On May 28, 2015, we placed Valley National Bancorp (VLY) on CreditWatch with negative implications following the company's announced plans to acquire CNLBancshares for $1.4 billion, which would be the second bank acquisition in Florida in less than 12 months. We believe Valley is entering the Florida market in a measured manner and that the company will continue to maintain conservative underwriting standards. We are affirming our ratings on VLY at 'BBB+'. The negative outlook reflects the strategic, credit, and operational risks of VLY's planned further expansion into Florida, which has traditionally been a more volatile market. On June 15, 2015, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed the 'BBB+' issuer credit rating on Valley National Bancorp (VLY) and the 'A-'
