PROVIDENCE, R.I., March 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Sovereign Bank today unveiled a
program for the Latino community in Rhode Island that provides new banking
products and services. The program will include the opportunity for the Latino
community to obtain more capital to start and grow small businesses.
According to the 2004 U.S. Census Bureau survey, the Latino population in
Rhode Island increased by 20 percent from 2000 to 2004, whereas the overall
population in the state decreased three percent. Currently, Latinos account
for 11 percent of the population in Rhode Island.
"Sovereign Bank considers the Latino community in Rhode Island a key to
future economic growth in the state," said Jay Sidhu, chairman and CEO of
Sovereign Bank. "The bank can be very helpful by targeting capital and
providing specialized services that will give the Latino community a boost
toward financial success."
Sovereign Bank's new Latino Banking Program includes a small business loan
program to provide loans up to $2.5 million; first-time homebuyer seminars
presented by bilingual loan officers; bilingual ATMs; and the addition of
bilingual staff and signage in branches. Sovereign will also partner with the
Community College of Rhode Island to hold job fairs to recruit new bilingual
staff. In addition, Sovereign will offer its Rhode Island employees Spanish-
language courses so that current employees can become more proficient in the
language.
"Rhode Island is very fortunate to have a growing Latino population that
is contributing to the economy in many ways. Sovereign's new banking program
will give many Latinos the funding they need to start and grow their
businesses," said Governor Donald Carcieri. "In addition, it is commendable
that Sovereign is reaching out to the Latino community to hire bilingual
employees to serve their customers."
"Latinos from the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Puerto Rico and many
other countries make up one third of our city's population and are helping to
shape the economic future of our city," said Mayor David Cicilline.
"Sovereign Bank's new program will go a long way towards empowering the Latino
community and strengthening Providence's neighborhoods."
According to Juana Horton, chair of the Rhode Island Hispanic American
Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic-owned businesses have grown tremendously in
Rhode Island over the past decade. "During the past ten years, Hispanic-owned
businesses have grown seven times as fast as the number of overall businesses
in Rhode Island," Horton said. "Today, there are 3,000 Hispanic-owned
businesses in this region that will enjoy even greater access to capital
through Sovereign's new banking program."
Horton added, "Once the Hispanic-owned businesses were mainly mom and pop
enterprises, but now our small businesses have expanded into the mainstream of
the local economy and include the industries of telecommunications, financial
services and real estate. We will be even stronger with these new financial
resources offered by Sovereign."
About Sovereign
Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. ("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV) is the parent company of
Sovereign Bank, a $64 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
SOURCE Sovereign Bank
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Related links:
http://www.sovereignbank.com
CONTACT:
Ellen Molle of Sovereign Bank,
+1-617-757-5573, or cell, +1-617-548-9932,
emolle@sovereignbank.com
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