott Hodgins

Bankers need to prove that they can self-regulate to support the special trust they so desperately need to stay relevant.

Colorful hosts Al Dominick, Steve Williams, Ron Shevlin, Sam Kilmer and Mary Wisniewski take you inside the minds of banking and fintech leaders for the latest in finance and financial technology.

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Webinars

Cornerstone webinars explore the latest industry trends, regulations and technologies and deliver expert guidance to help financial institutions make smart competitive decisions.

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Z Hits Different: How to Better Acquire and Engage a New Generation

Join Cornerstone Editor-at-Large Mary Wisniewski and Frich Co-Founder and CEO Katrin Kaurov in a lively conversation about how Gen Z is thinking about money and what it means for finserv marketers.