Jay S. Sidhu was elected Chairman of the Board of Sovereign Bancorp, Inc.
and Sovereign Bank. Sidhu, who is president and CEO of Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. and Sovereign Bank, takes over as chairman
following the retirement of Richard E. Mohn. Mohn had served as chairman
since 1995 and as a director since 1987. Mr. Mohn also served as a director
of Sovereign Bank since 1981 and Chairman since 1989. He is a retired
chairman of Cloister Spring Water Company of Lancaster, PA.
At the annual meeting, held this past week in Providence, shareholders approved
board members John A. Fry and Andrew C. Hove, Jr. to new three-year terms.
Sovereign’s shareholders also ratified Ernst and Young LLP as Sovereign’s
independent auditors.
In remarks to shareholders, Sidhu noted Sovereign’s recent successes
including paying off the non-compete early from the FleetBoston acquisition.
Sidhu also said that the core focus of the bank during 2002 will be on
internal, organic growth and strong earnings in the future.
“Our motto continues to be ‘out-local the nationals and out-national the
locals,’” said Sidhu. “Sovereign gives its customers the best of a community
bank with regard to customer service and convenience and the best of a big
bank with large distribution systems, technology and 24/7 resources.”
