WYOMISSING, Pa., June 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sovereign Bank today announced that Michael J. Curran has been named executive vice president and managing director of the Global Solutions Group. Curran will oversee five business units serving business and institutional clients: Cash Management, International Trade Banking, Government Banking, Financial Institutions and Strategic Alliances (Sovereign Merchant, Payroll and Health Savings Accounts Services).

Prior to joining Sovereign, Curran served as executive vice president and managing director of Bank of America's Global Treasury Services where he was responsible for global corporate banking sales. His unit had offices across the United States as well as in Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia.

A banking veteran, Curran brings 20 years experience in cash management, treasury, structured finance and trade services to his new role at Sovereign. Previously he held a variety of senior management roles at FleetBoston Financial Corporation, where he managed the bank's International, Cash Management, Corporate Trust and Financial Institutions business units.

Before joining Fleet, Curran served as business unit manager of Structured Finance at Chemical Bank. He also held a number of management positions at Manufacturer's Hanover Trust Co., including: managing director of GeoServe, department head of European Treasury Consulting and team leader with the Multi-National Banking Group.

A graduate of Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, Curran holds a bachelor's degree in International Affairs and French. He also attended the Harvard Business School Program for Management Development.

He resides in Simsbury, Conn., with his wife and four children.

About Sovereign

Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., ("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV - News), is the parent company of Sovereign Bank, a financial institution with $82 billion in assets as of March 31, 2007. Headquartered in Wyomissing, Pa. with principal markets in the northeast United States, Sovereign has nearly 785 community banking offices, more than 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 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 is a registered trademark of Sovereign Bank or its affiliates or subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.