Bluevine agrees to sell to Valley for about $340 million
Bluevine's $340 million sale to Valley prices its deposit book at about 16 cents a dollar, with an 8% 2028 earnings lift still tied to a three-year earn-back.
Bluevine Inc. agreed on Monday, September 28, 2026 to be acquired by Valley National Bancorp for about $340 million. Set against the $2.1 billion of digitally sourced deposits in the same release, that price is about 16 cents of consideration per deposit dollar. The mix is expected to be about 75% cash and 25% Valley common stock, subject to the definitive agreement and customary adjustments. A close in early 2027 remains subject to regulatory approvals, and Bluevine's customer FAQ says accounts, pricing and rates do not change before then.
The same release sets that price beside a second calculation. Inclusive of expected synergies, the acquisition is expected to be about 8% accretive to estimated 2028 earnings per share, with about 5% tangible book value dilution at closing and an earn-back of about three years. The earnings effect is measured on 2028 estimates, while tangible book value is not projected to be earned back until about three years after closing. Both results stay conditional on regulatory approval and on the deposits actually moving.
What the $340 million buys
Bluevine is being sold as a deposit franchise, not a loan book. The release says about 99% of the deposits come from customers who are not borrowers, and that platform-generated deposits grew at about a 35% compound annual growth rate from 2023 through the second quarter of 2026. As of June 2026, Bluevine served about 175,000 active small-business customers. Founded in 2013, it is based in Jersey City.
American Banker and Globes identify the founders as Eyal Lifshitz and Nir Klar. Banking Dive, citing Valley's investor presentation, reported a 1.44% cost of deposits at Bluevine against 2.28% at Valley. American Banker put Valley's loan-to-core-deposits ratio at 107%. Travis Lan, Valley's chief financial officer, said, "As we've talked about historically, loan growth is not a problem for Valley. It's funding that loan growth," American Banker reported.
The release describes Valley National Bank, founded in 1927, as holding over $66 billion of assets and more than 220 branch locations. The deal would add about 180 research and development professionals and engineers, including a Tel Aviv hub, to Valley's artificial intelligence work. The release says Lifshitz is to join Valley as head of small-business banking after the close.
What stays the same until close
The FAQ says nothing changes on announcement day. Account access, routing numbers, cards, pricing, rates, terms, repayment schedules and support stay the same, as do Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation coverage and the annual percentage yield on eligible deposits. The line of credit, issued by Celtic Bank, is unchanged on rate, terms and repayment. Bluevine remains a financial technology company, not a bank, with banking services still provided by Coastal Community Bank.
Banking Dive reported that Ira Robbins said those Coastal deposits would transfer to Valley in the first half of 2027. American Banker reported that the partnership has run for five years, that Valley plans to keep the Bluevine brand, and that Eric Sprink, Coastal's chief executive, acknowledged an effect on Coastal's finances. No regulator is quoted in the release, the FAQ or that coverage.
Eyal Lifshitz, Bluevine's co-founder and chief executive, told American Banker the sale beat seeking a charter. "This felt like the best option to accelerate our vision of building our small-business franchise," he said. Other firms have answered the sponsor-bank question differently. Chime has agreed to buy its partner, Stride Bank, Enova has withdrawn its applications to buy Grasshopper Bank, and Mercury has a national bank-charter nod rather than a sale.
Earn-back, and no further deals
Ira Robbins, Valley's chairman, president and chief executive, said in the release, "The acquisition of Bluevine directly advances the strategic priorities we have previously communicated to our shareholders. It is expected to enhance our core funding capabilities, add a proven small business growth platform and meaningfully accelerate our digital and AI capabilities." Banking Dive described the Bluevine agreement as Valley's second announced acquisition in two months, after last month's agreement to buy Providence Financial Corp. of South Holland, Illinois, for $247 million. Robbins said, "Providence and Bluevine have addressed our near-term priorities, and we do not anticipate pursuing additional acquisitions for the foreseeable future." Anthony Elian of J.P. Morgan Securities wrote, "we do not see either transaction as disrupting Valley's organic growth profile given the relatively small size of both deals," Banking Dive reported.
Whether that roughly 35% pace survives the move off Coastal decides if the 16-cent price looks lower, in hindsight, by the 2028 earnings test. If the handoff slows the book, or the early-2027 close slips, the three-year earn-back gives way first. The 8% figure already assumes synergies, and the FAQ holds customer pricing only until closing.
Reporting by Rick Steves. Filed 30 September 2026, 13:27 GMT.
Senior Reporter, Regulation and Fintech
Rick Steves has seen business and economics through many lenses. He joined the financial services industry in 2009, and has been a financial journalist since 2011.
