Top 25 US Bank Introduces Boston To New Name With "Santander Community Day"

BOSTON, Oct. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of Sovereign Bank becoming Santander, the Bank hosted "Santander Community Day" in Boston today, featuring a series of fun giveaways and activities as a public "thank you" to Boston area residents and visitors. Through partnerships with its corporate clients and beloved local institutions – Boston Duck Tours, Dunkin' Donuts and Kickass Cupcakes – Santander will deliver all-day surprises throughout the city to underscore its strong commitment to its customers.

The day was kicked off on Beacon Hill when Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick presented Santander US president and CEO, Roman Blanco with a proclamation designating October 18, 2013, "Santander Community Day".

Santander's Community Day events include:

• Complimentary Boston Duck Tours from 9:00 to 5:00 PM. Santander orchestrates the first-ever corporate take-over of the Boston Duck Tours' 27 boat fleet. Patrons can hop aboard at any Duck Tour ticket location: Museum of Science, Prudential Center or New England Aquarium. (No advance reservations, first-come, first-served.)
• Complimentary Dunkin' Donuts coffee and donuts, 7:30 to 9:30 AM, Boston Common, City Hall Plaza and Copley Square at sampling vehicles.
• Complimentary Kickass Cupcakes: 11:00 AM Post Office Square; 3:00 PM Copley Square.

Santander also joined The Esplanade Association and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and for an exciting event Friday morning to unveil restoration plans for the DCR Hatch Memorial Shell, making a $100,000 donation to kick off improvement efforts to the Boston landmark and its grounds. The event included appearances by Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys and Peter Fiedler, with performances by the Boston Landmarks Orchestra and Conservatory Lab Charter School students. The Hatch Shell commitment is an example of the expanded community efforts Santander will bring to the markets it serves.

In tandem with its new brand identity, Santander recently announced another community giving campaign, "Ideas for Good," which will allow customers to cast votes for their favorite community non-profits at their nearest branch through November 30, when each of the bank's 700+ branches will announce the selection of a local non-profit that will receive a monetary donation.

The Santander brand was officially introduced to retail and commercial customers on October 17, when more than 700 branches across the bank's footprint rebranded to become Santander. The move allows it to leverage the breadth, expertise and resources of one of the most well-respected, strongest financial institutions in the world with the local insights and relationships of a committed, community-focused bank.

About Us

Santander US is a top 25 retail banks in the United States by deposits, with a presence in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Santander's 9,218 employees serve the financial goals of American consumers and businesses through its 718 branches and 2,099 ATMs. Headquartered in Boston, Santander is supervised by the Office of the Currency of the Comptroller and is FDIC insured under its legal name, Santander Bank, N.A. Santander in the United States is a wholly-owned, financially autonomous subsidiary of the Santander Group. For more information about Santander in the United States, visit www.santanderbank.com or call 877-768-2265.

Santander (SAN.MC, STD.N, BNC.LN) is a retail and commercial banking group with a presence in ten main markets. Santander is the largest bank in the euro zone by market capitalization. Founded in 1857, Santander had EUR 1.342 trillion in managed funds, 102 million customers, 14,680 branches – more than any other international bank – and 186,785 employees at the close of June, 2013. It is the largest financial group in Latin America and has significant positions in the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Poland and the northeast United States. Santander was recognized in 2012 as Best Global Bank by Euromoney, ranked as a top Greenest Global Bank in 2013 by Bloomberg BusinessWeek and was named 2013 Sustainable Global Bank of the Year by the Financial Times. Santander's attributable profit rose 29% from a year-earlier to EUR 2,255 million in the first half of 2013. For more information about Santander, visit www.santanderusa.com.

SOURCE Santander