Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' ratings on Valley National Bancorp (Valley) reflect the company's conservative credit culture and its maintenance of better-than-peers' asset quality, despite the challenging economic environment. Other strengths include the company's good core earnings, supported by low overhead expenses and contained credit costs. The company's relatively small size, its geographic concentration, and its significant CRE exposure restrict the ratings. Also, Valley has limited earnings diversification, reflecting its low level of fee income. We view Valley's risk-adjusted capital levels as adequate, but we believe that the company's capital management is slightly aggressive, illustrated by its high dividend payout ratio. With, Valley is a commercial bank based in Wayne, New Jersey, that has $14.4 billion in assets. Its principal
