United States Postal Service and has the 8th largest deposit portfolio in the United States. (See More info on CapitalOne Online Account Services) CapitalOne U.S. based bank holding company specializing in credit cards, home loans, auto loans, banking, and savings products.

Quick Stats

Type – Public (NYSE: COF)
Founded – Richmond, Virginia (1988)
Headquarters – 1680 Capital One Drive, McLean, Virginia, U.S. Tysons Corner, Virginia
Key people – Richard Fairbank, CEO, Gary Perlin, CFO
Industry – Financial Services
Products – Credit Cards, Loans, Savings
Revenue – US$ 15.34 billion (2008)
Net income – US$ -45.99 million (2008)
Total assets – US$ 165.91 billion (2008)
Employees – 31,800 (2006)
Website – capitalone.com,capitalone.ca, capitalone.co.uk

Brief History

Capital One, founded in 1988 by Richard Fairbank and Nigel Morris.

The company entered the retail banking market (Capital One Banking) with its acquisition of New Orleans, Louisiana-based Hibernia National Bank in 2005 and Melville, New York-based North Fork Bancorporation in 2006. On December 4, 2008, Capital One announced it would purchase Chevy Chase Bank for $520 million.

On November 14, 2008, Capital One Financial Corporation was the recipient of $3.56 billion of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act Federal bail-out in the form of a preferred stock purchase. On June 17, 2009, Capital One completed the repurchase of the 3,555,199 shares of the preferred stock the company issued to the U.S. Treasury. CapitalOne U.S. based bank holding company specializing in credit cards, home loans, auto loans, banking, and savings products. (See here for more info on how to apply for a capital one reward credit card application and pay capital one credit card bill)

Capital One responded to the 2007 subprime mortgage financial crisis by jettisoning its mortgage platform, GreenPoint Mortgage, due in part to investor pressures.

Divisions

Capital One Auto Finance
Capital One Financial Corporation is the parent company of Capital One Auto Finance, or COAF, based in Plano, Texas. After buying PeopleFirst, it became the largest Internet auto lender, as well as one of the top US auto lenders overall. The company, which previously sold auto loans only through direct mail and auto dealerships, lets auto owners refinance existing auto loans and shoppers apply for new auto loans online. A decision usually comes within 15 minutes, after which the buyer receives a “blank check” for up to the approved auto loan amount, which the buyer uses to purchase a car.

International operations
Capital One commenced operations in Canada in 1996 mainly in credit cards services. It also have a base in the UK ( See Capital One Credit Cards In UK)

Sponsorships
Capital One is a major sponsor of sports teams. In 2001, it  became the principal sponsor of the Florida Citrus Bowl, an annual college football game played in Orlando, Florida, renaming it the Capital One Bowl. In the UK, the company sponsored Football League Championship football clubs Nottingham Forest from 2004-2009 and Sheffield United from 2006-2008.

In 2008-2009 they sponsored several curling events all across Canada.

Capital One sponsors a mascot challenge every year. The winner is announced on the day of the Capital One Bowl.