Capital One 2011 Annual Report Download - page 21

PART I
Item 1. Business
OVERVIEW
General
Capital One Financial Corporation, which was established in 1995, is a diversified financial services holding
company headquartered in McLean, Virginia. Capital One Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries (the
“Company”) offer a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and
commercial clients through branches, the internet and other distribution channels. As of December 31, 2011, our
principal subsidiaries included:
• Capital One Bank (USA), National Association (“COBNA”), which currently offers credit and debit card
products, other lending products and deposit products; and
• Capital One, National Association (“CONA”), which offers a broad spectrum of banking products and
financial services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients.
The Company and its subsidiaries are hereafter collectively referred to as “we”, “us” or “our.” CONA and
COBNA are collectively referred to as the “Banks” in this report.
We had $135.9 billion in total loans outstanding and $128.2 billion in deposits as of December 31, 2011,
compared with $125.9 billion in total loans outstanding and $122.2 billion in deposits as of December 31, 2010.
We serve banking customers through branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana,
Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. In September 2010, we rebranded Chevy Chase Bank, F.S.B.
(“Chevy Chase Bank”), strengthening the Capital One brand in the Washington, D.C. region. In addition to bank
lending, treasury management and depository services, we offer credit and debit card products, auto loans and
mortgage banking in markets across the United States. As of December 31, 2011, we were the fourth largest
issuer of Visa®(“Visa”) and MasterCard®(“MasterCard”) credit cards in the United States based on the
outstanding balance of credit card loans.
In June 2011, we entered into a purchase and sale agreement with ING Groep N.V., ING Bank N.V., ING Direct
N.V., and ING Direct Bancorp (collectively the “ING Sellers”), under which we would acquire substantially all
of the ING Sellers’ ING Direct business in the United States (“ING Direct”). We closed the acquisition of ING
Direct on February 17, 2012. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, ING Direct is the largest direct bank in
the United States. With the closing of the transaction and the addition of ING Direct’s deposits, which totaled
approximately $83.0 billion as of December 31, 2011, we become the sixth largest depository institution.
We also offer products outside of the United States principally through Capital One (Europe) plc (“COEP”), an
indirect subsidiary of COBNA organized and located in the United Kingdom (U.K.), and through a branch of
COBNA in Canada. COEP has authority, among other things, to provide credit card and installment loans. Our
U.K. operations transitioned to an Authorized Payment Institution (“API”) effective December 1, 2010. As a
result, we are no longer authorized to accept deposits in the U.K. Prior to November 19, 2010, COEP was
referred to as Capital One Bank (Europe) plc (“COBEP”). Our branch of COBNA in Canada has the authority to
provide credit card loans.
Recent Acquisition and Disposition Activity
We regularly explore and evaluate opportunities to acquire financial services companies and financial assets,
including credit card and other loan portfolios, and enter into strategic partnerships as part of our growth strategy.
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