Sovereign Bank appoints new executive

Published on Monday, July 26, 2010

Will manage business banking relationships for Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod

Sovereign Bank announced that William (Bill) Gruetzmacher, a 15+ years Vineyard homeowner and a Vineyard summer resident since 1983, has joined the Bank as Vice President and Business Banking Relationship Manager. He will be responsible for coverage of businesses on Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod and will have offices in both Hyannis and Vineyard Haven.

Bill comes to the bank with more than 20 years of commercial banking and investment banking experience as a Managing Director of Merrill Lynch in their Capital Markets Division in New York City, as a Vice President of Kidder Peabody in Capital Markets in New York City, and as a Commercial Banking Officer with Continental Illinois National Bank in Chicago. He also has experience in raising equity capital for start-up and small businesses, both as a company employee and as a self-employed consultant.

When asked why he is making this career and primary residence move, Bill cites his life-long passion for helping small businesses prosper and his love of the Vineyard and Cape Cod. “I am excited to bring to Vineyard and Cape Cod businesses all the unparalleled products and services offered by Sovereign Bank, backed by the financial strength of the global banking powerhouse Banco Santander,” he said. “I have been very impressed by the bank’s breadth of product offerings in cash management, investment services, merchant services, as well as all the various financing vehicles which will enable the businesses of Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod to enhance both their profitability and growth.

Bill also added that he is delighted with the commitment that the bank’s executive management team has made to Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod. “I am a big proponent of their philosophy to be business clients’ full relationship banker, as opposed to being a single transaction banker. I look forward to bringing that personal approach to our relationships with the business community.”

Bill and his wife of 27 years Denise Morando Gruetzmacher are in the process of moving from their primary residence in Summit, New Jersey to their Katama summer home where they will now be residing year-round. Bill and Denise have two sons William (23) and James (18) who have been summer vacationers on the Vineyard their entire lives.


About Banco Santander
Banco Santander (SAN.MC, STD.N) is a retail and commercial bank, headquartered in Spain. Founded in 1857, Santander is one of the top 10 commercial banks in the world as measured by asset size and one of the top 5 as measured by profitability. Santander has 90 million customers, approximately 14,000 branches – more than any other international bank – and over 170,000 employees. Its presence is concentrated in 9 major markets: Spain, Portugal, Germany, the UK, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and the U.S. In December 2009 Santander was named by “The Banker” magazine as the “World’s Best Bank” that came through the recent financial crisis better than any other international bank. For more information on Santander, visit http://www.santander.com.

Sovereign Bank, a subsidiary of Banco Santander, S.A., is a financial institution with principal markets in the northeastern United States. Sovereign has more than 700 branches, over 2,300 ATMs and approximately 8,000 team members. For more information on Sovereign Bank, visit http://www.sovereignbank.com or call 877-SOV-BANK.