History
Sovereign bought the naming rights to Mercer County's new arena in 1999 in support of newly acquired Trenton Savings Bank (formerly TSFS) and other New Jersey branches for a ten year term. In following years, the bank also named the Sovereign Center Arena and Sovereign Performing Arts Center in Reading, Pennsylvania, and Sovereign Bank Stadium in York, Pennsylvania. In 2000, it bought 285 New England branches from the newly-merged FleetBoston Financial.
On June 1, 2006, Sovereign Bank purchased Independence Community Bank Corp. of Brooklyn, New York, for US$3.6 billion in cash. Sovereign completed the transition process of Independence and S.I. Bank & Trust customers on September 9, 2006. Sovereign financed this merger by selling a 20% stake in the bank to Spain's Banco Santander Central Hispano.
In June 2006, Banco Santander purchased almost 20% of Sovereign Bank for US$2.4 billion. As Banco Santander owned 25% of Sovereign, it had the right to buy the bank for $40 per share for one year beginning in the middle of 2008.
On October 13, 2008, Banco Santander agreed to purchase the remainder of Sovereign for US$1.9 billion (1.4 billion euros). Sovereign Bank had been severely affected by losses related to auto loans and stock in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. On January 30, 2009, Banco Santander completed its acquisition of Sovereign Bank, for about $2.51 per share.
In August 2011, the bank announced its plans to formally relocate its headquarters from Wyomissing, Pennsylvania to Boston, Massachusetts where its top executives have already been located for the past few years.
In late September 2011, the bank announced that it will officially change its name to "Santander" as part of its parent company's goal to create a global brand. The rebranding is due to be completed by October 2013.
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