NEW YORK, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sovereign Bank was named class valedictorian for receiving top ranking for the second consecutive year in an annual survey of retail banks in Manhattan by the investment banking firm Sandler O'Neill + Partners.

The survey report, "Grading the Manhattan Banks," issued today by Mark Fitzgibbon, Director of Research at Sandler O'Neill, ranked Sovereign highest among 12 retail banks doing business in Manhattan.

"Each year we pretend to be prospective customers and visit with people down in the trenches to try and determine what really makes these banks tick. We have found this to be a good way of identifying disconnects between what is said in the executive suite and what is actually happening on the front line," Fitzgibbon said in the Industry Notes of the report, which is conducted annually in August. He noted about Sovereign that, "Whoever trains their branch people should get a raise. All of their CSRs were polite, professional, energetic, knowledgeable and eager to get our business."

Vincent Ricciardi, Sovereign Bank Executive Vice President and Senior Market Executive for Metro New York-New Jersey, said, "We are once again very pleased to be recognized as a leader in providing customer service in our community banking offices. Our continued focus on improving the customer experience is a key component of what we ask of our team members everyday."

Sovereign provides banking services to individuals and businesses in the Metro New York area through nearly 100 branches and more than 350 ATMs, including 15 banking offices in Manhattan.

About Sovereign

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.

Sovereign Bank is a registered trademark of Sovereign Bank or its affiliates or subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

SOURCE Sovereign Bank