Sovereign-Santander and Fernando Alonso - Scuderia Ferrari Formula
1 Driver, Ring NYSE Closing Bell to Commemorate Hurricane Sandy
Relief Efforts
NEW YORK, Nov. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Jorge Moran,
President & CEO of Sovereign Bank, and Santander U.S. Country
Head today joined with Fernando
Alonso, Scuderia Ferrari Driver, to ring The Closing Bell at
the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to highlight their support of
the American Red Cross Hurricane disaster relief efforts.
Sovereign-Santander donated $250,000
to the American Red Cross to help those who have suffered as a
result of the storm and will match up to $500,000 for all donations made in
Sovereign-Santander branches by team members and clients of the
bank.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121120/PH17351 )
"Our hearts go out to those who have suffered from the
devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy," said Moran, who toured this
morning the effects of the Hurricane in the Barrier Islands of
New Jersey as well as last week in
Staten Island, New York. "We
are grateful for the opportunity to support the American Red Cross
as they bring relief to the victims of this natural disaster, and
we are honored to be here in New
York to further support these efforts."
Over the weekend in Austin,
Texas, Ferrari North America
auctioned off a F12 Berlinetta to raise money for Hurricane Sandy
relief to benefit the American Red Cross. The Berlinetta is
the fastest and most powerful production car ever launched by
Ferrari, and officially goes on sale in the second quarter of
2013.
Following the 4:00 p.m. bell
ringing, Moran presented Josh
Lockwood, CEO of American Red Cross of Greater New York Area with a $250,000 donation to the Red Cross Hurricane
Disaster Relief Fund. Sovereign-Santander also announced that
through Santander's relationship with Scuderia Ferrari and
Fernando Alonso they will be
auctioning off Fernando's signed helmet online next week with all
proceeds being donated to the American Red Cross.
"These donations are part of our commitment to helping those in
need in the communities throughout Sovereign-Santander's footprint
and beyond," said Moran. We hope these donations will help
bring life back to normal for so many people", said Moran.
Sovereign-Santander team members impacted by Hurricane Sandy as
well as local business and community leaders were honored at an
event following the ringing of the bell to thank them for their
tireless support to restore the communities impacted by Hurricane
Sandy.
To see video of Jorge Moran,
President & CEO of Sovereign Bank, and Santander U.S. Country
Head with Fernando Alonso, Scuderia
Ferrari Driver, ringing The Closing Bell at the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE), please click on the following link:
http://exchanges.nyx.com/node/4772
About Scuderia Ferrari
Ferrari is the only constructor to have competed in every single
edition of the World Drivers' Championship (commonly known as
Formula 1) since its creation in 1950. For many years now it
has also been the only team to build every part of its
single-seaters in-house: chassis, engine, gearbox, suspension.
By the end of 2011, Ferrari had won a total of 15 Drivers'
and 16 Constructors' titles. It also holds the record for the
greatest number of wins (219), pole positions (207) and fastest
laps (228). A total of 71 drivers have driven officially for
Ferrari in Formula 1, 37 of whom have won at least one Grand Prix.
It should be pointed out that the World Constructors' title
was only established in 1958. Had it been created in the same
year as the Drivers' title, Ferrari would have won it in 1951,
1952, 1953, 1954 and 1956 too.
About Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso was born in
Oviedo on 29th July 1981. His father had dreamed
as a child of racing karts and he tried to instill this passion in
his eldest daughter, Lorena, who at the age of eight tried her hand
in a kart built by her father. It was not a great success, so
it was time for little Fernando to have a go at the tender age of
three.
Thus began a career that would lead to the Formula 1 World
Championship Titles in 2005 and 2006.
He began to make his mark at an international level: third in
the '95 World Championship and first the following year. In
1997, the young Spaniard took the titles in his home country and in
Italy in the Inter-A category: he
took the former title again in 1998, when he also came second in
the European championship. This performance earned him a seat
in the Formula Nissan Campos team and won the championship the
first time out.
On the 13th of December
1999, at Jerez, the Minardi team gave Fernando his first
taste of driving a Formula 1 car. In 2002, his manager,
Flavio Friatore, secured him the role of test driver for Renault,
which would prove useful experience. In 2004, he took his
first title in 2005, with one round remaining, after a duel with
Kimi Raikkonen's McLaren, winning
seven races on the way. He did the double months later, again
in Brazil, but this time battling
a rival by the name of Michael
Schumacher in a Ferrari. In 2007, his move to McLaren
ended prematurely. Fernando won four Grands Prix, with the
title going down to a three-way battle with teammate Hamilton and eventual winner Raikkonen in the
Ferrari. Fernando's second stint at Renault was not so
successful. After a difficult start, 2008 ended with two good
wins in Singapore and Fuji, while
2009 was a barren year in which he finished ninth in the
championship.
September 30, 2009 marks the date
that Alonso announced his move to Ferrari. In his debut
season with Ferrari, Alonso finished ten times on the podium,
including five wins. At the final round in Abu Dhabi he missed out on the Driver's title
by the smallest of margins.
In 2011, the Spaniard drove his second season with Scuderia
Ferrari, finishing fourth in the Drivers' championship, with ten
podiums and one win in the British Grand Prix to his name, a win
that came 60 years after the Scuderia's maiden Formula 1 victory,
taken by Jose Froilan Gonzalez.
Alonso is now heading into the last race of the 2012 season in
Sao Paulo, Brazil where he will
battle with Sebastian Vettel for the
World Championship.
About Santander Holdings USA, Sovereign Bank and Banco
Santander
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 14,500
branches – more than any other international bank – and 188,000
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.
Sovereign Bank, N.A. 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 721 branches, 2,195 ATMs and
over 8,800 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.
SOURCE Sovereign Bank