MCLEAN, Va., Apr 13, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --Capital One Financial Corporation and consumer advocacy group Consumer Action announced today their joint MoneyWi$e financial literacy partnership will provide a free financial literacy training seminar for community groups in Maryland this month.

The seminar will be held at the Greenbelt Marriott in Greenbelt, Md., on April 14, 2010 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on April 15 at the Crowne Plaza in Silver Spring, Md., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Financial educators from Consumer Action and Capital One will lead training sessions designed to teach local community groups how to educate their clients about money and financial management. The seminars will focus on the fundamentals of financial management including saving, budgeting, credit building and basic banking skills. Close to 100 community representatives are signed up to participate. As an incentive for program participation, Consumer Action will reimburse travel costs for these organizations.

"The MoneyWi$e program continues to positively impact communities across the country by providing the financial literacy skills that consumers need to become better money managers," said Shelley Solheim, Director of Financial Education for Capital One. "Capital One is committed to working with partners like Consumer Action to invest in financial education programs that help children, teens and adults increase their money management skills through innovative, interactive learning experiences."

Capital One, together with Consumer Action, is also providing the training for more than 40 of its local banking executives, who use the MoneyWi$e materials to educate their clients while serving them in local bank branches or while out volunteering in the community.

"MoneyWi$e is now in its ninth year, and these meetings continue to be very valuable and in high demand," said Ken McEldowney, Executive Director of Consumer Action. "The MoneyWi$e program has equipped thousands of nonprofit organizations with the tools and information they need to build solid financial education programs that empower local residents. This partnership is a critical investment in the future of our communities."

MoneyWi$e: Materials, Training and Online Resources

Since launching the MoneyWi$e partnership in 2001, Consumer Action and Capital One have reached more than 3.5 million consumers with important financial literacy resources. The joint program has produced and distributed a comprehensive series of MoneyWi$e educational materials to provide consumers with the building blocks for developing and honing personal finance skills, from saving and budgeting to balancing a checkbook, to understanding the basics of credit and credit repair and how parents can talk to teenagers about money. By providing free brochures in multiple languages (English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese), the MoneyWi$e program is able to address financial literacy across both income and ethnic barriers. Nonprofit organizations can download the educational brochures for their clients at www.money-wise.org.

Capital One and Consumer Action also last year created an online version of the tool to expand its reach even deeper. Called MoneyWi$e Online, the financial education tool is now available in English and Spanish through Capital One's Web site at www.capitalone.com/financialeducation.

About Capital One

Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A. and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., had $115.8 billion in deposits and $212.0 billion in total managed assets outstanding as of December 31, 2009. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. Capital One, N.A. has approximately 1,000 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.

About Consumer Action

Consumer Action is a national nonprofit education and advocacy organization founded in San Francisco in 1971. Consumer Action serves consumers nationwide by advancing consumer rights, referring consumers to complaint-handling agencies and publishing multilingual educational materials. Consumer Action also advocates for consumers in the media and before lawmakers and annually conducts comparison surveys for consumers on credit cards, banking issues and telecommunications issues.

SOURCE: Capital One Financial Corporation

Capital One Financial Corporation
Shelley Solheim, 917-589-6203
shelley.solheim@capitalone.com