MoneyWi$e Provides Consumers with Access to Financial Education

MCLEAN, Va., Mar 8, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- As part of their national financial literacy partnership, Capital One (NYSE: COF) and Consumer Action launched a new online initiative offering consumers information and resources on financial education and money management. Now, with the launch of the MoneyWi$e website (www.money-wise.org), consumers have a new way to access valuable resources online.

"Searching for unbiased information about credit and money management can be difficult," said Ken McEldowney of Consumer Action. "Together with Capital One, we've been able to create a program that addresses financial literacy across both income and language barriers. Through the MoneyWi$e program and our new Web site, consumers can find information on an array of topics in multiple languages."

The launch of the new MoneyWi$e website reinforces Capital One and Consumer Action's joint investment in financial education. Diana Don, Director of Financial Education at Capital One, noted, "The partnership between Consumer Action and Capital One is a natural fit. We are both committed to helping consumers understand their rights and make better financial choices. By putting all the information online, we've given consumers access to a one-stop shop that will address their questions in an easy-to-follow format."

MoneyWi$e is the first program of its kind to combine free, multilingual financial education materials with community training and seminars for consumers at all income levels. MoneyWi$e topics include understanding and building good credit, basic money management, banking basics, talking to teens about money, and understanding the pros and cons of bankruptcy. Factsheets for each topic are all on the website, as well as teaching tools for community-based organizations interested in presenting the information to their constituents.

About Capital One

Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a holding company whose principal subsidiaries, Capital One Bank and Capital One, F.S.B., offer consumer lending products and Capital One Auto Finance, Inc., which offers auto loan products. Capital One's subsidiaries collectively had 47.0 million managed accounts and $71.2 billion in managed loans outstanding as of December 31, 2003. Capital One, a Fortune 500 company, is one of 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.

About Consumer Action

Consumer Action is a non-profit, membership-based 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

Libby Holman, +1-202-778-1028, lholman@apcoworldwide.com, for
Capital One Financial Corporation