Jay S. Sidhu Presenting at International Banking and Finance Seminar

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. ("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV) , announced today that Jay S. Sidhu, Chairman of Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., will be presenting at the 17th Special Seminar on International Banking and Finance, to be held at the Palace Hotel in Tokyo, Japan on November 15 and 16, 2006. Mr. Sidhu will be presenting the afternoon of November 16, 2006.

The main theme of this year's seminar is "Becoming the 'First Choice' Retail Bank ~ Strategies for a Fiercely Competitive Era." Several prominent bankers, regulators and authorities from various countries have been invited to present on the financial industries' roles in the international society.

Sidhu, invited to present based on his experiences at Sovereign and as a speaker representing U.S. regional banks, will be lecturing on "How to be the Winner in a Fiercely Competitive Retail Banking Market."

Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., ("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV) , the parent company of Sovereign Bank, is a $90 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. 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.