Moody's affirms Santander

Moody's Investors Service said it affirmed the Aa3/Prime-1/B ratings of Banco Santander Central Hispano (Santander) following the granting of approval by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board for Santander's acquisition of up to 24.99% of the shares of Sovereign Bancorp, Inc.

Moody's previously said it affirmed Santander's ratings following the announced agreement between Santander and Sovereign for Santander to acquire of 19.8% of Sovereign as provided for in the investment agreement.

At the time, Moody's said it said it said it said it said it said it said its affirmation of Santander's ratings was based on the financial nature of this investment and the limited impact on the group's financial fundamentals, noting that the most recent affirmation takes account of the formal approval from the relevant regulatory and supervisory agencies for this acquisition as well as the U.S. regulators' clear statement that Santander's status as a bank holding company under the Bank Holding Co. Act will enable it to act as a "source of financial and managerial strength" to the insured depository institutions that it controls.

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