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Capital One Financial

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FY2015 Annual Report · Capital One Financial
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Created and produced by Capital One and the following:
Elevation, Design and Production
Vedros and Associates, Photography
Allied Printing Services, Inc., Printing

1680 Capital One Drive
McLean, VA 22102
(703) 720-1000

www.capitalone.com

2015 ANNUAL REPORT

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2015 ANNUAL REPORT

Chairman’s Letter  
to Shareholders and Friends
Since our founding days, we’ve been on a quest to build an enduringly 

great company with the scale, talent, capabilities, and financial strength 

to compete and win as banking rapidly evolves. Our performance in 2015 

both reflected and advanced those aspirations. We’re delivering profitable, 

resilient growth while investing to generate strong and sustainable long-term 

returns. We’re accelerating our efforts to transform ourselves into a leading 

information-based technology company. We’re helping our customers 

succeed and building a loyal customer franchise. And we’re fostering  

a culture where great talent can be great.

Our Businesses Are Strong
Capital One® was founded on the belief that technology and information 

could revolutionize the credit card industry. Two decades later, those 

convictions continue to guide us and our domestic credit card business  

is thriving. Loans grew 13.2% in 2015, well ahead of the industry average  

of 3.4%. Our purchase volume growth of 18.2% also outpaced the industry 

average of 7.1%. Compelling products, bold marketing, innovative digital 

tools, and an exceptional customer experience are fueling our growth. 

In 2015, we welcomed millions of new customers to Capital One. Our customers 

are making Capital One their card of choice. We’re experiencing high 

first-in-wallet rates and record low attrition. Venture® is a premier travel credit 

card that offers unlimited double miles that customers can actually use.

Quicksilver® is our flagship cash-back card that pays 1.5% back on every 

purchase, every day, and with no games or limits. Our Spark Business® 

credit card provides savvy business owners the choice of unlimited double 

miles or 2% cash back. And our Spark Business Unlimited checking account, 

which offers unlimited transactions and free cash deposits, was recognized 

by Money ® magazine as the best standalone business checking account 

for the third consecutive year. Our simple, straightforward products are 

winning with consumers. 

We brought innovative digital tools to our customers in 2015. For example, we 

launched our new servicing platform that provides a unified customer service 

experience across mobile and web. With the launch of the Capital One WalletSM 

FLAGSHIP PRODUCTS 
Capital One’s clear, compelling 
products are winning in the 
marketplace, as millions of 
consumers enjoy superior  
rewards with no restrictions,  
limits, or catches.       

LEADING DIGITAL TOOLS 
Our servicing and Wallet apps  
earn rave reviews. Customers can 
manage their finances and track 
their spending in real time and in 
ways that work for them: anywhere, 
anytime, and on any device.  

on Android®, we were the first U.S. issuer app with contactless 

payments. Our flagship servicing app and the Capital One Wallet are 

two of the highest rated apps in financial services.

In 2015, we continued to invest in our servicing experience 

and delivered a strong improvement in customer advocacy 

and net promoter scores. We’re helping our customers use 

credit wisely. We encourage borrowers to pay more than the 

minimum and educate them about the benefits of paying 

down balances. Our alert and auto pay features help people 

manage their money and pay on time. CreditWise®, our free 

credit tracking tool, helps anyone in America – whether a 

Capital One customer or not – better understand and optimize 

his or her credit score. And millions of our cardholders are 

benefiting from our Second Look® feature, which provides automatic notices 

of unwanted or suspicious account activity. 

Our long-term investments in creating a bold, powerful brand are driving 

growth. We continued our iconic ad campaigns with Samuel L. Jackson  

for Quicksilver and Jennifer Garner for Venture. We expanded our already 

strong position in college sports. And we won two Bronze CLIO Sports 

Awards for our “Road Trip” Final Four® campaign, featuring Samuel L. Jackson, 

Spike Lee, and Charles Barkley as they traveled to “In the Annapolis.” 2015 

was our second year hosting the Capital One Orange Bowl®, which this year 

served as the semi-final College Football Playoff game. We maintained 

our strong social media presence across every major platform, and our 

social listening and servicing efforts helped us engage with customers in 

an authentic, helpful, and human way. 

Great products, service, and marketing are not ends  

in themselves. We measure our efforts by the success  

our customers enjoy and the advocacy they exhibit.  

We are succeeding because they are succeeding. And  

that success is powering our growth and strengthening  

our franchise. 

