In today’s challenging financial services environment, institutions are struggling to achieve a balance between growth, asset quality, quality of service and costs in a highly competitive and difficult market.
Enter Cornerstone Advisors. At Cornerstone, we believe that disciplined growth can be achieved when an institution sets deeper performance benchmarks than just ROA, efficiency ratio and “making budget.” We help banks and credit unions improve processes and implement formal scorecards that “strip the onion” across all major institutional functions. Armed with this type of information, financial institutions can work on fundamental improvements establishing a sound foundation for higher performance levels and future growth.
The Benefits to You
Cornerstone’s Benchmarking and Best Practices Assessment delivers the following benefits to your organization:
- The identification of functions where your organization operates “at peer” or “below peer” and where it is a “high performer”
- Efficient and optimal staffing scorecards
- Reduced operating expenses and increased revenue
- Best practice recommendations for staffing, spending, organizational structure and system use
- Improved productivity and processes to avoid future cost increases as your institution grows
- Improved quality and consistency of sales and service delivery
- Disciplined growth and expansion
The Cornerstone Differentiation
- Laser Focus – Cornerstone focuses its practice exclusively on providing services to mid-size banks and large credit unions. We have in-depth expertise in how financial institutions operate and the best practices that drive high performing banks.
- Hands On Expertise– Cornerstone’s benchmarking, best practices and process improvement work with a wide variety of financial institutions with differing strategies, operating models, markets and product niches has led to our firm belief that a cookie-cutter approach to process improvement/best practices is generally ineffective.
- Proprietary Database – Cornerstone is the leading consulting firm focusing on the benchmarks and best practices relevant to mid-size financial institutions. We publish the nationally recognized Cornerstone Report for Banks and Credit Unions, detailed annual reports containing proprietary data for hundreds of industry best practices and peer benchmarks.
- Strategic approach – Our team of financial services professionals and technologists ensures that all best practices and process improvement initiatives support your organization’s strategic business priorities
We’ve Done This Before
- Florida commercial bank ($1 billion) – Bank-wide Benchmarking and Best Practices Assessment and Strategic Planning
- Southeast regional bank ($11 billion) – Bank-wide Best Practices and Strategic Opportunities Assessment
- Southeastern community bank ($1.3 billion) – Bank-wide Best Practices Assessment
- East Coast regional bank ($32 billion) – Bank-wide Benchmarking and Best Practices Assessment
- California credit union ($735 million) - Mortgage Lending Best Practices Assessment
- Northwest credit union ($600 million) – Call Center Best Practice Assessment
- Midwest regional bank ($2.5 billion) – Bank-wide Best Practices and Strategic Opportunities Assessment
- Massachusetts savings bank ($1.7 billion) – Benchmarking and Best Practices Assessment
- Southeast regional bank ($7.2 billion) – Commercial Lending Best Practices and Process Assessment
- Northwest credit union ($800 Million) – Mortgage Lending and Organization-wide Best Practices Assessment
- Midwest regional bank ($874 million) – Bank-wide Best Practices Assessment
- California regional bank ($8 billion) – Bank-wide Best Practices Assessment following acquisition by international organization
- Southwestern regional bank ($16 billion) – Bank-wide Best Practices and Technology Assessment
- California community bank ($700 million) - Bank-wide Best Practices Assessment
- Illinois credit union ($1.4 billion) – Benchmarking, Best Practices Assessment and Strategic Planning
- Ohio commercial bank (3.2 billion) – Bank-wide Benchmarking and Best Practices Assessment
- California community bank ($300 million) – Bank-wide Best Practices Assessment
- Georgia community bank ($700 million) – Bank-wide Best Practices Assessment
- Iowa Community Bank ($480 Million) – Bank-wide Best Practices Assessment