Valley National Bank Ranked 8th Best Performing Home Equity Portfolio by SNL Financial

Valley National Bank Ranked 8th Best Performing Home Equity Portfolio by SNL
Financial

WAYNE, N.J., July 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Valley National Bancorp
(NYSE: VLY) ("Valley"), the holding company for Valley National Bank,
announced that SNL Financial ranked Valley's home equity loan portfolio the
8th best-performing portfolio among publicly traded banks and thrifts with
more than $100 million in home equity lines of credit on their books during
the twelve months ended March 31, 2008 based on a combination of low
delinquency rates and net charge-offs.
At June 30, 2008, Valley's $538 million home equity portfolio consisting
of over 14,200 loans continued to perform well, with only 11 loans past due 30
days or more. These delinquent loans totaled $727 thousand or 0.14 percent of
the total home equity portfolio at June 30, 2008 as compared to $1.1 million
or 0.21 percent of the portfolio at March 31, 2008. Gerald H. Lipkin,
Chairman, President and CEO of Valley noted that, "These numbers continue to
demonstrate the strong performance of our loan portfolio and management's
dedication to high loan underwriting standards in a time when many bank
analysts are anticipating more bad news about home equity losses and
delinquencies from the financial sector."
About Valley
Valley is a regional bank holding company with nearly $14 billion in
assets, headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey. Its principal subsidiary, Valley
National Bank, currently operates 193 branches in 131 communities serving 14
counties located in northern and central New Jersey, Manhattan, Brooklyn and
Queens through its principal subsidiary, Valley National Bank.
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.
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 new and existing programs and
products, relationships, opportunities, taxation, technology and market
conditions. These statements may be identified by such forward-looking
terminology as "expect," "believe," "view," "opportunity," "allow,"
"continues," "reflects," "typically," "usually," "anticipate," or similar
statements or variations of such terms. Such forward-looking statements
involve certain risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially
from such forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to
differ from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements include,
among others, the following: unanticipated changes in the direction of
interest rates; stronger competition from banks, other financial institutions
and other companies; changes in loan and mortgage prepayment assumptions;
insufficient allowance for credit losses; a higher level of net loan charge-
offs and delinquencies than anticipated; a decline in the economy in Valley's
primary market areas, mainly in New Jersey and New York; a decrease in loan
origination volume; and operational risks, including the risk of fraud by
employees or outsiders and unanticipated litigation pertaining to Valley's
fiduciary responsibility.
SOURCE Valley National Bancorp

Dianne M. Grenz, First Senior Vice President, Director of Marketing, Public &
Shareholder Relations of Valley National Bancorp, +1-973-305-4005