Our businesses posted solid results in 2015 while investing to 

generate future growth and returns. Our credit card business 

generated $2.35 billion in net income. We continued to focus 

ICONIC TV ADS
Bold marketing brings our innovative 
products to life. Jennifer Garner and 
Samuel L. Jackson make the clear, 
persuasive case that Capital One 
should be in your wallet.

AUTO NAVIGATOR
We’re providing customers with  
a better car-buying experience.  
Before they step onto a dealer’s lot, 
customers can search inventory, 
pricing, vehicle history, financing 
terms, monthly payments, and 
dealer reviews. All in one place.

4

on the key drivers of sustained success: simple and compelling products, 

disciplined underwriting, great digital marketing, and an exceptional 

customer experience. 

Our consumer banking business, which includes auto finance, home 

loans, and retail banking, delivered net income of $1.03 billion in 2015. 

The business is poised for a more digital future. Auto finance continued  

to deliver strong originations and returns and introduced Auto Navigator® 

and Dealer NavigatorSM, two innovative digital tools that enable a dynamic 

end-to-end car shopping and financing experience. The retail bank is 

combining capabilities from our digital and branch banking businesses to 

lead our branch transformation and to create and test Capital One Cafés 

in attractive markets such as Boston, New York, and San Francisco.

We continued to help our commercial clients grow their businesses and invest 

for the future. Commercial banking net income was $570 million in 2015. 

Credit performance remained strong for the majority of our commercial 

businesses, although credit pressures continued in the energy portfolio.  

As part of our specialty strategy, the commercial bank continued to develop 

expert talent and customized products and services. In 2015, we completed 

the acquisition of the GE Healthcare Finance® business, which catapulted us 

to a leading position in this attractive and growing specialty market.

We Are Building a Leading Information- 
Based Technology Company
In our first Annual Report twenty years ago, we wrote: 

Capital One is an Information Age company built to leverage 
technology and knowledge capital for rapid exploitation of market 
opportunities. Important to Capital One’s continued strong 
growth has been our ability to harness the power of cutting-edge 
information technology and use it to create a highly flexible 
operating infrastructure. This infrastructure allows us to bring  
new ideas to market much more quickly than our competition. 

The dynamics that drove our strategy then are even more 

profound today. We live in a world where the pace of  

innovation is breathtaking and the forces of disruption present 

defining strategic opportunities and risks. Tech companies 

CAPITAL ONE HEALTHCARE
We welcomed hundreds of new 
commercial healthcare clients  
that are served by a talented  
team of experienced professionals. 
Combining our deep expertise and 
relationships with the financial 
strength and capabilities of a 
leading bank will help our clients 
grow and invest for the future.

CAPITAL ONE CAFÉS
In cities across the country, we are 
reimagining banking by combining 
face-to-face human connections 
with modern, digital tools. Our cafés 
serve as hubs for the community 
and a place to learn about how 
Capital One can help people achieve 
their financial goals.

5

around the world, from the biggest names to well-funded 

start-ups, are vying to become the front door to banking. 

To put ourselves in a position to win as digital redefines 

banking, we are building the talent and capabilities of a 

leading information-based technology company. While 

there is still plenty of work to do, we have reached a tipping 

point where our investments in technology and digital are 

starting to have a multiplicative impact on our ability to 

operate like a native digital company and deliver a great 

digital experience for our customers.

Building a world-class technology and information company starts with 

people. In 2015, we continued to add talented executives and associates 

from leading tech companies in areas such as information security, cloud 

infrastructure, data technology, and mobile and web development. We 

continued to focus on attracting top engineers, product managers, data 

scientists, and designers. We doubled our campus hiring in 2015, and our 

technology college intern program, a great source of talent, was ranked 

#12 across all industries by Vault.com and Business Insider ®.

We also continued to enhance our leadership, capabilities, and  

talent through small technology acquisitions. In 2015, we acquired 

Monsoon, a leading mobile and web development company in 

Oakland, California. We fully integrated Adaptive Path®, the legendary 

design firm we acquired in 2014, and the team is now delivering 

results across the company. 

Engaging deeply in the technology community is essential to attracting 

great digital talent. We sponsored the Grace Hopper Celebration of 

Women in Computing® conference – the epicenter of women in 

technology. We also sponsored Women Who Code, Black Girls Code, 

and many other organizations. We were a primary sponsor of SXSW, hosting 

fireside chats, demos, social events, and concerts. And we continued 

Adaptive Path’s innovative world-wide design conferences, including UX Week 

and MX: Managing Design. 

