Exhibit 99.1
[ICON] Sovereign Bancorp NEWS RELEASE
Corporate Headquarters: 1500 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pa
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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DATE: 3/5/03 FINANCIAL CONTACTS:
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Jim Hogan 610-320-8496 jhogan@sovereignbank.com
Mark McCollom 610-208-6246 mmccollo@sovereignbank.com
Tye Barnhart 610-988-0300 tbarnhar@sovereignbank.com
MEDIA CONTACT:
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Ed Schultz 610-371-3201 eschultz@sovereignbank.com
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Sovereign Bancorp Successfully Completes Tender Offer for 2004 Debt
PHILADELPHIA, PA...Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. ("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV), parent
company of Sovereign Bank ("Bank"), today announced the successful completion of
the tender offer for its outstanding 8.625% Senior Notes due March 2004 ("8.625%
Notes") and its outstanding 10.25% Senior Notes due May 2004 ("10.25% Notes").
This offer, priced at $1,062.50 for each $1,000 principal amount 8.625% Note and
$1,091.25 for each $1,000 principal amount 10.25% Note, expired at 5:00 p.m. ET,
on Tuesday, March 4, 2003.
Sovereign has been advised by Mellon Investor Services, LLC, the depositary for
the tender offer, that, as of 5:00 p.m. ET, on Tuesday, March 4, 2003, $139.2
million of the 8.625% Notes and $162.4 million of the 10.25% Notes had been
tendered and not withdrawn. In accordance with the terms of the tender offer,
Sovereign has accepted for payment all 8.625% and 10.25% Notes that have been
validly tendered prior to the expiration of the tender offer.
James D. Hogan, Chief Financial Officer of Sovereign, said, "We are very pleased
with the results of the tender offer. By successfully completing the tender
offer, we are able to accelerate the favorable impact of 2004 debt retirement,
improve the quality of Sovereign's balance sheet, and improve the flexibility of
Sovereign's liabilities."
Questions regarding the tender offer may be directed to Salomon Smith Barney at
212-723-6106 or 800-558- 3745, or to Lehman Brothers at 212-528-7581 or
800-438-3242. This announcement is not an offer to purchase or a solicitation of
an offer to purchase with respect to any Notes.
A live web-cast conference was held on February 27, 2003 discussing the
anticipated pro forma effects of the tender offer and Sovereign's broader asset
and liability management and capital plans. A replay of this web-cast can be
accessed anytime through 6:00 pm ET March 21, 2003. An electronic presentation
document can be accessed at
http://ir.thomsonfn.com/IRUploads/8271/FileUpload/Restructuring.ppt or at
www.sovereignbank.com =>Investor Relations=>Financial Reports=>Corporate
Presentations. The presentation document serves as a reference and summary for
the web-cast.
Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., ("Sovereign") headquartered in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, is the parent company of Sovereign Bank, a $40 billion financial
institution with approximately 525 community banking offices, over 1,000 ATMs
and about 7,500 team members in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. Sovereign is among the 25
largest banking institutions in the United States. For more information on
Sovereign Bank, visit www.sovereignbank.com or call 1-877-SOV-BANK.
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Note:
This press release contains statements of Sovereign's strategies, plans,
and objectives, as well as estimates of future operating results for 2003
and beyond for Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. as well as estimates of financial
condition, operating efficiencies and revenue generation. These statements
and estimates constitute forward-looking statements (within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995), which involve
significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially
from the results discussed in these forward-looking statements. Factors
that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to,
general economic conditions, changes in interest rates, deposit flows,
loan demand, real estate values, competition, terrorist attacks, armed
conflicts involving the U.S. Military; changes in accounting principles,
policies, or guidelines; changes in legislation or regulation; and other
economic, competitive, governmental, regulatory, and technological factors
affecting the Company's operations, pricing, products and services.
Operating earnings may differ from net income due to items such as
merger-related charges, balance sheet restructuring charges, and certain
other non-recurring items.
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