PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sovereign Bancorp
Inc., ("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV), parent company of Sovereign Bank ("Bank"),
today announced that it has named Paul A. Perrault President and Chief
Executive Officer, effective January 3, 2009. As part of the management
change, Kirk W. Walters, Sovereign's Executive Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer, is being promoted to Senior Executive Vice President,
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer. Also effective
today, Mr. Walters will begin serving as interim President and CEO until
Mr. Perrault joins the Company. Mr. Perrault will replace Joseph P.
Campanelli who is leaving the bank to pursue other family and business
interests. Mr. Campanelli has served as Sovereign's President and Chief
Executive Officer since October of 2006.
Directors Gonzalo de Las Heras, Ralph V. Whitworth and Brian Hard
comprised the board's executive search committee. Director de Las Heras is
an executive vice president of Banco Santander, S.A., which owns 24.9
percent of Sovereign. Director Whitworth is Principal of Relational
Investors, LLC, which owns 9.8 percent of Sovereign. Director Hard is
President of Penske Truck Leasing.
In a joint statement, the committee members said, "With our business
experience and major investments in Sovereign we believe we have an
excellent understanding of what kind of executive leadership Sovereign
needs. We conducted an extensive and vigorous search process involving a
number of highly qualified candidates. We chose Paul Perrault because of
his strong and seasoned banking skills and because of his impressive
leadership record, which is punctuated by conservative risk management and
strong customer-centric fundamentals. Paul's background and proven record
of leadership mesh perfectly with the no-glitz, back-to-basics formula
Sovereign's board has laid out for these challenging times. We were
particularly impressed with the work Paul and Kirk did together at
Chittenden Corp., a New England-based regional bank which operated in many
of Sovereign's markets before being acquired by Peoples United in 2007."
The statement continued, "As we face the current challenges in our
industry we know that there is a high premium on risk management, basic
'blocking and tackling,' and an intense focus on core banking principles.
The volatility in the stock price this week underscores those challenges.
It is also critical to know these facts:
-- Sovereign is well capitalized, according to all regulatory
requirements.
-- Sovereign has unused committed liquidity of $12.0 billion from the
Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh and the Federal Reserve.
-- Sovereign has undertaken a methodical process to reduce risk in
recent months, including the liquidation of its entire CDO portfolio.
-- Sovereign has only $200 million in debt maturing over the next 15
months at the holding company.
-- Sovereign is fundamentally sound by all financial and operational
measures.
We're confident that this team will greatly improve our leadership as
we intensify our focus on the fundamentals of our core franchise and
conservatively manage our balance sheet," the statement said.
Mr. Perrault joins Sovereign after his tenure at Chittenden
Corporation, where he served as CEO beginning in 1990 and Chairman and CEO
from 1998 to 2007. Mr. Walters, who joined Sovereign in March 2008, was
previously Executive Vice President and CFO at Chittenden Corp., working
with Mr. Perrault.
"I'm excited to lead one of the great banking franchises in the
Northeast," said Mr. Perrault. "This is a time of significant challenges in
the financial industry. We will meet those challenges by simplifying our
business model, reducing risk and improving our service and products for
all our customers. I look forward to re-joining Kirk and working with the
veteran management team at Sovereign."
For 20 years prior to joining Chittenden, Mr. Perrault, 57, served in
various senior and executive positions in banks throughout New England. He
is a graduate of Babson College in Wellesley, MA, and holds an MBA from the
Boston College - Carroll School of Management in Newton, MA. He has spent
his entire career in banking.
The company's statement further stated, "On behalf of the entire
Sovereign team, we thank Joe Campanelli for his hard work and dedication to
Sovereign and to the communities the bank serves. He is leaving a bank that
is on solid financial footing, in one of the most economically desirable
regions of America, led by a strong management team."
Mr. Campanelli said, "I'm extremely proud of my tenure at Sovereign
Bank. In 2001, we set out to make Sovereign a household name. I'm happy to
say we accomplished that goal while building a great franchise in retail
and commercial banking."
Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., ("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV), is the parent
company of Sovereign Bank, a financial institution with principal markets
in the Northeastern 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. 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
CONTACT:
Financial, Stacey Weikel, +1-610-320-8428,
sweikel@sovereignbank.com; or Media, Andrew Gully,
+1-617-757-5513, agully@sovereignbank.com, or Ellen Molle,
+1-617-757-5573, emolle@sovereignbank.com, all of Sovereign
Bancorp, Inc.
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