Valley National Bancorp invests $25m in a FinTech-oriented Israeli VC

By Edlyn Cardoza

Valley National Bancorp recently announced a $25 million investment in The Garage, a venture capital fund that builds and invests in early-stage startups in FinTech, AI and cyber. The fund is backed by Bank Leumi, a leading bank in Israel and by BRM Group, a seasoned Israel-based family office with a proven track record that started with its initial investment in Check-Point in 1993.

Founded in 1927 and widely regarded as one of the premier regional banking organisations in the United States, Valley has made a strategic investment in The Garage to support the bank’s digital transformation efforts while enabling the rising number of Israeli FinTech startups to a fast lane to the American market. Following the unique model built in Israel by The Garage with Bank Leumi, Valley intends to form a designated team in the bank, enabling The Garage’s portfolio companies’ quick and effective integration into Valley’s systems.

“Innovation plays a critical role in everything we are building at Valley,” remarked Valley’s Chief Product Officer Stuart Cook. “Our goal is to challenge the traditional approach to banking by operating on the forefront of technology and innovation. We’ve found a partner in The Garage that is leading this charge and radically altering the financial services landscape forever by taking on the world’s biggest challenges in fintech, AI and cyber. Together with The Garage, we’ll be able to bring the vision of these aspiring startups to life by accelerating their access to the U.S. market and providing the banking solutions they need to be successful.”

“We are excited to start working with Valley,” commented The Garage’s CEO Omer Nagar. “This is another important milestone in The Garage’s plan to allow Israeli tier-1 entrepreneurs a one-stop shop to take them from the initial investment through to a game changing design partnership with Bank Leumi, and all the way to the heart of the US market at Valley.”

“One of our key strategic goals is to ensure long-term relevance in a constantly changing banking environment,” remarked Valley’s CEO Ira Robbins. “The Garage was the best partner to help us achieve this goal. Their vision, combined with tremendous human capital, made them the ideal partner to help us lead the way in reshaping the financial sector through innovation and cutting-edge technology.”