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Valley Exhibit 99.1 News Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact : Michael D. Hagedorn Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer 973-872-4885 VALLEY NATIONAL BANCORP REPORTS A 33 PERCENT INCREASE IN FIRST QUARTER NET INCOME AND STRONG NET INTEREST MARGIN NEW YORK , NY - April 29 , 2021 -- Valley National Bancorp ( NASDAQ : VLY ) , the holding company for Valley National Bank , today reported net income for the first quarter 2021 of $ 115.7 million , or $ 0.28 per diluted common share , as compared to the first quarter 2020 earnings of $ 87.3 million , or $ 0.21 per diluted common share , and net income of $ 105.4 million , or $ 0.25 per diluted common share , for the fourth quarter 2020 . Key financial highlights for the first quarter : • Net Interest Income and Margin : Net interest income on a tax equivalent basis of $ 293.6 million for the first quarter 2021 increased $ 4.8 million and $ 27.3 million as compared to the fourth quarter 2020 and first quarter 2020 , respectively . Our net interest margin on a tax equivalent basis increased by 8 basis points to 3.14 percent in the first quarter 2021 as compared to 3.06 percent for the fourth quarter 2020. The increases as compared to the fourth quarter 2020 were largely due to a $ 8.7 million increase in interest and fees related to our SBA Paycheck Protection Program ( PPP ) loan portfolio , a 9 basis point reduction in our costs of average interest bearing liabilities , as well as the prepayment of certain long - term borrowings in December 2020. See the " Net Interest Income and Margin " section below for additional information . Loan Portfolio : Loans increased $ 469.3 million to $ 32.7 billion at March 31 , 2021 , or 6 percent on an annualized basis from December 31 , 2020. The increase was largely due to new loan volumes within the commercial and industrial , commercial real estate and automobile loan portfolios in the first quarter 2021. Within commercial and industrial loans , PPP loans increased $ 212.5 million to approximately $ 2.4 billion at March 31 , 2021 from December 31 , 2020. Our first quarter new and refinanced loan originations included approximately $ 288 million of residential mortgage loans originated for sale rather than investment . Net gains on sales of residential loans were $ 3.5 million and $ 16.0 million in the first quarter 2021 and fourth quarter 2020 , respectively . See the " Loans , Deposits and Other Borrowings " section below for more details . Allowance and Provision for Credit Losses for Loans : The allowance for credit losses for loans totaled $ 354.3 million and $ 351.4 million at March 31 , 2021 and December 31 , 2020 , respectively . During the first quarter 2021 , we recorded a provision for credit losses for loans of $ 9.0 million as compared to $ 19.0 million and $ 33.9 million for the fourth quarter 2020 and first quarter 2020 , respectively . The moderate increase in our allowance at March 31 , 2021 reflects , among other factors , additional reserves related to non - PPP loan growth and certain