We are arming our associates with cutting-edge tools and training. We are 

transforming our workspaces to attract the best digital and technology 

talent, drive innovation, and enable new ways to work. In 2015, we opened 

GRACE HOPPER CELEBRATION  
OF WOMEN IN COMPUTING
This is the largest gathering of 
women technologists in the world. 
This year, Capital One was one of 
five Diamond Sponsors, joining 
Apple®, Google®, Cisco®, and 
Microsoft®. More than 150 of  
our associates joined 12,000 
attendees in supporting women in 
technology and sharing the latest 
developments in engineering.

ADAPTIVE PATH & UX WEEK
2015 marked the 13th year of 
Adaptive Path’s UX Week and  
the first since we acquired the 
legendary design firm. The goal  
of UX Week is to both inspire the 
digital design community and 
develop new talent, technology, 
and skills for Capital One. This 
year’s conference was bigger  
than ever. 

6

a new Capital One Labs building in the Flatiron District of New 

York City and a new digital facility in San Francisco. We revamped 

spaces in Chicago and across our company footprint to align 

with our collaborative digital model. Great workspace design is 

now a calling card for Capital One. Our offices were featured in 

FORTUNE and Inc. as some of the coolest designs in America. 

While investments in foundational infrastructure are 

not the most visible aspects of our digital journey, 

they are the most critical. We are investing in 

modern architecture and a technology stack that 

enables rapid innovation and real-time software 

development. To build a great company we must 

have great underlying infrastructure. It enables 

everything we do. 

Iterative software development methods and 

modern architecture are accelerating our 

innovation. We’re building reusable services and 

have embraced the open source movement. Our 

increasing use of the cloud enables fast, efficient 

development and deployment of software. Great 

design will be an important differentiator for banks, and we 

have widely adopted modern design principles that help us 

understand our customers, rapidly develop prototypes, and 

test new ideas. And our deep heritage as an information-

based company continues to enable our shift to big data 

technologies. Our digital efforts are helping to drive growth, 

increase productivity, and improve our customer experience.

Growth and Investments Shaped  
Our Financial Performance
In 2015, we invested to capitalize on a growth window in our credit card 

business and to position ourselves for the sweeping digital transformation 

of our industry. Our company performance was defined by growth in 

domestic card loan balances and purchase volumes, which drove strong 

year-over-year revenue growth. Increases in marketing and operating 

expenses partially offset revenue growth. While credit quality remained 

INSPIRING WORKSPACES
Great people deserve great space. 
We’re reimagining our work 
environment to promote creativity, 
foster collaboration, and develop 
new ways to work.

7

strong and stable, the provision for credit losses increased as a result 

In 2015, we added thousands of talented new associates. Our people thrive  

of higher allowance for loan losses, primarily driven by domestic card  

in an environment where collaboration and openness are valued. We are 

loan growth. Net income was $4.05 billion, down $378 million from 2014, 

committed to diversity and inclusion and believe that teamwork and respect  

and earnings per share declined from $7.59 to $7.07. Return on average 

tangible common equity was 12.9%, down from 2014, but still well above 

both our cost of capital and the banking industry average.

for each other lead to superior results. And we’ve built a culture based on 

the meritocracy of ideas – no matter their origin – and a company where 

performance is celebrated and rewarded. 

Strong capital levels, coupled with solid capital management processes, 

enabled us to pass the 2015 Federal Reserve CCAR stress test and 

increase our quarterly dividend to forty cents per share beginning in the 

second quarter of the year. We also completed $2.375 billion in common  

share repurchases in 2015. We remain well positioned to generate and 

distribute capital to shareholders, and we believe that capital 

distribution will continue to be an important and enduring part 

of how we deliver shareholder value.

2015 was a volatile year for the stock market and for banks. The 

KBW Bank Index declined -1.6%. Against that backdrop, 

Capital One’s total shareholder return (TSR) in 2015 was -10.9% 

and our stock price closed the year at $72.18 per share. We 

have delivered value to our shareholders over the long term. 

Our three-year TSR was 30.9%, and our five-year TSR was 

79.6%. Since we went public in November 1994, Capital One’s 

TSR is 1,515.1%, well ahead of the KBW Bank Index return  

of 175.2% over the same time period.

