Valley National Bancorp Receives Greater Community Bancorp Shareholder Approval

WAYNE, N.J. & TOTOWA, N.J.--(Business Wire)--
Valley National Bancorp (NYSE:VLY) ("Valley") and Greater
Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:GFLS) ("Greater Community") jointly
announced today that all regulatory and shareholder approvals
necessary to complete the previously announced merger of Greater
Community with and into Valley have been received.

It is expected that the merger between Valley and Greater
Community will take place on July 1, 2008.

Valley is a regional bank holding company with over $12 billion in
assets, headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey. Its principal subsidiary,
Valley National Bank, currently operates 177 branches in 123
communities serving 14 counties throughout northern and central New
Jersey, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.

For more information about Valley National Bank and its products
and services, please visit www.valleynationalbank.com or call Customer
Service 24/7 at 1-800-522-4100.

Greater Community is a bank holding company with approximately
$967 million in assets. Its commercial banking subsidiary, Greater
Community Bank, has 16 full-service branch offices located in Bergen,
Morris, and Passaic Counties. Pursuant to the merger agreement,
Greater Community Bank will be merged with and into Valley National
Bank.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

The foregoing contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such
statements are not historical facts and include expressions about
management's confidence and strategies and management's expectations
about acquisitions, relationships and opportunities. These statements
may be identified by such forward-looking terminology as "expect" or
similar statements or variations. Such forward-looking statements
involve certain risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ
materially from such forward-looking statements. Valley and Greater
Community assume no obligation for updating any such forward-looking
statement at any time. Factors that may cause actual results to differ
materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements
include, but are not limited to, the following: failure to satisfy
conditions to the merger on the proposed terms and within the proposed
timeframes; the inability to realize expected cost savings and
synergies from the merger of Greater Community with Valley in the
amounts or in the timeframe anticipated; changes in the estimate of
non-recurring charges; costs or difficulties relating to integration
matters might be greater than expected; material adverse changes in
Valley's or Greater Community's operations or earnings; the inability
to retain Greater Community's customers and employees; or a decline in
the economy in Valley's primary market areas, mainly in New Jersey and
New York.

Valley National Bancorp
Dianne M. Grenz, 973-305-4005
First Senior Vice President
Director of Marketing, Public & Shareholder Relations
or
Greater Community Bancorp
Anthony M. Bruno, Jr., 973-942-1111
Chairman, President & CEO

Copyright Business Wire 2008