Document And Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	May 03, 2012
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2012
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Registrant Name	VALLEY NATIONAL BANCORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000714310
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		197,249,901