Company News

February 3, 2009

Two ratings agencies have upgraded their long- and short-term debt ratings for Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. ("Sovereign") immediately following its acquisition by the Santander Group, citing the positive impact Santander’s size and strength have on its new subsidiary.

Standard & Poor’s ("S&P") raised its debt rating on Sovereign and its subsidiaries to A from BBB.

In a release, S&P said, "Sovereign's business profile will be strengthened by the added resources and flexibility accessible to it as part of the Santander organization….We view Sovereign as strategically important to Santander's long-term plans, which include a focus on expansion in the U.S."

In conclusion, S&P said, "The stable outlook anticipates that Sovereign will continue to strengthen its business model and utilize the resources it will now have access to as part of the Santander organization."

The S&P action follows Fitch's decision, taken Jan. 30, to upgrade Sovereign’s debt to AA- from BBB-.

In its ratings summary, Fitch said: "Sovereign is now 100 percent owned by Santander, one of the world’s largest banks… Fitch believes Sovereign is strategically important to Santander and further diversifies Santander’s already sizable global banking franchise. Sovereign maintains a considerable retail and business banking presence in the mid-Atlantic and New England states with a solid core deposit base."

Newly-named Sovereign Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gabriel Jaramillo said the ratings upgrades reflect the global strength of Santander and highlight what Sovereign now offers its 2.5 million customers.

"Sovereign is now part of one of the world's largest, most successful banks with $1.2 trillion in deposits and funds under management for over 80 million customers in 40 countries worldwide. We offer that strength, stability and security to our customers across the Sovereign footprint and the new ratings upgrades reflect that,"said Jaramillo.

About Sovereign
Sovereign Bank is a financial institution with principal markets in the Northeastern United States and is a subsidiary of Banco Santander, S.A. Sovereign Bank has 754 community banking offices, over 2,300 ATMs and approximately 11,000 team members. Sovereign Bank offers a broad array of financial services and products including retail banking, business and corporate banking, cash management, capital markets and wealth management. Banco Santander, S.A. is an international financial services company based in Madrid, Spain. For more information on Sovereign Bank, call 1-877-SOV-BANK.

Media Contact
Andrew Gully
Sovereign Bancorp
Office: 617-757-5513
Cell: 617-645-9894
agully@sovereignbank.com