Valley National Bancorp has reached a definitive agreement to purchase Bluevine Inc., a digital banking platform built for small businesses, in a transaction valued at about $340 million.
The announcement, made on September 28, 2026, positions the deal as a way for Valley to strengthen its deposit base, grow its small-business operations, and speed up its technology and artificial intelligence efforts.
Bluevine, established in 2013 and based in Jersey City, New Jersey, operates a nationwide online platform that combines checking accounts, payments, bill pay, invoicing, lending, and financial management tools.
It currently serves roughly 175,000 active small-business clients. The company has built $2.1 billion in low-cost deposits gathered through digital channels.
Those balances grew at an approximate 35 percent compound annual rate from 2023 through the second quarter of 2026, with nearly all of them coming from customers who do not currently borrow from the platform.
Valley, a regional bank with more than $66 billion in assets and over 220 branches across several states, views the purchase as a complement to its traditional relationship-focused model.
The addition of Bluevine’s online customer-acquisition engine is expected to give Valley a broader national reach while allowing Bluevine clients eventual access to Valley’s branch network, treasury services, credit products, insurance, wealth management, and capital-markets offerings.
In return, Valley’s existing small-business customers would gain Bluevine’s unified digital experience.
The transaction also brings approximately 180 engineers, product specialists, data scientists, and AI professionals located in technology centers including Redwood City, California; Jersey City; Salt Lake City; and Tel Aviv.
Valley intends to use this in-house talent to reduce dependence on outside software vendors and to develop new capabilities more quickly.
Under the agreed terms, the purchase price will consist of roughly 75 percent cash and 25 percent Valley common stock, subject to customary adjustments.
Management projects the combination, including anticipated cost savings, will add about 8 percent to estimated 2028 earnings per share.
At closing the deal is expected to dilute tangible book value by approximately 5 percent, with an estimated three-year period to recover that dilution.
Ira Robbins, Valley’s chairman, president, and chief executive, said the purchase advances priorities already outlined to shareholders by improving core funding, adding a proven growth platform, and accelerating digital and AI work.
Eyal Lifshitz, Bluevine’s co-founder and chief executive, stated that the partnership will let the company expand its impact while keeping its technology focus and entrepreneurial culture.
After the deal closes, Lifshitz will become Valley’s head of small business banking.
The companies expect the transaction to close in early 2027 pending regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.
Until then the two organizations will continue to operate independently.
Bluevine customers have been told that account numbers, cards, rates, terms, and support channels will remain unchanged in the near term, with deposits retaining existing FDIC insurance coverage.
The combination reflects a broader trend of regional banks acquiring fintech platforms to secure low-cost deposits and digital capabilities at a time when funding loan growth remains a key challenge.
If completed as planned, the deal would give Valley a ready-made national small-business franchise and a sizable technology team while giving Bluevine the balance-sheet strength of an established bank.