Columbia Bank Routing Number: New Jersey Community Banking, Quietly Consolidated

Fair Lawn and the New Jersey community bank landscape

New Jersey has long been one of the most densely banked states in the country — a legacy of its position between New York and Philadelphia, two of the largest financial centers in the world. Columbia Bank, headquartered in Fair Lawn, Bergen County, has emerged as one of the survivors and consolidators in this crowded field.

Routing number 221272303, processed through the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, identifies Columbia Bank within the payments system. The 221 prefix is shared by many New Jersey institutions routed through the New York Fed, reflecting the state's financial gravity toward Manhattan.

Routing number

221272303 applies to all Columbia Bank account types — personal checking, savings, money market, CDs, and commercial accounts — for ACH transfers, direct deposit, bill payments, and domestic wire transfers. For international wire transfer instructions and intermediary bank details, contact Columbia Bank directly. Find the routing number in the Columbia Bank mobile app under account details, on the bank's website, or on the bottom-left corner of a check.

The Oritani merger

In 2020, Columbia Financial completed its acquisition of Oritani Financial Corporation, a Washington Township-based savings bank with deep roots in Bergen and Passaic counties. The deal combined Columbia's commercial lending capabilities with Oritani's large, low-cost deposit base. The merged bank holds roughly $10 billion in assets and operates over 60 branches across northern and central New Jersey. Former Oritani customers transitioned to Columbia Bank accounts and adopted routing number 221272303 in the process.

Commercial real estate in the shadow of Manhattan

Northern New Jersey's CRE market is shaped by its proximity to New York City. The region absorbs overflow demand for office space, warehousing, and multifamily housing that Manhattan and Brooklyn can't accommodate at reasonable cost. Hudson County's waterfront redevelopment, Bergen County's suburban office parks, and the warehouse and logistics corridors along the Turnpike and I-78 have all generated significant lending volume. Columbia has positioned itself as a go-to lender for mid-size CRE transactions in this market — the $5 million to $30 million deals too small for Wall Street's CMBS machine but too complex for the smallest community banks.

When your business needs more than a branch down the street

Columbia Bank's strength is local knowledge — loan officers who understand New Jersey's zoning codes, municipal regulations, and real estate market dynamics in a way that out-of-state banks never will. Slash complements that local expertise with business banking tools built for speed: virtual card issuance in seconds, automated expense policies that enforce compliance before money is spent, and accounting integrations that eliminate manual reconciliation. The infrastructure layer that community banks are still building toward.