Exhibit 99.1

     Statement Under Oath of Principal Executive Officer and
   Principal Financial Officer Regarding Facts and Circumstances
                Relating to Exchange Act Filings

I, Jay S. Sidhu, state and attest that:

     (1)  To the best of my knowledge, based upon a review of
the covered reports of Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., and, except as
corrected or supplemented in a subsequent covered report:

     -   no covered report contained an untrue statement of a
         material fact as of the end of the period covered by
         such report (or in the case of a report on Form 8-K or
         definitive proxy materials, as of the date on which it
         was filed); and

     -   no covered report omitted to state a material fact
         necessary to make the statements in the covered report,
         in light of the circumstances under which they were
         made, not misleading as of the end of the period
         covered by such report (or in the case of a report on
         Form 8-K or definitive proxy materials, as of the date
         on which it was filed).

     (2)  I have reviewed the contents of this statement with
the Company's audit committee.

     (3)  In this statement under oath, each of the following,
if filed on or before the date of this statement, is a "covered
report":

     -   Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
         December 31, 2001 of Sovereign Bancorp, Inc.;

     -   all reports on Form 10-Q, all reports on Form 8-K,
         and all definitive proxy materials of Sovereign
         Bancorp, Inc. filed with the Commission subsequent to
         the filing of the Form 10-K identified above; and

     -   any amendments to any of the foregoing.

/s/ Jay S. Sidhu                   Subscribed and sworn to
Jay S. Sidhu                       before me this 14th day of
Chief Executive Officer            August 2002
August 14, 2002                    /s/ Kelly A. Downs
                                   Notary Public

                           My Commission Expires: Sept. 26, 2005