Norway bank owns 5% of Sovereign common shares

PHILADELPHIA – The central bank of Norway has disclosed in a U.S. regulatory filing that it owns 5 percent of the outstanding common shares of Sovereign Bancorp Inc. (NYSE: SOV).
Norges Bank, based in Oslo, was required to report its stake in the Philadelphia-based bank because it surpassed the 5-percent threshold.
In a filing with the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission Norges said it owns 33.63 million shares of Sovereign, the parent company of Sovereign Bank, which is the third-largest bank in Rhode Island with $1.99 billion in deposits. With 662.23 million shares outstanding, that puts Norges’ ownership at 5.08 percent.
Last week, Sovereign’s share prices dropped 20 percent as investors steered clear of regional banks in the wake the collapse of IndyMac Bancorp Inc. and other gloomy financial news. Late in the week, the stock price climbed by more than 10 percent.
Sovereign Bancorp Inc. (NYSE: SOV), the parent company of Sovereign Bank, is a $90 billion financial institution with nearly 800 community banking offices, more than 2,000 ATMs and about 12,000 employees mostly in the Northeast. For additional information, visit www.sovereignbank.com.