Question · Q3 2025
David Charles Smith asked about the competitive landscape impacting C&I loan declines and deposit cost increases, seeking expectations for Q4 and 2026. He also inquired about Valley National Bancorp's capital allocation strategy, specifically the buyback opportunity versus conserving capital for organic growth, given current CET1 and tangible book value.
Answer
Travis Lan, CFO, explained that spot deposit costs declined, with further reductions expected into 2026, despite a competitive environment for new relationships. Gino Martocci, President of Commercial Banking, noted strong demand in C&I and CRE, ample market liquidity, and some spread declines. Regarding capital, Travis Lan, CFO, stated that while the near-term CET1 target is 11%, the bank is comfortable in a 10.50%-11% range, and buybacks will be an increasing source of capital deployment given confidence in investing in the company.