Cornerstone Banks

What Cornerstone Banks does

Cornerstone Bank is a privately-held, FDIC-insured community bank headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota, with offices in North Dakota and South Dakota. Founded in 1936 and operating with 101-250 employees, the bank serves individual consumers, local businesses, and agricultural operations through a relationship-based banking model that emphasizes local decision-making and direct access to bank personnel. Its stated differentiator is not product novelty but rather the bank's rootedness in the communities it serves, positioning itself against larger national institutions.

The bank's product suite spans three core service lines. Personal Banking covers checking, savings, private banking, debit and credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, credit monitoring (via "Credit Sense"), and youth financial literacy through "Youth Corner." Ag & Business Banking provides commercial accounts, agricultural and business loans, business debit/credit cards, and cash management services targeting liquidity, collections, disbursements, and treasury operations. A third line offers investment and wealth management services. Digital access is delivered through outsourced infrastructure rather than proprietary platforms: Secure Internet Bank (PBI for personal, EBC for business) for online account access, and Elan's MyAccountAccess for credit card servicing. Routing number 091300719 identifies the institution within the U.S. payment system.

Revenue is generated primarily through net interest income on loan products (personal, mortgage, agricultural, commercial) and fee-based income from banking services (deposit accounts, debit/credit cards, cash management). Pricing for deposits, loans, and fees is not publicly disclosed and is available only on direct inquiry. The go-to-market approach is community-based: physical branches serve as the primary customer acquisition and service channel, supplemented by online banking, telephone support (1-888-297-2100), and a modest social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. The bank is privately held with no parent company, institutional investors, or public market exposure disclosed in the available data.

Name

Cornerstone Banks

Legal name

Cornerstone Bank

Website

https://cornerstonebanks.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Cornerstone Bank is a privately-held FDIC-insured community bank headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota, serving individual consumers, local businesses, and agricultural operations across North Dakota and South Dakota with personal banking, commercial and agricultural lending, cash management, and wealth management services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Banking

NAICS

Commercial Banking (522110)

SIC

State Commercial Banks (6022)

akta.pro primary industry

Mass-Market Consumer Deposit Banking (Checking/Savings) (FSABAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Affluent/Premier Retail Banking (Mass Affluent) (FSABAAAG)

Keywords

• Community banking services
• Personal banking products
• Agricultural lending
• Commercial cash management
• Consumer mortgage lending

Headquarters

HQ city

Bismarck

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Interest Income from Loans: Traditional banking revenue generated from interest earned on various loan products including personal loans, mortgages, and business/agricultural loans.
2. Banking Service Fees: Fees generated from various banking services including checking accounts, savings accounts, debit cards, credit cards, and cash management services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cornerstone Bank operates as a community bank delivering deposit, lending, payment, and wealth products across three core service lines: Personal Banking (checking, savings, private banking, debit/credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, and credit monitoring via Credit Sense), Ag & Business Banking (business accounts, agricultural and commercial loans, business debit/credit cards, and cash management services), and Investments. Customers access these products through FDIC-insured deposit accounts, in-person branch service, and online banking portals powered by third-party Secure Internet Bank and Elan credit card platforms.

Product overview

Cornerstone Bank operates as a traditional community bank offering a unified suite of banking products organized into three core service lines: Personal Banking, Ag & Business Banking, and Investments. Personal Banking encompasses checking, savings, private banking, credit/debit cards, loans, mortgages, and credit monitoring (Credit Sense). Ag & Business Banking provides commercial accounts, agricultural loans, business credit/debit cards, and cash management services. The bank also offers investment products and youth banking education through Youth Corner. The bank differentiates through local decision-making and personal service, routing number 091300719, and provides online banking access through third-party portals for personal, business, and credit card account management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Personal Banking Comprehensive banking services for individual consumers, bundling checking, savings, private banking, debit/credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, convenience products, and credit monitoring into a single retail banking line.
• Ag & Business Banking Commercial and agricultural banking services for businesses and farm operations, including business checking/savings, agricultural and commercial loans, business debit/credit cards, and cash management tools for collections, disbursements, and treasury operations.
• Investments Investment products and wealth management services offered to personal and business customers.
• Youth Corner Banking education and youth-oriented savings products designed to build financial literacy among young customers.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bell Bank: Fargo, North Dakota-headquartered community bank offering personal, business, and ag banking across the Dakotas and Upper Midwest. Closest direct peer — same regional footprint, same community-banking value proposition, similar product mix.
• Starion Bank: North Dakota community bank with branches across the state offering personal, business, and ag lending. Direct peer — same state footprint, similar ag-business banking emphasis, comparable community-bank scale.
• Gate City Bank: Fargo-based mutual community bank serving North Dakota and the surrounding region with personal, business, and mortgage banking. Comparable in mission (relationship/community banking), geography, and product breadth to Cornerstone Bank.
• BlackRidgeBANK: North Dakota community bank offering personal and business banking with focus on ag lending and commercial services. Direct peer in the same regional market with comparable community-banking positioning.
• First International Bank & Trust: North Dakota community bank with multi-state footprint across the Dakotas, Montana, and Minnesota offering personal, ag, and business banking. Direct peer with comparable ag-lending specialization and regional scale.
• Kirkwood Bank & Trust: Bismarck, North Dakota-based community bank (same HQ city as Cornerstone Bank) offering personal, business, and ag banking. Direct local peer competing for the same Bismarck-area customers.

Broad incumbents

• Bremer Bank: St. Paul, Minnesota-based regional bank serving the Upper Midwest including North Dakota. Larger community/regional bank with overlapping product set; not a direct footprint competitor but a regional benchmark for scale and pricing.
• Wells Fargo: National bank with established branches and ag-finance capabilities in the Dakotas. Competes for larger commercial and consumer relationships; relevant as the broader-incumbent benchmark Cornerstone positions against on local service.
• U.S. Bank (U.S. Bancorp): Minneapolis-headquartered national bank with strong Midwest branch presence including North and South Dakota. Larger incumbent competitor that Cornerstone competes against for commercial and ag-banking relationships in its footprint.
• Heartland Financial USA / HTLF: Multi-state community banking holding company with banks across the Midwest, West, and Southwest. Provides a regional-incumbent benchmark for community-bank consolidation strategies and ag-lending scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/cornerstonebanks
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/936460
• Instagraminstagram.com/accounts/login/?next=%2Fcornerstonebanks%2F&source=omni_redirect
• Xx.com/cornerstonend

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cornerstone Banks