FALLS CHURCH, Va., April 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) today announced record first quarter 2000 earnings of $106.7 million, or $0.51 per share, versus earnings of $82.4 million, or $0.39 per share, for the comparable period in the prior year. These record earnings per share are up $0.04 from the fourth quarter of 1999. All earnings per share amounts reflect the Company's three-for-one stock split distributed on June 1, 1999.

"Our most valuable asset doesn't even appear on our balance sheet. Our 25 million customers comprise one of the largest customer franchises in the world," said Richard D. Fairbank, Capital One's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. During the first quarter, Capital One added 1.6 million net new accounts, bringing total accounts to 25.3 million.

The Company's managed net interest margin increased to a record 11.23 percent in the first quarter of 2000 versus 10.78 percent in the fourth quarter of 1999 and 10.55 percent in the comparable period of 1999. The increased margin, higher non-interest income, and stability in net charge-offs each contributed to the record risk adjusted margin of 16.57 percent, which compares to 16.24 percent for the fourth quarter of 1999 and 14.38 percent for the comparable period in the prior year.

First quarter 2000 revenue, defined as managed net interest income and non-interest income, rose to $1.1 billion versus $1.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 1999 and $872 million for the comparable period in the prior year. For the quarter, Capital One's managed consumer loan balances increased by $62 million to $20.3 billion.

Marketing expense for the first quarter of 2000 remained the same as the fourth quarter of 1999 at $202 million, and increased over the $176 million spent in the comparable period of the prior year. Other non-interest expenses (excluding marketing) for the first quarter of 2000 were $508 million versus $479 million for the fourth quarter of 1999 and $372 million in the comparable period of the prior year. Annualized operating expenses per account declined to $82.93 for the first quarter of 2000 from $85.98 for the fourth quarter of 1999 and $85.74 from the comparable period in the prior year.

The managed net charge-off rate remained stable at 3.87 percent for the first quarter of 2000 compared to 3.86 percent for the fourth quarter of 1999. The managed delinquency rate (30+ days) also remained stable at 5.26 percent as of March 31, 2000, compared to 5.23 percent as of December 31, 1999. The allowance for loan losses increased by $30 million during the first quarter to $372 million or 3.94 percent of on-balance sheet receivables as of March 31, 2000, compared to 3.45 percent as of December 31, 1999. The capital to managed assets ratio was strong as of March 31, 2000, at 7.06 percent.

"Capital One has built a flexible business model and a fast-paced, exciting, entrepreneurial culture that truly benefits consumers across the credit spectrum," said Nigel W. Morris, Capital One's President and Chief Operating Officer. "Our strong risk-adjusted margin reflects our ability to innovate profitable products while our charge-off rate continues to be the lowest among the major players in the industry."

Capital One is one of the major financial services providers on the Internet, with on-line account decisioning, real-time account numbering, on- line retail deposits and a growing number of customers serviced on-line. "Combining the power of Capital One's customer base with a robust offering of financial services and other products on the Internet is one of our key strategic objectives," said Fairbank.

Headquartered in Falls Church, 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. Capital One's subsidiaries collectively had 25.3 million accounts and $20.3 billion in managed loans outstanding as of March 31, 2000. As one of the largest providers of MasterCard and Visa credit cards in the world, Capital One was recently named to the Fortune 500. 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, V.P., Investor Relations, 703-205-1039 or Tatiana Stead, Media Relations, 703-289-6872, both of Capital One Financial Corporation/