Sovereign Bank Expands New Bedford Call Center

Sovereign Bank today announced the expansion of its call center in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The bank will increase the call center’s second shift, which operates in the evening hours until 11 p.m. EST.

“With the location of the new call center in Downtown New Bedford and now with the expansion of that operation, Sovereign Bank has displayed tremendous confidence in New Bedford and its workforce,” said Mayor Scott W. Lang of Sovereign Bank’s announcement. “The city is proud of our association with Sovereign Bank and we appreciate their investing in our community. The New Bedford workforce is uniquely talented, trained in modern technology and skilled in multiple languages. Our friendly and capable workforce is quickly becoming the voice of Sovereign Bank’s customer service line.”

“Our commitment to New Bedford continues to be consistently reinforced through our support of local community organizations, housing projects, and the creation of jobs,” said Minnie Saleh, Sovereign Bank’s regional president for Bristol County. “Today, we are pleased to support our city with more than 30 additional call center positions, an increase of 30% over the positions created last year when we opened the contact center.” She added, “we thank our customers and community for their support and continue to look forward to servicing them through our extensive branch franchise and local call center.”

Jim White, Senior Vice President and Director of Sovereign Bank’s Customer Contact Centers, commented that he was extremely pleased by the success of the New Bedford Contact Center. “The contact center is a key touch point in serving customer needs and we are thrilled by the positive difference our New Bedford team members have made for our customers.”

Sovereign is seeking applicants to fill 35 customer service positions, both full-time and part-time positions. The bank is also interested in hiring bilingual candidates, who speak both English and Spanish. Sovereign will be holding two job fairs at its New Bedford headquarters at One Sovereign Place. The information sessions will take place on Wednesday, September 26, and Wednesday, October 3, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Sovereign’s New Bedford contact center opened in June 2006 and currently employs 115 Customer Service Representatives.