New Cornerstone Advisors Research Finds Community Banks and Credit Unions Only Halfway to Successfully Leveraging Their Data

Study finds most community financial institutions lack the data execution quality needed to succeed with AI.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Nov. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A new research report from Cornerstone Advisors, a leading provider of business and technology consulting services for banks, credit unions, and fintech firms, reveals that community-based financial institutions (FIs) are making progress in leveraging data but still have significant room to grow.

The report, "Improving Your Financial Institution's Data Execution Quality (EQ)," commissioned by KlariVis, introduces a framework for measuring how effectively financial institutions use data across five key functional areas. The results reveal that the average Data EQ score among more than 120 surveyed banks and credit unions was just 241 out of 500, or "little more than halfway" to optimal data utilization.

The Link Between Data EQ and AI Readiness
The study highlights a strong connection between Data EQ and successful artificial intelligence adoption. While 35% of community FIs have already deployed chatbots and 25% are experimenting with generative AI, the report warns that AI initiatives will fail without a solid Data EQ foundation.

"Community banks and credit unions stand to benefit significantly from AI — but only when their data infrastructure is up to the task," said Ron Shevlin, chief research officer at Cornerstone Advisors and author of the report. "The problem is that many financial institutions treat qualitative data like that weird uncle at Thanksgiving: there, but nobody knows what to do with it. Without a strong data strategy, even the best AI tools will underperform or backfire."

Key findings of the report:

• Credit analysis ranked the highest from a data utilization perspective, though with an average score of 51 out of 100, there's a lot of room for improvement.
• Sales and marketing showed the weakest results. Two-thirds of institutions scored below 50, reflecting limited personalization, segmentation, and campaign analytics capabilities.
• Credit unions outperformed banks significantly in every functional area, scoring an average of 271 vs. 211, suggesting stronger data-driven cultures within the credit union sector.
• Larger financial institutions generally achieved higher Data EQ scores. However, those with $500 million to $1 billion in assets scored lower than smaller peers, reflecting growing organizational complexity without equivalent data process maturity.

The report also identifies the hallmarks of Data EQ high performers — the top 26% of respondents — which stand out for their data-driven cultures and governance practices:

• 72% view information as a strategic asset.
• 56% say data drives strategic decisions.
• 47% foster a culture of data use.
• 41% regularly review data strategy.

About the Report
The Data Execution Quality (EQ) study surveyed 124 U.S. banks and credit unions in August 2025. Respondents included senior executives (70% SVP level or higher) from institutions with assets of $250 million to $10 billion. The report evaluates 50 data-related capabilities across five key functional areas: strategic planning, sales and marketing, credit analysis, operational delivery, and the effectiveness of data access and analysis capabilities.

Download the free report here: https://www.crnrstone.com/improving-your-financial-institutions-data-execution-quality

About Cornerstone Advisors
For over 20 years, Cornerstone Advisors has delivered gritty insights, bold strategies, and data-driven solutions to build smarter banks, credit unions, and fintechs. From technology system selection and implementation to contract negotiations, vendor management, performance improvement programs, strategic planning, merger integration, and enterprise program management, Cornerstone combines its expertise with research and proprietary data to help financial institutions thrive in today's challenging environment.

About KlariVis
KlariVis® is a banker-built performance intelligence platform that drives clarity, confidence, and speed for financial institutions - all in one platform. Designed by former bankers, KlariVis unifies fragmented data from across the institution: lending, deposits, operations, finance, and marketing into a single source of truth. The result? Decision velocity that powers profitability and growth.

Media Contact:
Cate Pitts, Editorial Director
Cornerstone Advisors
(480) 425-5203
[email protected] 

SOURCE Cornerstone Advisors