Business Briefs

Valley National Bank has been listed as the sixth highest ranked bank by return on equity by U.S. Banker magazine. The magazine featured the results of the ranking in its May 2006 issue.

U.S. Banker's annual performance ranking analyzes the earnings results of the 100 largest banks and scores them based on a three-year average return on equity. Valley is the highest ranked bank in the tri-state area.

Valley National Bancorp is a regional bank holding company with over $12 billion in assets, headquartered in Wayne. Its principal subsidiary, Valley National Bank, currently operates 163 offices in 106 communities serving 12 counties throughout northern and central New Jersey and Manhattan, N.Y.

Mary Urbano of Marlboro, an exclusive agent with Allstate New Jersey Insurance Co. and an Allstate personal financial professional, has qualified for membership in the 2006 Million Dollar Round Table, an association of financial professionals. Urbano's agency is located at 35 Route 79 north in Marlboro.

Business After Hours, sponsored by the Western Monmouth Chamber of Commerce, will be hosted by Branches, 123 Monmouth Road, West Long Branch. The event will be held 5:30-7:30 p.m. June 20. Attendees should bring business cards. The fee is $10 for chamber members and $15 for nonmembers, and includes refreshments. For reservations or further details, call the chamber at (732) 462-3030, fax (732) 462-2123, or visit www.wmchamber.com.

Western Monmouth Chamber of Commerce will hold its monthly general meeting at 8:30 a.m. June 22 at the chamber office, 17 Broad St., Freehold. Tom Ford of the U.S. Postal Service will discuss USPS online services, including the Click-N-Ship system and NetPost mailing services. The fee is $15 for chamber members and $20 for nonmembers, and includes continental breakfast. For reservations or further details, call the chamber at (732) 462-3030, fax (732) 462-2123, or visit www.wmchamber.com.

Advanced Information Services Inc., Marlboro, a software and consulting company specializing in business intelligence (BI) software, announced its new partnership with QlikTech, a BI software company. Business intelligence tools enable companies to gather and analyze their data to make more effective business decisions. The company's Web site is www.advinfoserv.com.