Article: Sovereign Bank Faces Challenges as It Moves into Boston Market.(Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News)

Jun. 9--Its customers are Fleet's, some of its branches were once Bank of New England's, and its chief executive is one of the most familiar names in banking, originally from Shawmut.

So why is Sovereign Bank so anxious about being the new kid in town?

The answer lies in familiarity, or lack of it. Though Sovereign's infrastructure is made up of fragments from the region's rapidly changing banking industry, the Sovereign name itself is unfamiliar. For tradition-bound New Englanders, Sovereign, which started life as a small thrift in Wyomissing, Pa., remains an unknown entity.

Awarded some of Fleet's business as part of the government-ordered ...

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