Valley National Bancorp ("Valley") (NASDAQ:VLY) and Providence Financial Corporation ("Providence") announced today that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement whereby Valley will acquire Providence, parent company of Providence Bank & Trust. The acquisition is a continuation of Valley’s recent investments to accelerate retail and small business growth, which began with the hiring of Patrick Smith as President of Consumer Banking in September 2025. Consistent with Valley’s strategic focus to enhance its funding profile and expand in attractive target markets, Providence provides an attractive and established physical delivery channel in the Chicagoland area to supplement Valley’s existing commercial presence in the market.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, the shareholders of Providence will receive 4.3854 shares of Valley common stock and $21.47 in cash for each share of Providence common stock they own. Total merger consideration is estimated to be $247 million, based on Valley’s closing stock price of $14.10 on August 24, 2026. The transaction is expected to be approximately 2% accretive to Valley’s earnings and less than 1% dilutive to Valley’s pro forma tangible book value at close, with an earnback period of less than 3 years.