Sovereign Bank Purchases $200 Million Credit Card Portfolio

BOSTON, Aug. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Sovereign Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Banco Santander, S.A., today announced that it has purchased the Sovereign-branded credit card portfolio from FIA Card Services, N.A.  

The portfolio consists of approximately 105,000 credit card relationships representing nearly $200 million in balances.  A vast majority of the accounts acquired are owned by customers who also have a banking relationship with Sovereign.  

"The acquisition of our portfolio will strengthen our relationship with credit card customers and is a key step towards the development of new Sovereign│Santander credit card products," said Nuno Matos, managing director of retail banking at Sovereign.  "This will allow us to fully manage the whole financial relationship and provide more convenient service to our customers."

Currently, the Sovereign-branded credit card is issued and administered by FIA Card Services, N.A.  Account servicing will continue to be handled by FIA Card Services, N.A. until the migration is completed in 2012.

"We are gaining the flexibility to design a line of cards with different value propositions," said Eduardo Tobon, head of Santander's U.S. Cards Division.  "Offering a full suite of Sovereign│Santander credit cards will enhance our entire line of plastics and give customers more options to help them meet their everyday financial needs."

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Sovereign and Santander

Santander Holdings USA, Inc. (SAN.MC, STD.N) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Banco Santander, S.A., and is the holding company for Sovereign Bank and Santander Consumer USA. Santander is a retail and commercial bank, headquartered in Spain, with a presence in ten main markets: Spain, Portugal, Germany, the UK, Poland, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and the U.S. Founded in 1857, Santander has 92 million customers, approximately 14,000 branches –– more than any other international bank –– and over 170,000 employees. For more information on Santander, visit http://www.santander.com.

Sovereign Bank, a subsidiary of Banco Santander, S.A., is a financial institution with principal markets in the northeastern United States. Sovereign has more than 700 branches, nearly 2,300 ATMs, and approximately 8,000 team members. For more information on Sovereign Bank, visit http://www.sovereignbank.com or call 877-SOV-BANK.

SOURCE Sovereign Bank