Sovereign Bank Kicks Off 6th Annual Holiday Book Drive with Reach Out and Read

Sovereign Bank today announced the launch of its 6th annual holiday book drive in partnership with Reach Out and Read, a national, non-profit organization that promotes early literacy by making books a routine part of pediatric care. Titled the Sovereign "Book Bank," the book drive campaign is an opportunity for members of local communities to give back to children in need through the gift of reading.

"Last year, Sovereign's book drive brought more than 40,000 books to children in the cities and communities we serve," said Jay Sidhu, chairman and CEO of Sovereign Bank. "By teaming up with Reach Out and Read this year, we hope to provide even more children with the gift of reading and encourage people to donate as many books as they can this holiday season."

The Reach Out and Read program model is based on research showing a strong connection between the frequency of sharing books with babies, toddlers and young children and enhanced language development. Reach Out and Read trains doctors and nurses to give new books to children at each checkup between 6 months to 5 years of age and to provide developmentally appropriate advice to parents about reading aloud with their child.

"We are thrilled to be the recipient of the books from the Sovereign book drive this holiday season," said Perri Klass, MD, medical director and president of Reach Out and Read. "The generosity of Sovereign customers will help us to continue placing books in the hands of thousands of children who might otherwise be growing up without them."

Collection boxes for children's books are located at all of Sovereign's 650 Community Banking Offices throughout the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions. Customers are encouraged to donate new and gently used books for children ranging in age from 6 months to 5 years. The books will be distributed to local Reach Out and Read programs located in a wide variety of medical settings where pediatric primary care is provided. For a listing of Sovereign's Community Banking Offices, please visit http://www.sovereignbank.com.

For more information on literacy-related milestones, the book-related skills that can be expected of children at certain ages, visit: http://reachoutandread.org/downloads/RORmilestones_English.pdf

About Sovereign Bank

Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., ("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV), is the parent company of Sovereign Bank, a $63 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 18th largest banking institution in the United States. For more information on Sovereign Bank, visit http://www.sovereignbank.com or call 1-877-SOV-BANK.

About Reach Out and Read

Reach Out and Read is a national, non-profit program that is working to make literacy promotion a standard part of pediatric primary care. Reach Out and Read trains medical providers to advise parents about the importance of reading aloud and to give books to children at checkups from 6 months to 5 years, with a special emphasis on children growing up in poverty. Reach Out and Read has one of the strongest records of research support of any primary care intervention. Peer-reviewed studies indicate that parents who get books and literacy counseling from their doctors and nurses are more likely to read to their young children, read to them more often, and provide more books in the home. Low-income children exposed to the program have shown improvements in language development, a critical component of school readiness. Since l989 Reach Out and Read has trained more than 28,000 doctors and nurses who have given advice and a new book at more than 15 million well-child visits. This year Reach Out and Read will provide more than 3.4 million books to more than 2 million children, at more than 2,400 programs nationwide. For further information please visit http://www.reachoutandread.org.

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.