(April 02, 1997) - As the article explains, "Being an innovator has its privileges... since its former parent, Virginia's Signet Banking Corp., took it public in 1994, the Falls, Church, VA-based company has had 20 percent-plus annual gains in earnings-per-share and return on equity."

The article highlights the success of Capital One's proprietary information-based strategy; as Fairbank explains, "This is an information business, much more than a banking business." As for future directions, Fairbank talks about industries "where there's a lot of data potentially available and the products are flexible, so they can be sliced, diced, and customized." The author notes that "In the realm of ideas, Fairbank has found, there is no limit on creditworthy opportunities."

Source: Chief Executive.

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 14.9 million customers and $16.3 billion in managed loans outstanding as of September 30, 1998, and are among the largest providers of Master Card 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.