Sovereign Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Santander Holdings USA and one of the 25 largest retail banks in the United States by deposits, announced that it will begin to market itself under the Santander brand and legally change its name to Santander Bank, on October 17, 2013.
“October 17th will mark a unique occasion for our company. Under the Santander name, we will marry the local insights and relationships of a committed, community-focused bank with the breadth and expertise of a major global financial institution,” said Carlos Garcia, chief corporate affairs and communications officer at Sovereign Bank and Santander Holdings USA.
Sovereign Bank operates in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, serving 1.7 million retail and commercial clients. It has been a financially autonomous member of the Santander Group since 2009. While the Santander Group has had business operations in the United States for over 30 years, this change marks the first time it will operate as a federally chartered U.S. retail and commercial bank under the Santander brand.
With 102 million customers, over $72 billion in market capitalization and a 10.67% core capital ratio, the Santander Group is one of the world’s strongest financial institutions as well as being one of the most respected and recognized global financial brands. Santander Group’s subsidiaries do business under the unified Santander brand in the U.K., Germany, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Spain and Portugal.
In the four years since Sovereign Bank became part of the Santander Group, the Bank’s corporate headquarters were relocated to Boston, it substantially strengthened its capital and improved its asset quality, migrated multiple legacy systems to a single robust technology platform and became a full-fledged commercial bank by changing to a national bank charter.
Enhancements to Accompany Name Change
In addition to its name change, the Bank announced several enhancements to be rolled out between now and October 17th as part of a comprehensive $200+ million three year initiative. “Today’s announcement reflects our commitment to becoming the best bank we can possibly be for both our customers and for our team members,” said David Miree, managing director of the Bank’s retail network.