Sovereign Bancorp Inc was a bank holding company headquartered in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1902 and was acquired by Banco Santander in 2009. Sovereign Bancorp Inc operated as the holding company for Sovereign Bank, which provided various banking and financial services to individuals and businesses in the Northeastern United States. Sovereign Bank had over 700 branches and more than 12,000 employees at the time of its acquisition by Banco Santander.