Sovereign/Santander Chooses Arnold Worldwide as Agency of Record

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Aug 16, 2012) - Arnold Worldwide is pleased to announce that Sovereign | Santander has chosen the agency to handle its full-service advertising and marketing duties after a competitive review process. The scope includes brand positioning, advertising, social, digital, sponsorships and analytics.

Sovereign Bank is among the top 25 banks in the United States with principal presence in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Sovereign has 722 branches, 2,200 ATMs and over 8,700 team members.

Arnold was selected for the assignment after a thorough review process that included several other agencies. The review was led by Kathy Klingler, CMO & Director of Corporate Communications and Sovereign | Santander. 

Andrew Benett, Arnold's Global CEO and Global Chief Strategy Officer of Havas Creative, said, "This is an incredible opportunity to work with one of the strongest financial institutions in the world. We are excited to leverage Santander's success across the globe and help Sovereign | Santander achieve its next chapter of success here in the US. We look forward to a long lasting, rewarding partnership."

Sovereign became part of the Santander Group in 2009. Sovereign Bank, NA just announced its tenth consecutive quarter of profitability for the quarter ending June 30, 2012.

Arnold will support Sovereign | Santander in the US on its marketing and rebranding efforts which are expected to occur within the next 12 months. 

About Arnold Worldwide
Arnold is a global communications company and one of the top five most creatively awarded agencies of the past decade. We are proud to represent a diverse portfolio of clients, including Aetna, American Eagle Outfitters, Amtrak, Carnival Cruise Lines, CVS/pharmacy, Dell, Fidelity Investments, The Hershey Company, Huntington Bank, Jack Daniel's, Kohler, McDonald's, New Balance, Ocean Spray, Panasonic, Pearle Vision, Progressive, Sanofi-Aventis, Titleist, truth®, Tyson Foods, Unilever, Vertex, Volvo and many other great brands. Arnold delivers services across all communication touch points -- advertising, digital, promotions, direct, design, branded content -- and is part of Havas Worldwide with offices in Amsterdam, Boston, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Melbourne, Milan, Moscow, New York, Prague, São Paulo, Shanghai, Sydney, Toronto and Washington DC. www.arnoldworldwide.com

About Sovereign Bank, N.A., Santander Holdings USA, Inc. and Banco Santander, S.A.

Sovereign Bank, N.A. is among the top 25 banks in the United States based on total assets with principal presence in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Sovereign has 722 branches, 2,200 ATMs and over 8,700 team members. Sovereign Bank's principal regulator is the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Sovereign Bank is a member of the Federal Reserve Bank System and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC"). For more information on Sovereign Bank, visit http://www.sovereignbank.com or call 877-SOV-BANK.

Santander Holdings USA, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Banco Santander, S.A., and parent company of Sovereign Bank, N.A. Banco Santander is a retail and commercial global bank, with a presence in 10 main markets: U.S., Germany, UK, Poland, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Spain and Portugal. Founded in 1857, Santander has more than 102 million customers, approximately 14,700 branches -- more than any other international bank -- and 193,000 employees. Santander was recently recognized as the Best Global Bank in 2012 by Euromoney magazine. For more information on Santander, visit http://www.santander.com.