Exhibit 99.1
Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. Announces James D. Hogan's Retirement Effective April
2005; Mark R. McCollom Appointed Chief Financial Officer Upon Hogan's
Retirement
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sovereign Bancorp, Inc.
("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV), parent company of Sovereign Bank ("Bank"), today
announced that James D. Hogan will be retiring April 30, 2005. Hogan,
currently Sovereign's Chief Financial Officer, joined Sovereign in April of
2001 with responsibilities for all financial, accounting and treasury
functions. Prior to joining Sovereign, Hogan was Executive Vice President and
Controller of Firstar Bancorp. Hogan, a Certified Public Accountant, is a
member of the Financial Managers Society and serves on the Boards of the
United Way of Berks County, the Reading Public Museum Foundation and the YMCA
of Reading. "Jim joined Sovereign just after the integration of the
Fleet/BankBoston branch acquisition. Through Jim's dedication and leadership,
Sovereign's growth and profitability has exceeded all our corporate goals,"
commented Jay S. Sidhu, Sovereign's Chairman and CEO. "We wish Jim the best
in his retirement, it has been a pleasure working with him," continued Sidhu.
"It has been a pleasure to work with the excellent management team at
Sovereign. Although my wife and I look forward to retirement, we will truly
miss dealing with the high quality people throughout the Sovereign footprint,"
commented Hogan.
At the time of Hogan's retirement, Mark R. McCollom will succeed Hogan as
Sovereign's Chief Financial Officer. McCollom, 40, is currently Chief
Financial Officer of Sovereign Bank, Managing Director of Strategic Planning
and Chief Accounting Officer of Sovereign. McCollom joined Sovereign in April
of 1996 as Vice President and Corporate Development Officer of Sovereign Bank
and was later named Chief Accounting Officer of Sovereign. Most recently,
McCollom has been responsible for strategic planning, mergers and
acquisitions, investor relations, financial reporting, profitability and
budgeting, and facilities. Previously, McCollom has also had responsibility
for accounting, tax, and corporate insurance functions within the company. In
addition to his current responsibilities, McCollom will be responsible for all
other accounting, finance and treasury functions as Sovereign's Chief
Financial Officer. Effective February 2005, McCollom will relinquish his role
as Chief Accounting Officer when Thomas D. Cestare joins the company in that
role. "Mark has been with Sovereign during the most rapid period of growth in
the company's history and over that time he has contributed significantly to
the achievement of Sovereign's financial management targets. I am confident
Sovereign will be successful in achieving our future financial goals under
Mark's direction and leadership," stated Sidhu. McCollom, a Certified Public
Accountant and a graduate of Penn State University, is a member of the
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Pennsylvania
Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and serves on the CFO's Council of
the Financial Services Roundtable.
Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., ("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV), is the parent company
of Sovereign Bank, pro forma a $60 billion financial institution with more
than 650 community banking offices, over 1,000 ATMs and approximately 9,500
team members in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. In addition to full-service
retail banking, Sovereign offers a broad array of financial services and
products including business and corporate banking, cash management, capital
markets, trust and wealth management and insurance. Pro forma for pending
acquisitions, Sovereign is the 18th largest banking institution in the United
States. For more information on Sovereign Bank, visit
http://www.sovereignbank.com or call 1-877-SOV-BANK.
Note:
This press release contains statements of Sovereign's strategies, plans
and objectives for 2004 and beyond. These statements 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 strategies, plans and objectives
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 and
competition; changes in accounting principles, policies, or guidelines;
changes in legislation or regulation; Sovereign's ability in connection with
any acquisition to complete such acquisition and to successfully integrate
assets, liabilities, customers, systems and management personnel Sovereign
acquires into its operations and to realize expected cost savings and revenue
enhancements within expected time frame; the possibility that expected one-
time merger-related charges are materially greater than forecasted or that
final purchase price allocations based on the fair value of acquired assets
and liabilities and related adjustments to yield and/or amortization of the
acquired assets and liabilities at any acquisition date are materially
different from those forecasted; other economic, competitive, governmental,
regulatory, and technological factors affecting the Company's operations,
integrations, pricing, products and services; and Sovereign's ability to
realize the anticipated benefit of appointing a new Chief Financial Officer.
SOURCE Sovereign Bancorp, Inc.
-0- 11/29/2004
/CONTACT: FINANCIAL: Jim Hogan, +1-610-320-8496, or
jhogan@sovereignbank.com, or Mark McCollom, +1-610-208-6426, or
mmccollo@sovereignbank.com, or Stacey Weikel, +1-610-208-6112, or
sweikel@sovereignbank.com; or MEDIA: Ed Shultz, +1-610-378-6159, or
eshultz1@sovereignbank.com, all of Sovereign Bancorp/
/Web site: http://www.sovereignbank.com /
(SOV)
CO: Sovereign Bancorp, Inc.
ST: Pennsylvania
IN: FIN
SU: PER