New Sovereign Bank Plaza Opens in Reading

A celebration today for a new building that officials are calling another piece of the puzzle in downtown Reading's revitalization.

The new Sovereign Plaza at Fifth and Penn Streets officially opened this afternoon.

More than 500 employees will staff a call center and customer support team inside the new building.

It replaced several historic buildings that would have been too costly to preserve.

Jay Sidhu 16:39 - 16:55 "We want to try our best to make an impact to make this community, City of Reading, Berks County a much better place for us to live in..all of us to work...and it's that dream that's being fulfilled today in another small way.

Local and state officials at the grand opening ceremony say the new building will help draw people and other companies downtown.

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.