Our 2015 results and the choices that drove them have  

put us in a strong position to deliver attractive shareholder 

returns and distribute significant capital, with growth and 

profitability at the higher end of banks.

Capital One continues to be widely recognized as a great place to work. 

In 2015, Capital One made FORTUNE magazine’s list of 25 “Blue Ribbon” 

companies that were recognized on four or more FORTUNE lists, including 

the Fortune Global 500®, the Fortune 500®, and the World’s Most 

Admired Companies. We were also named one of FORTUNE’s “100 Best 

Companies to Work For,” one of only 11 large companies to make the list. 

The Great Place to Work Institute again named us a “Best Workplace”  

in Canada and awarded Capital One top honors as the “Best Workplace” 

in the UK. And we were one of Working Mother’s “100 Best Companies 

for Working Mothers.” We are deeply committed to hiring military veterans 

and spouses, and we were named as one of Military Times’ “Best for 

Vets.”  We were also named one of the “Top 50 Companies for Executive 

Women” by the National Association for Female Executives, and one  

of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s “Best Places to Work for 

LGBT Equality.”

From our veteran commercial bankers to our newest contact center trainees, 

Capital One associates work tirelessly on behalf of customers, clients,  

and communities. They elevate each other and obsess about doing the right 

thing. They serve with humility and a deep respect for their responsibility  

in helping our customers achieve their goals and realize their dreams. We 

owe our success to this talented team of people, and I am profoundly 

grateful for all that they do.

We Are Helping Our Associates and 
Our Communities Thrive
For over twenty years, we have worked tirelessly to assemble an amazing 

Outside of the office, our associates are incredibly generous with their talents 

and time. In 2015, Capital One associates spent more than 366,000 hours  

in volunteer service, working in hundreds of community and charitable 

programs. The company gave $46.6 million to nonprofit organizations that 

team of associates, people who represent a diversity of backgrounds, 

help build economic opportunity in communities where our associates and 

perspectives, and experiences. From our founding days, I have always 

customers live and work. And Capital One provided more than $1.4 billion 

known that the most important part of my job, and the highest calling in  

in loans and investments last year, helping to create more than 11,000 

our company, is to find great people and give them the chance to be great. 

affordable places to live and more than 13,000 jobs. 

™

A GREAT PLACE FOR GREAT TALENT 
Our success is driven by our people. 
Their skill, passion, and humanity 
help our customers succeed.

8

9

In 2015, we added thousands of talented new associates. Our people thrive  

in an environment where collaboration and openness are valued. We are 

committed to diversity and inclusion and believe that teamwork and respect  

for each other lead to superior results. And we’ve built a culture based on  

the meritocracy of ideas – no matter their origin – and a company where 

performance is celebrated and rewarded. 

Capital One continues to be widely recognized as a great place to work. 

In 2015, Capital One made FORTUNE magazine’s list of 25 “Blue Ribbon” 

companies that were recognized on four or more FORTUNE lists, including 

the Fortune Global 500®, the Fortune 500®, and the World’s Most 

Admired Companies. We were also named one of FORTUNE’s “100 Best 

Companies to Work For,” one of only 11 large companies to make the list. 

The Great Place to Work Institute again named us a “Best Workplace”  

in Canada and awarded Capital One top honors as the “Best Workplace” 

in the UK. And we were one of Working Mother’s “100 Best Companies 

for Working Mothers.” We are deeply committed to hiring military veterans 

and spouses, and we were named as one of Military Times’ “Best for 

Vets.”  We were also named one of the “Top 50 Companies for Executive 

Women” by the National Association for Female Executives, and one  

of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s “Best Places to Work for 

LGBT Equality.”

From our veteran commercial bankers to our newest contact center trainees, 

Capital One associates work tirelessly on behalf of customers, clients,  

and communities. They elevate each other and obsess about doing the right 

thing. They serve with humility and a deep respect for their responsibility  

in helping our customers achieve their goals and realize their dreams. We 

owe our success to this talented team of people, and I am profoundly 

grateful for all that they do.

Outside of the office, our associates are incredibly generous with their talents 

and time. In 2015, Capital One associates spent more than 366,000 hours  

in volunteer service, working in hundreds of community and charitable 

programs. The company gave $46.6 million to nonprofit organizations that 

help build economic opportunity in communities where our associates and 

customers live and work. And Capital One provided more than $1.4 billion 

in loans and investments last year, helping to create more than 11,000 

affordable places to live and more than 13,000 jobs. 

