COMMUNITY
REINVESTMENT PLAN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Letter from President and CEO ... 3
2011 Commitment ... 4
Lending ... 5
Community Development Investments ... 6
Community Development Services ... 7
Community Development Mission Statement ... 8
About Santander ... 9
Sovereign Bank, N.A. is a Member FDIC and a wholly owned subsidiary of Banco Santander, S.A. © 2012 Sovereign Bank, N.A. | Sovereign and Santander and its logo are registered trademarks of Sovereign Bank and Santander, respectively, or their affiliates or subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
About our company
Banco Santander (SAN.MC, STD.N) 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 had 1,217 trillion euros in assets at the end of 2010. 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, N.A. 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 1.877.SOV.BANK (1.877.768.2265).
I am pleased to share with you the 2011 Community Reinvestment Plan performance of Sovereign Bank. The report details the bank’s continuing commitment to serve the communities where we live and work. Sovereign remains committed to meeting the financial needs of all our customers, delivering value to shareholders and supporting our banking communities. In 2011, The Office of Thrift Supervision completed its Community Reinvestment Examination of Sovereign Bank and noted that the bank’s performance in meeting the credit needs of its assessment areas including low- and moderate-income people as “Outstanding.” For its Community Reinvestment Program, Sovereign has received an “Outstanding” CRA rating since 2000.
In 2011, Sovereign extended its Community Reinvestment Plan through 2013. The bank commits $5.3 billion in “new” lending and investment from 2011 - 2013 in support of low- and moderate-income individuals and communities in its principal banking markets. In 2011, the bank provided over $1.8 billion, or 113% of its total Plan goal in lending and investments. In addition, the bank provided over $2 million in charitable grants to organizations promoting community development, youth and education, and health and human service programs.
Sovereign Team Members work with many non-profit organizations to improve the quality of life for those in our banking communities. In 2011, Sovereign Team Members provided over 46,000 volunteer hours of community development services. The bank continued its support of United Way through corporate and employee contributions as well as employee volunteer activities.
In 2011, Sovereign, together with Santander Universities, entered into University Agreements with nine higher learning institutions to support educational programs and provided scholarship funds for low- and moderate-income students. The bank will make available over $1.4 million to these Universities.
We are proud of our community reinvestment lending and Team Member services in our banking communities and are committed to continuing our commitment in 2012.
Sincerely,
Jorge Morán President and CEO
TO: SOVEREIGN BANK CUSTOMERS AND FRIENDS
Jorge Morán
2011 COMMITMENT
In 2011, Sovereign extended its Community Reinvestment Plan through 2013 with a $5.3 billion financial commitment to serve affordable housing initiatives, small business support, consumer finance, community development loans and investment, and contributions and grants that help meet the financial and service needs of its banking communities.
PA NY NH MA CT RI NJ MD Reading Philadelphia New York Boston Providence New Bedford 80 81 81 81 90 88 87 87 90 91 91 76 76 78 81 95 95
$1.8 BILLION IN COMMUNITY LOANS AND INVESTMENTS IN 2011
Northeastern NE 161 Branches Southern & Western NE 153 Branches Metro NY & Northern NJ 135 Branches PA East & NJ Central 154 Branches PA West & Maryland 120 Branches Total Sovereign Branches 723 Branches
2011-2013
Commitment Goals2011 Actuals2011
Affordable Housing Initiatives
Loans to Low- and Moderate-Income Borrowers 2,814 853 591
Multi-Family Loans 360 108 78
Modification, Extension, Consolidation Agreement Lending (MECA) 900 250 433
Subtotal 4,074 1,211 1,102
Small Business Support
Small Business Loans 940 300 481
Small Business Administration Loans 60 20 46
Subtotal 1,000 320 527
Consumer Finance (Low- and Moderate-Income Borrowers) 178 50 153
Community Development Loans 53 15 29
CRA Investments 25 5 4.8
Contributions and Grants 6 2 2
LENDING
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Sovereign provides numerous affordable mortgage products and commits to lend $2.8 billion in mortgages to low- and moderate-income individuals from 2011 - 2013. In 2011, the bank provided over $591 million in home mortgages in its principal banking markets. The Bank partners with Massachusetts Housing Partnership and provided over $40 million Soft Second low-cost mortgage loans to first-time homebuyers in 2011.
SMALL BUSINESS LENDING
Sovereign commits to provide at least $1 billion in small business lending from 2011 - 2013. In 2011, Sovereign closed over $527 million in small business loans and continues to be an active Lender in Small Business Administration (SBA) lending, closing over $46 million in SBA Loans. The bank is a preferred lender in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. In 2011, Sovereign was recognized by SBA in Massachusetts and New Jersey for its outstanding small business lending.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LENDING
Sovereign commits to provide at least $53 million in commercial community development loans, $360 million in multi-family lending and $900 million in MECA (Modification, Extension, Consolidation Agreements) lending in low- and moderate-income census tracts from 2011 - 2013. The bank successfully closed $540 million in 2011 toward its community development commitment.
CONSUMER LENDING
In partnership with the Pennsylvania and Massachusetts Assistive Technology loan programs, Sovereign offers low-interest loans to individuals with disabilities to purchase useful technological devices that improve their quality of life. In 2011, the bank provided over $4 million in low-cost financing to these programs helping to serve disabled individuals.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
INVESTMENTS
Sovereign has made a significant investment in CRA-qualified community investments that benefit low- and moderate-income individuals and communities. The bank has funded over $400 million in CRA investments to support community development and the revitalization and stabilization of communities in the bank’s principal banking markets.
