Benefit Plans (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

The following table sets forth the change in the projected benefit obligation, the change in fair value of plan assets and the funded status and amounts recognized in Valley’s consolidated financial statements for the qualified and non-qualified plans at December 31, 2017 and 2016:



	2017			2016
	(in thousands)
Change in projected benefit obligation:
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	161,306		$	157,661
Interest cost	5,713			6,681
Actuarial loss	10,148			2,047
Benefits paid	(6,601		)	(5,546		)
Projected benefit obligation at end of year	$	170,566		$	161,306
Change in fair value of plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year	$	206,639		$	189,414
Actual return on plan assets	21,468			22,424
Employer contributions	618			347
Benefits paid	(6,601		)	(5,546		)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year*	$	222,124		$	206,639

Funded status of the plan
Asset recognized	$	51,558		$	45,333
Accumulated benefit obligation	170,566			161,306

* Includes accrued interest receivable of $993 thousand and $606 thousand as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Components of Net Periodic Pension Expense

Amounts recognized as a component of accumulated other comprehensive loss as of year-end that have not been recognized as a component of the net periodic pension expense for Valley’s qualified and non-qualified plans are presented in the following table. Valley expects to recognize approximately $628 thousand of the net actuarial loss reported in the following table as of December 31, 2017 as a component of net periodic pension expense during 2018.



	2017			2016
	(in thousands)
Net actuarial loss	$	33,602		$	30,140
Deferred tax benefit	(14,044		)	(12,647		)
Total	$	19,558		$	17,493

Projected Benefit Obligation, Accumulated Benefit Obligation and Fair Value of Plan Assets for Non-Qualified Plans

The non-qualified plans had a projected benefit obligation, accumulated benefit obligation, and fair value of plan assets as follows:



	2017		2016
	(in thousands)
Projected benefit obligation	$	20,175	$	18,286
Accumulated benefit obligation	20,175		18,286
Fair value of plan assets	—		—

Components of Net Periodic Pension Income for Qualified and Non-Qualified Plans

The net periodic pension income for the qualified and non-qualified plans included the following components for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015:



	2017			2016			2015
	(in thousands)
Interest cost	$	5,713		$	6,681		$	6,889
Expected return on plan assets	(15,163		)	(14,539		)	(14,023		)
Amortization of net loss	381			294			790
Total net periodic pension income	$	(9,069	)	$	(7,564	)	$	(6,344	)

Qualified and Non-Qualified Plan Assets and Benefit Obligations Recognized in Other Comprehensive Income or Loss

Other changes in the qualified and non-qualified plan assets and benefit obligations recognized in other comprehensive income/loss for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 were as follows:



	2017			2016
	(in thousands)
Net loss (gain)	$	3,843		$	(5,837	)
Prior service cost	—			462
Amortization of prior service cost	(35		)	—
Amortization of actuarial loss	(381		)	(294		)
Total recognized in other comprehensive income	$	3,427		$	(5,669	)
Total recognized in net periodic pension income and other comprehensive income/loss (before tax)	$	(5,607	)	$	(13,233	)

Schedule of Expected Future Benefit Payments

The benefit payments, which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, expected to be paid in future years are presented in the following table:



Year	Amount
	(in thousands)
2018	$	7,472
2019	7,957
2020	8,267
2021	8,602
2022	8,781
Thereafter	47,032

Weighted Average Discount Rate

The weighted average discount rate, expected long-term rate of return on assets and rate of compensation increase used in determining Valley’s pension expense for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 were as follows:



	2017		2016		2015
Discount rate	4.12	%	4.33	%	4.02	%
Expected long-term return on plan assets	7.50	%	7.50	%	7.50	%
Rate of compensation increase	N/A		N/A		N/A

Fair Value Measurement

The following table presents the qualified plan weighted-average asset allocations by asset category that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis by level within the fair value hierarchy under ASC Topic 820. Financial assets are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. See Note 3 for further details regarding the fair value hierarchy.



					Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using:
	% of Total Investments		December 31, 2017		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
	($ in thousands)
Assets:
Investments:
Equity securities	38	%	$	84,791	$	84,791	$	—	$	—
Corporate bonds	22		47,471		—		47,471		—
Mutual funds	23		48,814		48,814		—		—
U.S. Treasury securities	13		28,671		28,671		—		—
Cash and money market funds	4		9,522		9,522		—		—
U.S. government agency securities	*		1,862		—		1,862		—
Total investments	100	%	$	221,131	$	171,798	$	49,333	$	—



					Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using:
	% of Total Investments		December 31, 2016		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
	($ in thousands)
Assets:
Investments:
Equity securities	43	%	$	88,250	$	88,250	$	—	$	—
Corporate bonds	21		43,152		—		43,152		—
Mutual funds	19		38,975		38,975		—		—
U.S. Treasury securities	12		24,910		24,910		—		—
Cash and money market funds	5		10,402		10,402		—		—
U.S. government agency securities	*		344		—		344		—
Total investments	100	%	$	206,033	$	162,537	$	43,496	$	—



*	Represents less than one percent of total investments.

Changes in Restricted Stock Awards Outstanding

The following table sets forth the changes in restricted stock awards (RSAs) outstanding for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015:



	Restricted Stock Awards Outstanding
	2017		2016		2015
Outstanding at beginning of year	2,100,816		2,755,138		2,574,616
Granted	608,786		544,307		886,427
Vested	(736,575	)	(1,050,293	)	(559,958	)
Forfeited	(201,325	)	(148,336	)	(145,947	)
Outstanding at end of year	1,771,702		2,100,816		2,755,138

Stock Options Activity

The following table summarizes stock options activity as of December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 and changes during the years ended on those dates:



	2017				2016				2015
			Weighted Average Exercise				Weighted Average Exercise				Weighted Average Exercise
Stock Options	Shares		Price		Shares		Price		Shares		Price
Outstanding at beginning of year	732,489		$	14	1,383,365		$	16	1,828,591		$	17
Granted	—		—		—		—		100,000		11
Forfeited or expired	(285,509	)	16		(650,876	)	18		(545,226	)	18
Outstanding at end of year	446,980		13		732,489		14		1,383,365		16
Exercisable at year-end	446,980		13		632,489		14		1,283,365		16

Stock Options Outstanding and Exercisable

The following table summarizes information about stock options outstanding and exercisable at December 31, 2017:



Options Outstanding and Exercisable
Range of Exercise Prices	Number of Options	Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life in Years	Weighted Average Exercise Price
$10-14	227,100	2.9	$	12
14-15	217,963	0.4	14
15-17	1,917	0.4	16
	446,980	1.7	13

Changes in Director's Restricted Stock Awards

The following table sets forth the changes in director’s restricted stock awards outstanding for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015:



	Restricted Stock Awards Outstanding
	2017		2016		2015
Outstanding at beginning of year	55,510		80,117		98,086
Vested	(37,625	)	(24,607	)	(17,969	)
Outstanding at end of year	17,885		55,510		80,117