Sovereign Introduces Banking Program that Rewards Small Business Owners

WYOMISSING, Pa.-- Sovereign Bank today announced a

new program of enhanced banking services for small business owners. Sovereign

Business Owner Banking(SM) provides rewards to small business owners who

choose Sovereign for their business banking relationship. With Business Owner

Banking, business owners will benefit from a comprehensive set of products and

services that meet both their business as well their personal banking

requirements.

Through this program, business owners who purchase any of Sovereign's

newly enhanced lineup of business checking accounts will receive their first

order of business checks free and Sovereign's best personal checking account

free.

Sovereign's business accounts include Free Business Checking, with 300

free monthly transactions, and Business Checking Plus, offering 750 free

monthly transactions when customers maintain a $40,000 monthly balance.

Sovereign's new Business Owner Legacy Checking account is a personal

account with Sovereign's best relationship values and services. This new

product will be offered to business checking customers with no minimum balance

or monthly fee. The Business Owner Legacy Checking account rewards business

owners with value-added offers, including discounts on consumer loans and

lines of credit as well as better rates on Certificates of Deposits.

To mark the launch of the Business Owner Banking program, Sovereign will

reward business customers further by offering them a free BlackBerry(R) 7100t.

The offer will be available through Sovereign's more than 650 community

banking offices through December 31, 2005.

Sovereign's full set of business checking products - including Business

Interest Checking and Cash Management checking services - deliver an array of

capabilities that can serve a wide range of companies. Each of the checking

products serves as a platform that business customers can customize by adding

free and value-added services that meet their particular needs, such as online

financial management tools, sweep accounts, merchant card services, and

payroll processing.

About Sovereign Bank

Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. ("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV) is the parent company of

Sovereign Bank, a $60 billion financial institution with more than 650

community banking offices, over 1,000 ATMs and approximately 10,000 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,

trust and wealth management and insurance. Sovereign is the 19th largest

banking institution in the United States. For more information on Sovereign

Bank, visit http://www.sovereignbank.com or call 1-877-SOV-BANK.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.