A little more than a year since breaking ground for its new headquarters in Morristown, Valley National Bank marked the opening of the space with a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week.

“Moving our headquarters to Morristown, a dynamic and evolving community, aligns well with the growth Valley has achieved from a small community bank to a regional bank, while maintaining our focus and commitment to being relationship-driven,” CEO Ira Robbins said marking the Oct. 24 milestone at the 120,000-square-foot building developed by SJP Properties and architecture firm Gensler.

The news was paired with the bank’s third quarter results for 2023, which were released Oct. 26. For Q3, total revenue was $471.08 million, slightly down from the prior period’s $479.84 million and a decline of 7.7%)from Q2 2022’s $510.19 million. According to a report posted by the Nasdaq Stock Market, adjusted earnings per share of 26 cents met estimates; however, the bottom line posted a 25.7% decline year over year.

In Morristown, Valley is already settling into its new space and community.

“In the few weeks we have been in Morristown, it already feels like home,” said Valley Bank President Tom Iadanza. “Our employees are enjoying the vibrancy of the city and variety of food and shopping establishments. We appreciate the warm welcome from the people and leaders of Morristown.”

Valley announced in 2022 that it would move its base from Wayne, with plans to bring more than 600 professionals to the Morris County seat. A series of vacant buildings on Speedwell Avenue were cleared to build Valley’s new base.

In his remarks last week, Robbins pointed to the convenience the new location offers for both employees and clients, adding “We are excited to become part of a community where many of our partner organizations are based.”

Morristown’s appeal isn’t limited to Valley, a number of high-profile companies have made plans to take up residence in the active area, including Sanofi and Deloitte, as well as Morgan Stanley and Zelis.

New way of working

According to the bank, the modern, hybrid building offers opportunities for Valley’s team to collaborate, innovate or thrive — whether working together or on an individual basis. Valley employs a hybrid work-from-home strategy for employees, a company spokesperson told NJBIZ.

The energy efficient space was designed to achieve LEED certification and features bright, airy environments; access to the latest technology; centralized business hubs; and outdoor terraces overlooking Morristown, the bank said.

As the financial institution has settled into its new space, the city has also welcomed the brand.

“On behalf of the Town of Morristown, I would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest valued business, Valley National Bank,” said Mayor Tim Dougherty. “This is the beginning of a partnership that will invigorate Morristown as a vibrant and thriving district. Our town’s rich heritage and strong sense of community make it an ideal setting for a company to prosper. We are thrilled to have Valley here and are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for newcomers to live and work. Here’s to your continued success and growth in our town.”

Valley has already become part of the community by integrating itself through sponsorships of local events, including the Morristown Festival on the Green and the Morristown Festival of Books.

In late 2022, The United Way of Northern New Jersey recognized Valley’s new building with the organization’s Impact Award, which honors commercial real estate projects “with the greatest positive impact.”

According to The United Way, Valley’s headquarters work created more than 400 construction jobs, in addition to the hundreds of employees that would work from the space.

Resilient results

As the principal subsidiary of Valley National Bancorp, Valley National Bank boasts nearly $61 billion in assets and serves customers in New Jersey, New York, Florida, Alabama, California and Illinois.

For Q3, Valley reported net income of $141.3 million, or $0.27 per diluted common share. While up from the prior period – net income was $139.1 million in Q2 – year-over-year net income was down from $178.1 million, or $0.34 per diluted common share, in Q3 of 2022.

The bank called out several financial highlights for the period, including:

• Loan portfolio: Growth slowed in most categories, meeting expectations, largely due to higher market interest rates. Total loans were up 1.8% on an annualized basis, or $220.3 million, to $50.1 billion. Valley attributed the increase to new loan organizations in the commercial real estate loan portfolio.
• Deposits: Total deposits were up as of Sept. 30, 2023, to $49.9 billion, marking a $265.5 million increase as compared with Q2 2023. The financial institution pointed to increases in direct customer interest bearing deposits as a large contributor.

“I am extremely proud of the strength, stability, and resiliency reflected in our balance sheet during the third quarter,” Robbins said in a statement accompanying the Q3 results. “Our asset quality remains exceptional, and slower loan growth during the quarter contributed to improved capital ratios. Higher customer deposit balances enabled an incremental reduction in indirect CDs, while we paid off short-term borrowings to normalize our overnight cash position which was elevated in the second quarter.”

Looking toward the future, Robbins added, “In early October we completed our transformational core conversion. This was an incredible accomplishment for our organization against a challenging backdrop. We now have the appropriate technology infrastructure to support sustainable growth and better efficiency going forward. In my tenure we have built our robust service capabilities and have a significant opportunity to leverage these new technologies.”

Taken with the new office, there’s plenty to watch for on Valley’s horizon.

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