Company News

July 27, 2010

First Prize winners will receive a Sony Vaio laptop and Grand Prize winner will receive two tickets for Caribbean Cruise

Boston (July 27, 2010) — Sovereign Bank, a part of the Santander Group, today announced a new Back to School Sweepstakes available for a limited time only to promote its Sovereign Cash Rewards program. The Back to School Sweepstakes is the third in a series of four quarterly sweepstakes that will take place throughout 2010.

Through August 30, 2010, Sovereign Bank Debit Card holders who register in the Sovereign Cash Rewards program will receive ten entries into the Back to School Sweepstakes. In addition, cardholders will earn five entries into the contest every time they make a "signature purchase." A signature purchase is defined as a purchase in which the cardholder does not have to enter a Personal Identification Number (PIN) at the point of purchase. That includes purchases made over the Internet. No purchase is required to participate in any sweepstakes Sovereign Bank sponsors. For any other purchase at any retailer the cardholder will receive one entry.

Through the Sovereign Cash Rewards Program, customers can earn up to 20 percent cash back when they use their Sovereign Debit Card at participating retailers, in store or online through the Sovereign Cash Rewards Web site.

"The Cards Business at Sovereign/Santander is committed to delivering innovative campaigns with prizes relevant to the lifestyle of our cardholders," said Eduardo Tobon, Head of the Cards Business at Sovereign. "The Back to School Sweepstakes is the most recent example of our strategy to provide exceptional value to our cardholders," Tobon added.

First-prize winners of the Back to School Sweepstakes will receive a brand new Sony Vaio laptop and second-prize winners will receive an Amazon Kindle. A complete list of participating retailers, prizes, and terms and conditions is available at www.sovereignbank.com/rewards

Any Sovereign Debit Card customer who is entered in any of the four sweepstakes will automatically receive one entry for the Grand Prize drawing. The sweepstakes is open to new and existing Sovereign Bank Debit Card holders, and the general public. The Grand Prize is a Caribbean cruise for two and the Grand Prize drawing will take place on January 20, 2011.


About Sovereign Bank

Banco Santander (SAN.MC, STD.N) is a retail and commercial bank headquartered in Spain. Founded in 1857, Santander had $1.665 trillion in managed funds at the end of 2009. Santander has 90 million customers, approximately 14,000 branches – more than any other international bank – and over 170,000 employees. It is the largest financial group in Spain and Latin America, with leading positions in the United Kingdom and Portugal and a broad presence in Europe through its Santander Consumer Finance arm. For more information on Santander, visit http://www.santander.com.

Sovereign Bank, a subsidiary of Banco Santander, S.A., is a financial institution with principal markets in the northeastern United States. Sovereign has more than 700 branches, over 2,300 ATMs and approximately 8,000 team members. For more information on Sovereign Bank, visit http://www.sovereignbank.com or call 877-SOV-BANK.


Media Contacts

Ellen Molle
617-757-5573
emolle@sovereignbank.com

Bryan Hurst
617-346-7438
bhurst@sovereignbank.com