Litigation In the normal course of business, Valley is a party to various outstanding legal proceedings and claims. In the opinion of management, the financial condition, results of operations and liquidity of Valley should not be materially affected by the outcome of such legal proceedings and claims. However, in the event of an unexpected adverse outcome in one or more of our legal proceedings, operating results for a particular period may be negatively impacted. Disclosure is required when a risk of material loss in a litigation or claim is more than remote, even when the risk of a material loss is less than likely. Unless an estimate cannot be made, disclosure is also required of the estimate of the reasonably possible loss or range of loss. Although there can be no assurance as to the ultimate outcome, Valley has generally denied, or believes it has a meritorious defense and will deny liability in litigation pending against Valley and claims made, including the matter described below. Valley intends to defend vigorously each case against it. Liabilities are established for legal claims when payments associated with the claims become probable and the costs can be reasonably estimated. Merrick Bank Corporation v. Valley National Bank and American Express Travel Related Services v. Valley National Bank litigation. For about a decade, Valley served as the depository bank for various charter operators under regulations of the Department of Transportation (DOT) and contracts entered into with charter operators under those regulations. The purported intent of the regulations is to afford some protection to the customers of the charter operators. A charter operator has several options with regard to fulfilling its obligations under the regulations, with one option requiring the charter operator to deposit the proceeds of tickets purchased for a charter flight into an FDIC insured bank account. The funds for a flight are released when the charter operator certifies that the flight has been completed. Valley stopped s