VALLEY NATIONAL BANCORP (VLY)

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following MD&A should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto appearing in Part I, Item 1 of this report. The MD&A contains supplemental financial information, described in the sections that follow, which has been determined by methods other than GAAP that management uses in its analysis of our performance. Management believes these non-GAAP financial measures provide information useful to investors in understanding our underlying operational performance, our business and performance trends and facilitate comparisons with the performance of others in the financial services industry. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation, as a substitute for or superior to financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures may also be calculated differently from similar measures disclosed by other companies.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, both in the MD&A and elsewhere, 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 our business, new and existing programs and products, acquisitions, relationships, opportunities, taxation, technology, market conditions and economic expectations. These statements may be identified by forward-looking terminology such as “intend,” “should,” “expect,” “believe,” “position,” “view,” “opportunity,” “allow,” “continues,” “reflects,” “would,” “could,” “typically,” “usually,” “anticipate,” “may,” “estimate,” “outlook,” “project” 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 materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:

•the impact of market interest rates and monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. federal government and its agencies in connection with prolonged inflationary pressures, which could have a material adverse effect on our clients, our business, our employees, and our ability to provide services to our customers;

•the impact of unfavorable macroeconomic conditions or downturns, including instability or volatility in financial markets resulting from the impact of tariffs/import fees and other trade policies and practices, any retaliatory actions, changes in energy commodity prices, related market uncertainty, or other factors; U.S. government debt default or rating downgrade; unanticipated loan delinquencies; loss of collateral; decreased service revenues; increased business disruptions or failures; reductions in employment; and other potential negative effects on our business, employees or clients caused by factors outside of our control, such as new legislation and policy changes under the current U.S. presidential administration, any shutdown of the U.S. federal government, geopolitical instabilities or events, including ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, natural and other disasters, including severe weather events and other climate-related risks, health emergencies, acts of terrorism, or other external events;

•the impact of any potential instability within the U.S. financial sector or future bank failures, including the possibility of a run on deposits by a coordinated deposit base, and the impact of any actual or perceived concerns regarding the soundness, or creditworthiness, of other financial institutions, including any resulting disruption within the financial markets, increased expenses, including FDIC insurance assessments, or adverse impact on our stock price, deposits or our ability to borrow or raise capital;

•the impact of negative public opinion regarding Valley or banks in general that damages our reputation and adversely impacts business and revenues;

•changes in the statutes, regulations, policies, enforcement priorities, or composition of the federal bank regulatory agencies;

•the loss of or decrease in lower-cost funding sources within our deposit base;

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•investigations, damage verdicts, settlements or restrictions related to existing or potential class action litigation or individual litigation arising from claims of violations of laws or regulations, contractual claims, breach of fiduciary responsibility, negligence, fraud, environmental laws, patent, trademark or other intellectual property infringement, misappropriation or other violation, employment-related claims, and other matters;

•a prolonged downturn and contraction in the economy, as well as any decline in commercial real estate values collateralizing a significant portion of our loan portfolio;

•higher or lower than expected income tax expense or tax rates, including increases or decreases resulting from changes in uncertain tax position liabilities, tax laws, regulations, and case law;

•the inability to grow customer deposits to keep pace with the level of loan growth;

•a material change in our allowance for credit losses due to forecasted economic conditions and/or unexpected credit deterioration in our loan and investment portfolios;

•the need to supplement debt or equity capital to maintain or exceed internal capital thresholds;

•changes in our business, strategy, market conditions or other factors that may negatively impact the estimated fair value of our goodwill and other intangible assets and result in future impairment charges;

•greater than expected technology-related costs due to, among other factors, prolonged or failed implementations, additional project staffing and obsolescence caused by continuous and rapid market innovations;

•increased competitive challenges and competitive pressure on pricing of our products and services;

•our ability to stay current with rapid technological changes and evolving legal and regulatory requirements in the financial services industry, including developments relating to the use of artificial intelligence, blockchain, and related regulatory developments, as well as our ability to effectively assess and monitor the effects of, and risks associated with, the implementation and use of such technology;

•cyberattacks, ransomware attacks, computer viruses, malware or other cybersecurity incidents that may breach the security of our or our third-party service providers’ websites or other systems or networks to obtain unauthorized access to personal, confidential, proprietary or sensitive information, destroy data, disable or degrade service, or sabotage our systems or networks, and the increasing sophistication of such attacks and use of targeted tactics against the financial services industry;

•any disruption of our systems and network, or those of our third-party service providers, resulting from events that are wholly or partially beyond our control, including, for example, electrical, telecommunications, or other major service outages, or actions by employees, which may give rise to financial loss or liability;

•results of examinations by the OCC, the FRB, the CFPB and other regulatory authorities, including the possibility that any such regulatory authority may, among other things, require us to increase our allowance for credit losses, write down assets, reimburse customers, change the way we do business, or limit or eliminate certain other banking activities;

•application of heightened regulatory standards for certain large insured national banks, and the expenses we will incur to develop policies, programs, and systems that comply with the enhanced standards applicable to us;

•our inability or determination not to pay dividends at current levels, or at all, because of inadequate earnings, regulatory restrictions or limitations, changes in our capital requirements, or a decision to increase capital by retaining more earnings;

•unanticipated loan delinquencies, loss of collateral, decreased service revenues, and other potential negative effects on our business caused by severe weather and other climate-related risks, pandemics or other public health crises, acts of terrorism or other external events;

•our ability to successfully execute our business plan and strategic initiatives; and

•unexpected significant declines in the loan portfolio due to the lack of economic expansion, increased competition, large prepayments, risk mitigation strategies, changes in regulatory lending guidance or other factors.

