2007-04-17 21:30:12 -
PHILADELPHIA, April 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. ("Sovereign") , parent company of Sovereign Bank, announced today that it has received a credit rating upgrade from Moody's Investor Services ("Moody's"). Moody's stated the ratings reflect Sovereign's solid market share in its direct banking franchise in the New England and Mid-Atlantic states and a diversified loan portfolio with no major concentration risks. The current ratings of Sovereign and its affiliates are as follows:
Issuer Rating
Current Rating Previous Rating
Sovereign
Bancorp, Inc. Senior Unsecured A3 Baa1
Preferred Stock Baa2 Baa3
Subordinated Baa1 Baa2
Sovereign Bank Bank Financial Strength C C-
LT Bank Deposits A2 A3
ST Bank Deposits P-1 P-2
LT Issuer Rating A2 A3
Subordinated A3 Baa1
Sovereign Capital
Trust I, II, III, IV, V, VI Baa1 Baa2
Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., ("Sovereign") , the parent company of Sovereign Bank, is a $90 billion financial institution with nearly 800 community banking offices, over 2,000 ATMs and approximately 12,000 team members with principal markets in the Northeast United States. Sovereign offers a broad array of financial services and products including retail banking, business and corporate banking, cash management, capital markets, wealth management and insurance. Sovereign is the 17th 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: "Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements in this press release regarding Sovereign Bancorp's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual future events to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Forward-Looking Statements" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.
Source: Sovereign Bancorp, Inc.
