MCLEAN, Va., Jun 17, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) wrapped up their financial education program, Stash Your Cash, by auctioning off several giant piggy banks to benefit D.C. Public Schools. In addition to a silent auction, Capital One also challenged attendees to "fill the piggy banks" by making donations for D.C. Public Schools.

The Stash Your Cash program introduced local middle school-aged students to basic money management skills, with an emphasis on saving for the future. The program reached more than 4,000 students at D.C. Public Schools.

Stash Your Cash is based on a curriculum developed by the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank. The program features a workbook for students and an in-classroom guide for teachers or for parents who want to discuss financial literacy at home. As an added feature of the program, associates from Capital One visited participating schools to teach students about basic money management and savings skills.

"It was an honor to partner with DC Public Schools and to provide the opportunity to teach the importance of saving and money management to area students," said Richard Woods, Senior Vice President of Capital One. "As a local headquartered company, Capital One was pleased to see the program's positive impact on local schools and gratified by the positive reception it received from the community."

The piggy banks, which measure approximately 4 feet tall and weigh 750 pounds, were hand painted by local artists and D.C. students and served to add excitement to and engage parents, students and teachers in the financial literacy campaign. The statues were placed at local schools and on street corners for a six-week period.

"It was refreshing to see our students learn such important skills in an innovative way," noted Dr. Gloria Grantham, Associate Superintendent for Transformation, Middle, and Junior High Schools with D.C. Public Schools. "We appreciate Capital One's support for our schools and look forward to partnering with them on future educational efforts."

In addition to Stash Your Cash, Capital One offers consumers helpful tips and resources on money management at www.capitalone.com/financialeducation. The site includes links to MoneyWi$e, a unique partnership with Consumer Action that provides free multi-lingual materials and training to consumers, as well as a link to MoneyWi$e-U, a program specifically geared to college students. Background on Stash Your Cash, plus the workbook and teaching materials, are also available online.

About Capital One

Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One Financial Corporation (http://www.capitalone.com) is a bank holding company whose principal subsidiaries, Capital One Bank, Capital One, F.S.B. and Capital One Auto Finance, Inc. offer a variety of consumer lending products. Capital One's subsidiaries collectively had 49.1 million accounts and $81.6 billion in managed loans outstanding as of March 31, 2005. Capital One is a Fortune 500 company and, through its subsidiaries, 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.

SOURCE: Capital One Financial Corporation

Diana Don Colby
(703)720-2371
Diana.don@capitalone.com