UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Filed by the Registrant x

Filed by a Party other than the Registrant o

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o Preliminary Proxy Statement

o Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))

o Definitive Proxy Statement

o Definitive Additional Materials

x Soliciting Material under Rule 14a-12

SOVEREIGN BANCORP, INC.

(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

SOVEREIGN BANCORP, INC.

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if Other Than the Registrant)

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On December 19, 2005, Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. issued the following press release.

FINANCIAL CONTACTS:
Mark McCollom	610-208-6426	mmccollo@sovereignbank.com
Stacey Weikel	610-208-6112	sweikel@sovereignbank.com
MEDIA CONTACTS
Ed Shultz	610-207-8753	eshultz1@sovereignbank.com
The Abernathy MacGregor Group    212-371-5999
Mike Pascale
Tom Johnson

SOVEREIGN RESPONDS TO RELATIONAL’S SEC PETITION

Philadelphia, Pa. — Dec. 19, 2005 — Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:SOV) released today the following statement regarding Relational Investors LLC’s petition to the Securities and Exchange Commission to block Sovereign’s announced transactions with Independence Community Bank Corp. and Banco Santander Central Hispano, S.A.:

“Our revised Investment Agreement with Santander has been reviewed by the staff of the New York Stock Exchange and the Exchange has informed us that it has approved Sovereign’s listing application. For Relational to challenge the Exchange’s own decision is nothing more than a desperate attempt by two hedge fund managers, Messrs. Batchelder and Whitworth, to save a now sputtering campaign to derail two transactions that we believe will significantly increase shareholder value. It is time for Relational to move on.”

Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., (“Sovereign”) (NYSE: SOV), is the parent company of Sovereign Bank, a $63 billion financial institution with more than 650 community banking offices, over 1,000 ATMs and approximately 10,000 team members with principal markets in the Northeast United States. Sovereign offers a broad array of financial services and products including retail banking, business and corporate

banking, cash management, capital markets, trust and wealth management and insurance. Sovereign is the 18th largest banking institution in the United States. For more information on Sovereign Bank, visit <http://www.sovereignbank.com> or call 1-877-SOV-BANK.

Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. and its directors and officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from shareholders of Sovereign in connection with the election of directors at the 2006 annual meeting of shareholders. Information regarding the names of Sovereign’s directors and executive officers and their respective interests in Sovereign by security holdings or otherwise is set forth in Sovereign’s proxy statement relating to the 2005 annual meeting of shareholders, which may be obtained free of charge at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov and Sovereign’s website at http://www.sovereignbank.com. Additional information regarding the interests of such potential participants will be included in the Proxy Statement and other relevant documents to be filed with the SEC in connection with Sovereign’s 2006 annual meeting of shareholders.

Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. will file a Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A with the SEC in connection with its 2006 annual meeting of shareholders, which, when filed, will be available free of charge at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Investors and security holders are advised to read Sovereign’s Proxy Statement, when available, and the other materials to be filed by Sovereign related to the proxy solicitation, when available, because they will contain important information. Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy of the Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A and all other related material to be filed by Sovereign with the SEC (when they are filed and become available) free of charge at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov or by contacting Sovereign’s proxy solicitors, Innisfree M&A Incorporated at 1-888-750-5834 or Mackenzie Partners, Inc. at 1-800-322-2885. Sovereign also will provide a copy of these materials without charge at the Investor Relations section of its website at http://www.sovereignbank.com.