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A detailed discussion of factors that could affect our results is included in our SEC filings, including Item 1A. “Risk Factors” of Valley's Annual Report.

We undertake no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in our expectations, except as required by law. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.

Critical Accounting Estimates

Valley’s accounting policies are fundamental to understanding management’s discussion and analysis of its financial condition and results of operations. In preparing the consolidated financial statements, management has made estimates, judgments and assumptions in accordance with these policies that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the consolidated statements of financial condition and results of operations for the periods indicated. At June 30, 2026, we identified our policies on the allowance for credit losses, goodwill and other intangible assets, and income taxes to be critical accounting policies because management has to make subjective and/or complex judgments about matters that are inherently uncertain and because it is likely that materially different amounts would be reported under different conditions or using different assumptions. Management has reviewed the application of these policies and estimates with the Audit Committee of Valley’s Board. Our critical accounting policies and estimates are described in detail in Part II, Item 7 in Valley’s Annual Report, and there have been no material changes in such policies and estimates since the date of Valley’s Annual Report.

New Authoritative Accounting Guidance

See Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements for a description of new authoritative accounting guidance, including the dates of adoption and effects on results of operations and financial condition.

Executive Summary

Company Overview. At June 30, 2026, Valley had consolidated total assets of approximately $66.3 billion, total net loans of $51.9 billion, total deposits of $54.1 billion and total shareholders’ equity of $7.9 billion. Valley operates many convenient branch and commercial banking office locations nationwide and serves clients across New Jersey, New York, Florida, Alabama, California, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Arizona. Of our current network of 228 branches, 55 percent, 18 percent, and 19 percent of the branches are located in New Jersey, New York, and Florida, respectively, with the remaining 8 percent of the branches in Alabama, California, and Illinois combined.

Financial Condition. During the second quarter 2026, we continued to expand our business and grow the balance sheet in a responsible manner to best perform in the current economic environment, while also prudently managing the overall risk of our loan portfolio. The following items are highlights at June 30, 2026.

•Deposits: Total deposit balances increased $1.3 billion to $54.1 billion at June 30, 2026 as compared to $52.9 billion at March 31, 2026. Direct customer deposits incre

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The purpose of this analysis is to provide the reader with information relevant to understanding and assessing Valley’s results of operations and financial condition for each of the past two years. In order to fully appreciate this analysis, the reader is encouraged to review the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes thereto appearing under Item 8 of this Report, and statistical data presented in this document. For comparison of our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, please refer to Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of our Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the SEC on February 28, 2025.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This Report, both in MD&A and elsewhere, 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 our business, new and existing programs and products, acquisitions, relationships, opportunities, taxation, technology, market conditions and economic expectations. These statements may be identified by forward-looking terminology such as “intend,” “should,” “expect,” “believe,” “view,” “opportunity,” “allow,” “continues,” “reflects,” “would,” “could,” “typically,” “usually,” “anticipate,” “may,” “estimate,” “outlook,” “project” or similar statements or variations of such terms. Such forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties. Factors, in addition to risk factors listed under Item 1A. of this Report, that may differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:

•the impact of market interest rates and monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. federal government and its agencies in connection with prolonged inflationary pressures, which could have a material adverse effect on our clients, our business, our employees, and our ability to provide services to our customers;

•the impact of unfavorable macroeconomic conditions or downturns, including instability or volatility in financial markets resulting from the impact of tariffs/import fees and other trade policies and practices, any retaliatory actions, related market uncertainty, or other factors; U.S. government debt default or rating downgrade; unanticipated loan delinquencies; loss of collateral; decreased service revenues; increased business disruptions or failures; reductions in employment; and other potential negative effects on our business, employees or clients caused by factors outside of our control, such as new legislation and policy changes under the current U.S. presidential administration, any shutdown of the U.S federal government, geopolitical instabilities or events, natural and other disasters, including severe weather events and other climate-related risks, health emergencies, acts of terrorism, or other external events;

•the impact of any potential instability within the U.S. financial sector or future bank failures, including the possibility of a run on deposits by a coordinated deposit base, and the impact of any actual or perceived concerns regarding the soundness, or creditworthiness, of other financial institutions, including any resulting disruption within the financial markets, increased expenses, including FDIC insurance assessments, or adverse impact on our stock price, deposits or our ability to borrow or raise capital;

•the impact of negative public opinion regarding Valley or banks in general that damages our reputation and adversely impacts business and revenues;

•changes in the statutes, regulations, policies, enforcement priorities, or composition of the federal bank regulatory agencies;

•the loss of or decrease in lower-cost funding sources within our deposit base;

