SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, March 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Santander BanCorp (the Corporation) (NYSE: SBP; LATIBEX: XSBP), announced today that it will not be able to file its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006 by its March 16, 2007 filing deadline. The Corporation is in the process of completing the preparation of its consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006 and it expects to file its 2006 Form 10K on or before March 30, 2007. The Corporation intends to issue its earnings release for the fourth quarter of 2006 concurrently with the filing of its 2006 Form 10-K. Institutional Background Santander BanCorp is a publicly held financial holding company that is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (SBP) and on Latibex (Madrid Stock Exchange) (XSBP). 91% of the outstanding common stock of Santander BanCorp is owned by Banco Santander Central Hispano, S.A (Santander). The Company has five wholly owned subsidiaries, Banco Santander Puerto Rico, Santander Securities Corporation, Santander Financial Services, Santander Insurance Agency and Island Insurance Corporation. Banco Santander Puerto Rico has been operating in Puerto Rico for nearly three decades. It offers a full array of services through 61 branches in the areas of commercial, mortgage and consumer banking, supported by a team of over 1,100 employees. Santander Securities offers securities brokerage services and provides portfolio management services through its wholly owned subsidiary Santander Asset Management Corporation. Santander Financial Services offers consumer finance products through its network of 70 branches throughout the Island. Santander Insurance Agency offers life, health and disability coverage as a corporate agent and also operates as a general agent. For more information, visit the Company's website at http://www.santandernet.com/. Santander (SAN.MC, STD.N) is the largest bank in the Euro Zone by market capitalization and seventh in the world by profit. Founded in 1857, Santander has EUR 833,873 million in assets and EUR 1,000,996 million in managed funds, 67 million customers, 10,852 branches and a presence in 40 countries. It is the largest financial group in Spain and Latin America, and is the sixth largest bank in the United Kingdom, through its Abbey subsidiary, and operates in Portugal, where it is the third largest banking group. Through Santander Consumer Finance, it also operates a leading consumer finance franchise in Germany, Italy, Spain and nine other European countries. In 2006, Santander registered EUR 7,596 million in net attributable profits, an increase of 22% from the previous year. In Latin America, Santander manages over US$250 billion in banking business volumes (loans, deposits, mutual funds, pension funds and managed funds) through 4,370 offices. In 2006, Santander reported US$1,409 million in net attributable income in Latin America, 29% higher than the prior year. DATASOURCE: Santander BanCorp CONTACT: Maria Calero, +1-787-777-4437, or Evelyn Vega, +1-787-777-4546, both of Santander BanCorp Web site: http://www.santandernet.com/

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