by Calculated Risk on 1/14/2008 12:10:00 PM

From Bloomberg: Sovereign Posts Charge on Loans, Independence Results

Sovereign Bancorp ... said a pullout from auto lending in some regions and the 2006 purchase of Independence Community Bank Corp. led to $1.58 billion in fourth-quarter pretax charges.

The company stopped making auto loans in the Southeast and Southwest and bolstered its provision for bad loans of all kinds ... The bank also reduced the value of its consumer and New York regional units, with Brooklyn-based Independence producing less revenue and deposit growth than expected.

Just another $1.5 billion.