PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sovereign Bancorp,
Inc., ("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV), parent company of Sovereign Bank ("Bank"),
today announced that Kirk W. Walters has been named Executive Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer, effective March 3, 2008. Mr. Walters
succeeds Mark R. McCollom. Mr. McCollom and Sovereign mutually agreed that
he will step down as CFO effective March 3, 2008, and that he will continue
to be employed until May 30, 2008 to ensure a smooth transition.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080221/NETH101 )
Mr. Walters will be responsible for Sovereign's finance and accounting
functions and will help lead the company's investor relations efforts. He
will report to Joseph P. Campanelli, President and Chief Executive Officer
of Sovereign.
"We are very pleased to welcome Kirk to the Sovereign team," said Mr.
Campanelli. "Kirk is a seasoned banking industry veteran with strong
financial expertise and proven risk management skills. I look forward to
working closely with Kirk as we execute Sovereign's strategy and
communicate our progress to our shareholders and the financial community."
Mr. Walters, 52, joins Sovereign from Chittenden Corporation,
headquartered in Burlington, VT, which was acquired by People's United
Financial, Inc., headquartered in Bridgeport, CT, in January 2008. At
Chittenden, Mr. Walters served as Executive Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer since 1996. Prior to joining Chittenden, he worked at
Northeast Federal Corporation in Hartford, CT, from 1989-95 in a series of
executive positions, including Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, President
and Chief Operating Officer. From 1984-89, Mr. Walters worked for
California Federal Bank in a variety of financial positions, including
Senior Vice President and Controller. He began his career as an accountant
at Coopers & Lybrand in Los Angeles. Mr. Walters earned his BS in
Accounting from the University of Southern California.
Mr. Campanelli continued, "Mark has been a valuable member of our
senior management team for the past 12 years. We thank him for his
commitment and many contributions to Sovereign and wish him well in his
future endeavors."
Mr. McCollom joined Sovereign in 1996. He has over 20 years experience
in the financial services industry and worked previously at Meridian
Bancorp and Price Waterhouse.
About Sovereign
Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., ("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV), is the parent
company of Sovereign Bank, a financial institution with $85 billion in
assets as of Dec. 31, 2007 with principal markets in the Northeast United
States. Sovereign Bank has 750 community banking offices, over 2,300 ATMs
and approximately 12,000 team members. Sovereign offers a broad array of
financial services and products including retail banking, business and
corporate banking, cash management, capital markets, 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.
SOURCE Sovereign Bancorp, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.sovereignbank.com
Photo Notes:
NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080221/NETH101
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org AP PhotoExpress
Network: PRN8 PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
CONTACT:
Financial, Stacey Weikel, +1-610-320-8428,
sweikel@sovereignbank.com, or Media, Ed Shultz, +1-610-378-6159,
eshultz1@sovereignbank.com, both of Sovereign Bancorp, Inc.
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