PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Due to Banco Santander's announcement on October 13, 2008 that it will acquire Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. and to Sovereign's pre-earnings press release issued on October 13, 2008, Sovereign will not be holding its regular quarterly earnings conference call and webcast, originally scheduled for October 22, 2008.

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.