WYOMISSING, Pa., April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Sovereign Bank announced
today that it is expanding its Franchise Lending services nationally to
include satellite offices in the Midwest and Southwest.
As part of the expansion, Chris Young, John Black and Kevin Haan have
joined the Franchise Lending team, comprising a new unit within the
existing Franchise Lending Group. The new unit will focus on extending
Sovereign's franchisee lending services nationwide into additional major
restaurant brands.
"Chris, John and Kevin each have an extensive background in lending to
top-tier franchisees on a national basis, which will complement our
existing organization well," said Ken Blum, senior vice president and
director of Sovereign Bank's Franchise Lending Group. "With the addition of
these seasoned professionals, we have also expanded our Franchise Lending
satellite offices to include Chicago, Illinois and Dallas, Texas."
Having financed restaurant franchisees for over 20 years, Sovereign is
an experienced lender to the franchise industry. The Franchise Lending
Group provides loans for new store development, acquisitions, refinancings
and remodels, with deal sizes ranging up to $35,000,000. Based in
Worcester, Massachusetts, the group currently has satellite offices in
Chicago, Illinois; Dallas, Texas; Iselin, New Jersey; Manchester, New
Hampshire; and Waterbury, Connecticut.
Chris Young, who will be based in Chicago, will head the new national
team as senior vice president and team leader. Young has ten years sales
management experience in restaurant lending at National City Bank and Fleet
Business Credit.
John Black, vice president of sales, will cover the Western U.S. market
from Dallas. Black has twenty years of experience in lending to restaurant
franchisees at National City, Imperial Capital and Safeco Credit.
Kevin Haan, vice president and portfolio manager, will provide
underwriting services for the new unit. Haan has seventeen years of credit
and sales experience at Fleet Business Credit and Merrill Lynch.
For more information about Sovereign's Franchise Lending Group, contact
Ken Blum or Chris Young at 888.656.8102, or visit Sovereign's Web site at
http://www.sovereignbank.com/franchiselending.
About Sovereign
Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., ("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV), is the parent
company of Sovereign Bank, a pro forma $83 billion financial institution
with nearly 800 community banking offices, over 2,000 ATMs and
approximately 12,000 team members with principal markets in the Northeast
United States after giving effect to the Independence acquisition and
recently announced branding agreement in which Sovereign ATMs will be
placed in CVS/pharmacy locations. 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 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.
Sovereign Bank, its logo and lantern are service marks of Sovereign
Bank or its affiliates or subsidiaries in the United States and other
countries.
SOURCE Sovereign Bank
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Related links:
http://www.sovereignbank.com
http://www.sovereignbank.com/franchiselending
CONTACT:
Ellen Molle of Sovereign Bank,
+1-617-757-5573, or Cell, +1-617-548-9932, or
emolle@sovereignbank.com
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