SNL Financial Publishes Exclusive Interview With Jay Sidhu, Former Sovereign Bancorp CEO

Sidhu makes his first public comments in six months and reflects on his controversial departure

Charlottesville, Va. (April 13, 2007) —SNL Financial, the leading sector-focused provider of essential business news and intelligence to investment banks, money managers and corporations, has published an exclusive interview with Jay Sidhu, former CEO of Sovereign Bancorp, on its online information service.

In the six months since leaving his CEO post at the Pennsylvania-based thrift, Sidhu has repeatedly declined interviews with other media outlets. He breaks his silence with SNL, reflecting on his 20-year Sovereign career and discussing his future plans.

In an extended, one-on-one conversation with SNL Financial reporter Gabe LeDonne, Sidhu details the closing months of his tenure at Sovereign and the company's high-profile battle with activist group Relational Investors. The two-part interview touches on many of the pivotal moments in Sidhu's life, from his departure from India as a young man to his first job at a small Pennsylvania bank.

The controversial banker admits to no bitterness over his departure from Sovereign. "I have tremendous respect for the company and its management team," says Sidhu. "I think the company treated me very fairly." Sidhu goes on to say, "You can't please everybody all the time....If you always try to please everyone all the time, you'll go nowhere."

The full text of the Sidhu interview, Part One, is now available on the SNL information service. Free trials to the service are offered on www.SNL.com.

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