Sovereign will invest at least $25 million in CRA-qualified community investments and provide at least $6 million in CRA contributions to non-profit organizations in support of community development, educational and community service programs that benefit low- and moderate-income individuals and communities from 2011 - 2013. In 2011, Sovereign provided over $2 million in charitable grants to non-profit organizations throughout its principal banking markets. The bank made a $4.8 million investment in a CRA-eligible security- backed by mortgage loans to low- and moderate-income borrowers. In 2011, Sovereign and its Team Members contributed over $445,000 to United Way agencies, over $37,000 to numerous Food Bank partners and $25,000 to Special Olympics. The bank also partnered with several Habitat For Humanity chapters in helping to build affordable housing for low-income families.
In 2011, Sovereign continued its outreach in support of higher education programs and student scholarships to low- and moderate-income students, committing over $300,000 through its Universities program. The scholarships are designed to increase opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds to study abroad and participate in international service programs.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
Sovereign is committed and dedicated to serving the needs of our banking communities. Team Members volunteer thousands of hours each year to enhance the quality of life for low- and moderate-income individuals and families. The bank supports Earned Income Tax Credit programs, educational and financial literacy programs through consumer money management workshops, first-time homebuyer seminars and small business development workshops.
In 2011, Sovereign provided funding and employee volunteer support to individuals who qualified for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The EITC program assists qualified low- and moderate-income taxpayers by providing free tax preparation assistance and financial management education.
Sovereign Team Members volunteered over 46,000 hours of community service equaling over $1 million in value to our banking communities. Some of the community projects supported were Bostonians for Youth, Cradles To Crayons, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Habitat For Humanity and Neighborhood Housing Services. Sovereign was recognized with service awards for outstanding leadership in volunteerism from Special Olympics, March of Dimes, Neighborhood Housing Services, Salvation Army and the Boston Business Journal as top charitable contributor in Massachusetts.
Sovereign promotes and administers Family Savings Accounts (FSA) and Individual Development Account (IDA) programs that provide matching funds from community development organizations assisting low- and moderate-income families in meeting savings goals for home purchases and other significant life needs.
The bank provides technical assistance in the application of grants for sponsors of affordable housing projects with the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB). Sovereign Bank administers to 137 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) projects and has submitted 3 applications for $750,000 this year.
At Sovereign, branch distribution is an important community development service. The Bank’s retail banking services are accessible to all segments in the bank’s footprint, meeting the convenience needs of residents and businesses. As of December 2011, 117 or 24% of Sovereign’s branch offices are located in low- to moderate-income areas.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
MISSION STATEMENT
Sovereign Bank is committed and dedicated to serving the needs of our communities through investment of the bank’s resources and Team Member participation. It is our mission to meet the credit needs of all our communities while maintaining sound non-discriminatory standards. We will continue to build mutually beneficial relationships with our customers for the vitality of our communities. Our products and services are designed to support first-time homebuyers, affordable rental housing, health care and education while creating and supporting jobs and services in low- and moderate-income communities. We will work closely with community-based organizations, business leaders and local governments on community development initiatives that assist low- and moderate-income communities and families.
Sovereign Bank’s commitment to improving the quality of life in our communities reflects our conviction that we have an opportunity to make a difference.
Community Reinvestment Act Notice
The federal Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requires the Office of Comptroller of the Currency to evaluate our performance in helping meet the credit needs of the community, and to take this evaluation into account when deciding on certain applications submitted by the bank. Your involvement is encouraged.
You may send signed, written comments about our CRA statement or our performance in helping to meet community credit needs to: Corporate CRA Officer at Sovereign Bank
Two Aldwyn Center
Lancaster Avenue and Route 320 Villanova, PA 19085
Deputy Comptroller, Northeastern District, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
340 Madison Avenue 5th Floor New York, NY 10173-0002
Your letter, together with any response by us, may be made public.
Jack Killen
ABOUT SANTANDER
Community: We are part of a company committed to the community.
Santander is a socially responsible company committed to the community. Team Members are encouraged to be leaders in their own community by giving of their time and talents.
Learning and Knowledge: Your progress means we all move forward.
Continuous learning and knowledge are vital for quality professional development. Santander innovates and invests in learning, with a Corporate Learning and Development Center that companies all over the world look to as a reference point.
Recognition: We value your hard work.
Santander acknowledges everyone’s contribution and believes your ideas count. The company has a transparent, confidential and objective appraisal system, linked to a competitive salary and performance-based incentive plans.
Professional Development: You set the limits.
The professional growth of Team Members is one of Santander’s key priorities. The company runs talent development projects, programs for new managers, offers individual professional advice and an Employee Care service.
Leading Company: Our success is your success.
Santander’s leadership is the result of everyone’s hard work. Santander is the leading bank in the Euro zone, and one of the top 10 banks in the world with a presence in key markets, 180,000 employees and more than 14,000 branches.
International Profile: 95 nationalities in more than 40 countries.
Working in a global setting is a very rewarding experience. Santander has multicultural teams in more than 40 countries taking part in global projects and sharing best practices.
Work/Life Balance: A company that is open to your needs. Striking a balance between professional and personal needs is important. Santander has policies in place that aim to give Team Members a work/life balance.