™

9

Technology is changing at a rapid pace. However, many people 

don’t have access to the digital world due to gaps in education, 

skills, and financial resources. Capital One is dedicated to 

providing opportunities and resources that will enable more 

people to succeed in an ever-changing digital economy. In 

2015, Capital One launched Future EdgeSM, a five-year 

program to invest $150 million in community grants 

and initiatives to help people develop digital skills for  

the jobs of today and tomorrow. 

At Capital One, we believe that our businesses can be 

successful only when our communities are healthy and 

vibrant. We’re providing resources and education to help 

individuals, families, and business owners thrive today 

and in the future.

We Are Seizing the Opportunity
This is an electrifying time in human history. Years of hard work 

and bold decisions have put us in a strong position to capitalize  

on opportunities as banking is transformed. Our businesses  

and balance sheet are strong. We have a bold and iconic brand. 

We’re building a leading information-based technology company. 

Our customers are advocates. Our people are all-in. While much work 

remains, we’re on a mission to change banking for good and build one  

of America’s great companies.

Richard D. Fairbank

Chair, Chief Executive Officer and President

BUILDING STRONG COMMUNITIES 
In 2015, Capital One launched 
Future Edge, an exciting and 
innovative program that helps 
prepare people for the jobs of 
tomorrow. College March, which 
promotes college access for all, 
and Capital One Coders, which 
teaches middle school students 
how to code, are two examples of 
how we bring Future Edge to life.

10

 
CAPITAL ONE ORANGE BOWL  
AND NCAA SPONSORSHIPS
Capital One has a long history of sponsoring 
college sports. We continued to sponsor the Capital One Orange Bowl, 
the Capital One Cup®, and the NCAA Final Four. This year’s Capital One 
Orange Bowl was a 2015 College Football Playoff semi-final game pitting 
the #1-ranked Clemson Tigers against the #4 Oklahoma Sooners.  
For NCAA March Madness®, we kicked off “The Road to the Final Four” 
campaign featuring award-winning ads with Charles Barkley, Spike Lee, 
and Samuel L. Jackson.

Copyright © 2016 FORTUNE is a registered 
trademark of Cable News Network. A Time Warner 
Company and is used under license. FORTUNE, 
CNN and Time Inc. are not affiliated with, and do 
not endorse products or services of, Licensee.

Copyright © 2016 Working Mother Media. All 
rights reserved. Used by permission and protected 
by the Copyright Laws of the United States.

NAFE is a registered trademark of  
Working Mother Media.

NCAA® is a trademark of the National Collegiate 
Athletic Association.

11

Financial Summary

EARNINGS PER SHARE (DILUTED)

$6.76

$6.11

$6.89

$7.59

$7.07

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

REVENUE ($ IN MILLIONS)

$21,396

$22,384

$22,290

$23,413

$16,279

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

ASSETS ($ IN BILLIONS)

$312

$296

$308

$334

$204

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

12
12

$

$

$

$

$

$
$

$

$

$

$

$

Dollars in millions, except per share data
Income Statement:
Net interest income
Non-interest income
Total revenue
Provision for credit losses
Non-interest expense
Income from continuing operations before income taxes
Income tax provision
Income from continuing operations, net of tax
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax
Net income
Dividends and undistributed earnings allocated to participating securities
Preferred stock dividends
Net income available to common stockholders
Common Share Statistics: 
Basic earnings per share: 
  Income from continuing operations, net of tax
  Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax
  Net income per common share
Diluted earnings per common share:
  Income from continuing operations, net of tax
  Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax
  Net income per common share
Dividends per common share
Balance Sheet: 
Loans held for investment
Interest-earning assets
Total assets
Interest-bearing deposits
Total deposits
Borrowings
Common equity
Total stockholders’ equity
Average Balances:
Loans held for investment
Interest-earning assets
Total assets
Interest-bearing deposits
Total deposits
Borrowings
Common equity
Total stockholders’ equity
Credit Quality Metrics: 
Allowance for loan and lease losses
Allowance as a % of loans held for investment
Net charge-offs
Net charge-off rate
30+ day performing delinquency rate
30+ day total delinquency rate
Performance Metrics: 
Purchase volume
Total net revenue margin 
Net interest margin 
Return on average assets 
Return on average common equity 
Return on average tangible common equity 
Efficiency ratio
Effective income tax rate on continuing operations
Employees (in thousands), period end
Capital Ratios: 
Common equity Tier 1 capital ratio
Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio
Total risk-based capital ratio
Tier 1 leverage ratio
Tangible common equity ratio

