sovereignbank

Sovereign Bank, also known as Sovereign Bancorp, was a United States–based retail bank and the principal operating subsidiary of Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. It served customers in the Northeast through a network of branches and offered a full range of financial services, including consumer and commercial banking, mortgage lending, and wealth management, along with online and mobile banking options. The bank traced its origins to the consolidation of regional financial institutions and expanded through acquisitions to become a regional player in several Northeast states.

In 2008, Banco Santander Central Hispano (now Banco Santander) announced an agreement to acquire Sovereign Bancorp. The acquisition was completed in 2009, after regulatory approvals, and the Sovereign Bank brand was gradually phased out. Following the merger, Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. ceased to exist as an independent holding company, with its banking operations becoming part of Santander Bank, N.A.

Today, the former Sovereign Bank operations operate under the Santander Bank, N.A. name. The entity remains a federally regulated financial institution, with deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and oversight by applicable federal and state banking regulators. The transition preserved access to a broad range of deposit, loan, mortgage, and digital banking services for customers who previously used Sovereign Bank branches.