Sovereign Bank To Offer Maryland Title Insurance Accounts

June 6, 2007

Sovereign Bancorp's (NYSE: SOV) Sovereign Bank unit plans to offer a checking account designed for title insurers and title insurance agencies doing business in the State of Maryland.

The company's new Maryland Affordable Housing Trust account will meet Maryland's deposit and interest requirements et the for title insurance agencies whose individual clients' deposits are projected to earn $50 or less in interest.

Sovereign's account will provide qualified participants the opportunity to maintain a pooled account for holding their clients' funds. Sovereign remits interest on these funds to the Maryland Affordable Housing Trust Fund on behalf of its customers.

The Maryland General Assembly designed the MAHT program to promote affordable housing in the state of Maryland. Eligible applicants for MAHT funding include nonprofit organizations, public housing authorities, and government agencies.

Wyomissing, Pennsylvania-based Sovereign Bank, which serves markets in the Northeast, had $82 billion in assets as of March 31. The bank has nearly 785 community banking offices, over 2,300 ATMs and around 12,000 employees.


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