•investigations, damage verdicts, settlements or restrictions related to existing or potential class action litigation or individual litigation arising from claims of violations of laws or regulations, contractual claims, breach of fiduciary responsibility, negligence, fraud, environmental laws, patent, trademark or other intellectual property infringement, misappropriation or other violation, employment-related claims, and other matters;

•a prolonged downturn and contraction in the economy, as well as any decline in commercial real estate values collateralizing a significant portion of our loan portfolio;

•higher or lower than expected income tax expense or tax rates, including increases or decreases resulting from changes in uncertain tax position liabilities, tax laws, regulations, and case law;

•the inability to grow customer deposits to keep pace with the level of loan growth;

•a material change in our allowance for credit losses due to forecasted economic conditions and/or unexpected credit deterioration in our loan and investment portfolios;

•the need to supplement debt or equity capital to maintain or exceed internal capital thresholds;

•changes in our business, strategy, market conditions or other factors that may negatively impact the estimated fair value of our goodwill and other intangible assets and result in future impairment charges;

•greater than expected technology-related costs due to, among other factors, prolonged or failed implementations, additional project staffing and obsolescence caused by continuous and rapid market innovations;

•increased competitive challenges and competitive pressure on pricing of our products and services;

•our ability to stay current with rapid technological changes and evolving legal and regulatory requirements in the financial services industry, including developments relating to the use of artificial intelligence, blockchain, digital currencies, stablecoins, and related regulatory developments, as well as our ability to effectively assess and monitor the effects of, and risks associated with, the implementation and use of such technology;

•cyberattacks, ransomware attacks, computer viruses, malware or other cybersecurity incidents that may breach the security of our or our third-party service providers’ websites or other systems or networks to obtain unauthorized access to personal, confidential, proprietary or sensitive information, destroy data, disable or degrade service, or sabotage our systems or networks, and the increasing sophistication of such attacks and use of targeted tactics against the financial services industry;

•any disruption of our systems and network, or those of our third-party service providers, resulting from events that are wholly or partially beyond our control, including, for example, electrical, telecommunications, or other major service outages, or actions by employees, which may give rise to financial loss or liability;

•results of examinations by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Reserve Bank, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other regulatory authorities, including the possibility that any such regulatory authority may, among other things, require us to increase our allowance for credit losses, write-down assets, reimburse customers, change the way we do business, or limit or eliminate certain other banking activities;

•application of heightened regulatory standards for certain large insured national banks, and the expenses we will incur to develop policies, programs, and systems that comply with the enhanced standards applicable to us;

•our inability or determination not to pay dividends at current levels, or at all, because of inadequate earnings, regulatory restrictions or limitations, changes in our capital requirements, or a decision to increase capital by retaining more earnings;

•unanticipated loan delinquencies, loss of collateral, decreased service revenues, and other potential negative effects on our business caused by severe weather and other climate-related risks, pandemics or other public health crises, acts of terrorism or other external events;

•our ability to successfully execute our business plan and strategic initiatives; and

•unexpected significant declines in the loan portfolio due to the lack of economic expansion, increased competition, large prepayments, risk mitigation strategies, changes in regulatory lending guidance or other factors.

We undertake no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in our expectations, except as required by law. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.

Critical Accounting Estimates

Our accounting and reporting policies conform, in all material respects, to GAAP. In preparing the consolidated financial statements, management has made estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the consolidated statements of financial condition and results of operations for the periods indicated. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates.

Valley’s accounting policies are fundamental to understanding management’s discussion and analysis of its financial condition and results of operations. Our significant accounting policies are presented in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements. We identified our policies for the allowance for credit losses, goodwill and other intangible assets, and income taxes to be critical because management has to make subjective and/or complex judgments about matters that are inherently uncertain and because it is likely that materially different amounts would be reported under different conditions or using different assumptions. Management has reviewed the application of these policies with the Audit Committee of the Board.

The judgments and estimates used by management in applying the critical accounting policies discussed below may be affected by significant changes in the economic environment, which may result in changes to future financial results. Specifically, subsequent evaluations of the loan portfolio, in light of the factors then prevailing, may result in material changes in the allowance for credit losses in future periods, and the inability to collect on outstanding loans could result in increased loan losses.

Allowance for Credit Losses. Determining the allowance for credit losses for loans has historically been identified as a critical accounting estimate. We estimate and recognize an allowance for lifetime expected credit losses for loans, unfunded credit commitments and HTM debt securities measured at amortized cost. See Notes 1, 3 and 4 to the consolidated financial statements for further discussion of our accounting policies and methodologies for establishing the allowance for credit losses.

The accounting estimate of the allowance for credit losses is a “critical accounting estimate” for the following reasons:

•Changes in the provision for credit losses can materially affect our financial results;

•Estimates relating to the allowance for credit losses require us to project future borrower performance, delinquencies and charge-offs, along with, when applicable, collateral values, based on a reasonable and supportable forecast period utilizing forward-looking economic scenarios in order to estimate probability of default and loss given default;

•The allowance for credit losses is influenced by factors outside of our control such as industry and business trends, geopolitical events and the effects of laws and

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