Cornerstone Advisors Report: Core Banking Tech Key to Community Bank Growth — Cornerstone Financial Consultants, Ltd. (Cornerstone Advisors)

Event summary

Cornerstone Advisors released a report on September 15, 2026, highlighting how core banking technology impacts community bank growth.
The report found that 48% of banks cited lack of data and operational metrics as a top technology challenge, up from 27% the previous year.
Digital account opening abandonment exceeds 50% if the process takes longer than three to five minutes, with fintechs capturing 56% of new checking and payments account openings in 2025.
Nearly a third of midsize banks lack infrastructure to expose or manage open APIs securely.
80% of bank executives now consider big fintechs a significant threat, up from 47% in 2023.

The big picture

The report underscores the critical role of core banking technology in enabling community banks to compete with fintechs and larger institutions. As digital account opening and real-time data access become essential, banks with outdated core systems risk falling behind. The findings highlight a broader industry trend where technology infrastructure is increasingly determining the growth trajectory of financial institutions.

What we're watching

Technology Adoption: How the pace of core banking technology upgrades will affect community bank competitiveness.
Fintech Partnerships: Whether community banks can sustain growth through fintech collaborations given core system limitations.
Data Accessibility: The impact of real-time data access on fraud detection, deposit retention, and AI-driven tools for community banks.