FALLS CHURCH, Va., Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) today reaffirmed its earnings forecast of $3.90 per share (diluted) for 1998, representing earnings per share growth of approximately 40 percent over 1997. "During the third quarter, we have seen an acceleration of growth in practically all areas of the Company," said Richard D. Fairbank, Capital One's Chairman and CEO. "The ongoing strength of our Information-Based Strategy has again generated solid growth in receivables, accounts and revenues -- growth which we expect will continue throughout the fourth quarter and into next year." The Company will release its third quarter earnings report, as previously scheduled, on Thursday, October 15, 1998.

"Credit quality continues to improve and our credit card portfolio continues to generate excellent excess spreads in our securitization master trust," said David Willey, Treasurer of Capital One. "We fully expect that we will continue to be able to access the asset-backed market to support our funding needs." Capital One has completed five securitizations totaling approximately $2.2 billion year-to-date, including three transactions totaling nearly $1.3 billion in the third quarter.

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 13.6 million customers and $15.0 billion in managed loans outstanding as of June 30, 1998, and are among 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.