Spotlight On: Curt Lang, Chief Banking Officer, Valley Bank
Key points:
- • Valley Bank is expanding its capabilities across New Jersey and beyond.
- • Technology and AI are enhancing efficiency while preserving relationship banking.
- • Economic uncertainty and cybersecurity risks are increasing demand for financial guidance.
October 2026 — In an interview with Invest:, Curt Lang, chief banking officer of Valley Bank, discussed changing client needs, New Jersey’s diverse economy, community investment, and the balance between technology and relationship banking. “We need to be a partner with our clients,” Lang said.
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What changes have most affected Valley Bank and its clients over the past year?
Banking is experiencing significant change through interest-rate volatility, geopolitical volatility, tariffs, costs, and expenses. Business owners have had to become adaptive. We spend considerable time advising clients about what may be ahead and how they can remain resilient. Since COVID, people and businesses have realized they are more adaptable than they thought. New Jersey has a resilient culture and client base.
Technology and artificial intelligence are affecting every industry. We are considering how to use them in underwriting to deliver faster and more efficiently and to provide insight into industries across our client base. Those insights can help us ask clients whether a trend affects them and build a plan around it.
Valley has invested heavily in technology and talent. We announced the acquisition of a bank in Chicago, hired a team in Arizona, and brought in executives and leaders from outside Valley as we scale. We are the largest bank headquartered in New Jersey and want to remain so.
We have also segmented service across retail, small business, and middle-market clients so we can meet them where they are. We can complete large, sophisticated transactions while delivering community-bank-level service. We see ourselves occupying the middle between a small community bank and a large money-center bank.
How do you balance technology with personal service?
We see technology and relationship banking as complementary, not competing, forces. The right technology makes banking faster, easier, and more insightful, while experienced bankers bring the judgment, context, and personal guidance clients need to make important financial decisions. Whether someone is buying a home or acquiring a company, digital tools can simplify the process, but the human relationship helps clients move forward with confidence.
Our goal is to pair strong digital capabilities with high-touch, personalized service. Clients should be able to handle routine needs when and how they choose, while also having access to a banker who understands their goals and can provide tailored advice. By bringing technology and human expertise together, we can meet customers where they are and deliver relationship banking that remains relevant to everyone in New Jersey.
What have you learned about New Jersey’s commercial market?
I have lived in New Jersey for 14 years, although I was born and raised near Baltimore and have lived in Alabama and Pennsylvania. New Jersey offers significant banking and commercial opportunity. It has a diverse client base spanning biotech, transportation, ports, world-class education, construction, and the broader tri-state region. It also has a diverse workforce and substantial talent, which attracts companies.
Valley is in its 100th year and has been headquartered in New Jersey throughout our history. New Jersey is our home. We want to be a key contributor to the growth and vibrant communities in the state. We contribute to companies doing business here, help them thrive, and give back to the community.
Which sectors are driving demand for Valley’s services?
Commercial real estate development and lending are part of Valley’s DNA, but we are diversifying our balance sheet between commercial and industrial business and real estate. On the commercial and industrial side, we focus on and manage local businesses, and we have created teams dedicated to small business, business banking, Middle Market, and Commercial Real Estate clients.
We see growth in technology, infrastructure, logistics, third-party warehousing, construction, and contracting. That includes road paving, highway work, and the different contractors supporting those projects. We also see activity related to the Netflix and Paramount studios under development and their supporting services.
Valley serves all industries. We focus on the right management teams and companies with a strong history rather than excluding a sector categorically.
What are entrepreneurs telling you about access to capital?
There is capital available, but the right source depends on the owner’s long-term goals. Competition among banks is high, so senior debt is available. Valley can guide small-business clients while also providing capital for larger and more complex transactions.
Clients must decide what they need. The lowest price is one consideration; high-level advice and high-touch service may involve a different price. Banks have different cultures and purposes. Private credit and private equity are also active, so we focus on our competitive advantage.
Valley competes through relationship banking, meeting clients where they are, and advising them on their next goal. That approach is resonating. Deposit and lending growth have increased, and we are adding clients.
How does Valley support New Jersey communities?
Local banks headquartered in New Jersey have a regulatory obligation and a responsibility to help communities thrive. Valley contributes through Community Reinvestment Act requirements, and we go beyond them by helping communities and supporting nonprofits.
I serve on the Franklin Food Bank board in Somerset County, and we encourage employees to volunteer in ways meaningful to them. Valley also contributes financially. Because we are the largest bank headquartered in New Jersey, we are uniquely positioned to support these communities.
Banks are facilitators of a strong economy. Business owners create the activity; we help facilitate a strong community and economic environment in which everyone can thrive. We also try to remain steady through cycles. We do not chase the market to extremes in good times, and we do not pull back wholesale when conditions deteriorate. Clients know what they are getting over years and cycles.
What challenges are New Jersey businesses facing?
Businesses face changes in how the United States approaches the world and the resulting costs. Tariffs and high fuel prices affect transportation and logistics companies in New Jersey. During COVID, banks helped clients access Paycheck Protection Program funds. Later, tariffs affected costs, and tariff refunds created another process. Businesses must adjust to an uncertain environment.
Our advice is to prepare for the worst, hope for the best, remain steady, and don’t overreact. Trust allows open conversations about planning. Every business will eventually experience an ownership or succession change. Companies also need plans for cost increases of 15% or 20%, labor-force disruptions, and remote work. These are circumstances businesses may never have expected but have now experienced.
Valley is also investing in solutions. The Foundry focuses on engineering platforms and services that can support client uses of AI and technology. Valley Ventures Fund invests in technologies that may benefit the bank or provide services to clients.
How are you addressing cybersecurity and digital fraud?
Criminals use increasingly sophisticated methods to trick clients into disclosing information or clicking links. AI can imitate people and use information about regular contacts to obtain login credentials or tokens. We continually educate clients that a legitimate Valley employee will never ask for login credentials. If something appears suspicious, clients should disconnect and call a number they know is legitimate.
Fraud is real across banking. If an authorized employee is convinced that the CEO requested an international wire, a bank may be unable to stop it when the authorized person gives the instruction. We need to educate and protect clients while helping them navigate these threats. We need to be a partner with our clients.
What message do you want clients to understand about Valley’s growth?
Valley is in its 100th year. We are the largest bank headquartered in the state. We are dedicated to helping New Jersey communities thrive and grow. Valley has grown significantly, and we have the capabilities to serve a broader range of clients than we had even five or ten years ago.
We continue to grow, add talent, scale, and acquire banks in other regions. That allows us to support clients as they grow or acquire businesses elsewhere while retaining a high-touch community-bank feel. Valley is growing alongside New Jersey’s industries, and we are here to support those clients.
Want more? Read the Invest: New Jersey report.
