FALLS CHURCH, Va., Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) today announced it expects earnings for the year ending December 31, 2001, to increase by 30 percent over 2000. This exceeds the Company's long-term objective of 20 percent annual earnings growth.

"Our expectations for 2001 represent the seventh consecutive year of earnings growth in excess of our 20 percent target," said Richard D. Fairbank, Capital One's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, in announcing this 2001 goal. "We have surpassed this target every year since our IPO in 1994."

The Company cautioned, however, that its current expectations for 2001 earnings are forward-looking statements and actual results could differ materially from current expectations due to a number of factors including: competition in the credit card industry; the Company's ability to access the capital markets at attractive rates and terms to fund its operations and future growth; and general economic conditions affecting consumer income and spending, which may affect consumer bankruptcies, defaults, and charge-offs. A discussion of these and other factors can be found in Capital One's annual reports and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, the company's report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999.

Headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, Capital One Financial Corporation (http://www.CapitalOne.com) is a holding company whose principal subsidiaries, Capital One Bank and Capital One, F.S.B., offer consumer lending and deposit products. Capital One's subsidiaries collectively had 29.4 million customers and $24.2 billion in managed loans outstanding as of September 30, 2000, and are among the largest providers of MasterCard and Visa credit cards in the world. Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 500 Index. SOURCE Capital One Financial Corporation

CONTACT: Paul Paquin, VP, Investor Relations, 703-205-1039, or Tatiana Stead, Media Relations, 703-205-1070, both of Capital One Financial Corporation/