We are delighted to have these disputes resolved and put behind us.

We are delighted to have these disputes resolved and put behind us. Sovereign has a proven track record of creating more than a 200% increase in shareholder value over the last ten years, and our board, including Ralph Whitworth, our other new director and the Santander and Independence Community Bank representatives, will work together to continue to deliver superior value going forward.

We think 2006 is going to be a good year. It's not going to be a dynamite year, but it's going to be a good year.

Due to the prolonged flatness to slight inversion in the yield curve, the company is focused on stabilizing our net interest margin, controlling expense growth and maximizing generation of capital. We are disappointed that operating/cash earnings per share were lower than a year ago, but are hopeful this trend will change by the second half of 2006.

Such tactics are frequently used in negative political campaigns, and we believe go far beyond the bounds of acceptable behavior in communicating with shareholders of public corporations.

We're not getting into new businesses that we don't understand.