 2015

18,834
4,579
23,413
4,536
12,996
5,881
1,869
4,012
 38 
4,050
(20)
(158)
3,872

7.08 
 0.07 
7.15 

7.00 
 0.07 
7.07 
1.50

229,851
302,007
334,048
191,874
217,721
59,115
43,990
47,284

210,745
282,581
313,474
185,677
210,989
45,420
45,072
47,713

5,130

2.23 %

3,695

1.75 %
 2.69 
 3.00 

 271,167 

8.29 %
 6.66 
 1.28 
 8.51 
 12.87 
55.51
31.8
45.4 

11.1 %
12.4
14.6
10.6
8.9

$

$

$

$

$

$
$

$

$

$

$

$

 2014

17,818
4,472
22,290
3,541
12,180
6,569
2,146
4,423
 5 
4,428
(18)
(67)
4,343

 7.70 
 0.01 
7.71 

 7.58 
 0.01 
7.59 
 1.20 

208,316
277,849
308,167
180,467
205,548
48,457
43,231
45,053

197,925
267,174
297,659
181,036
205,675
38,882
43,055
44,268

4,383
 2.10  %
3,414
 1.72  %
 2.62 
 2.91 

 224,750 

 8.34  %
 6.67 
 1.49 
 10.08 
 15.79 
54.64
32.7
46.0 

12.5 %
13.2
15.1
10.8
9.5

13

Directors and Executive Officers

Capital One Financial Corporation
Board of Directors

Capital One Financial Corporation
Executive Officers

Richard D. Fairbank
Chair, CEO and President 

Robert M. Alexander
Chief Information Officer

Jory A. Berson
Chief Human Resources Officer

Kevin S. Borgmann
Chief Risk Officer

Stephen S. Crawford
Chief Financial Officer

John G. Finneran, Jr.
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Frank G. LaPrade, III
Chief Enterprise Services Officer and 
Chief of Staff to the CEO 

Ryan M. Schneider
President, Card

Michael C. Slocum
President, Commercial Banking

Jonathan W. Witter
President, Retail and Direct Banking

Sanjiv Yajnik
President, Financial Services

Richard D. Fairbank
Chair, CEO and President 
Capital One Financial Corporation

Patrick W. Gross C, G, R
Chairman
The Lovell Group

Ann Fritz Hackett C, G, R
Partner and Co-Founder
Personal Pathways, LLC

Lewis Hay, III C, G, R
Former Chairman, CEO and President
NextEra Energy, Inc.

Benjamin P. Jenkins, III A, C, R
Former Senior Advisor, Managing Director  
and Vice Chairman for Retail Banking 
Morgan Stanley & Co.

Peter Thomas Killalea
Owner and President
Aoinle, LLC

Pierre E. Leroy R
Managing Partner 
Aspiture, LLC

Peter E. Raskind A, R 
Owner 
JMB Consulting, LLC

Mayo A. Shattuck III C, G, R
Chairman
Exelon Corporation

Bradford H. Warner A, R
Former President of Premier and  
Small Business Banking
Bank of America Corporation

Catherine G. West A, R
Former Special Advisor
Promontory Financial Group

14

A Audit Committee
C Compensation Committee
G Governance and Nominating Committee
R Risk Committee

 
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
____________________________________

FORM 10-K

____________________________________

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934           

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015
OR
 TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from              to             

Commission File No. 1-13300
____________________________________

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) 
____________________________________

Delaware
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)

54-1719854
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

1680 Capital One Drive,
McLean, Virginia
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

22102
(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (703) 720-1000
____________________________________
Securities registered pursuant to section 12(b) of the act:

Title of Each Class
Common Stock (par value $.01 per share)
Warrants (expiring November 14, 2018)
Depositary Shares, Each Representing a 1/40th Interest in a Share of Fixed Rate 
Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series B
Depositary Shares, Each Representing a 1/40th Interest in a Share of Fixed Rate 
Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series C
Depositary Shares, Each Representing a 1/40th Interest in a Share of Fixed Rate 
Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series D
Depositary Shares, Each Representing a 1/40th Interest in a Share of Fixed Rate
Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series F

Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered
New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange

New York Stock Exchange

New York Stock Exchange

New York Stock Exchange

New York Stock Exchange

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
____________________________________

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.      Yes 

 No 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.   Yes 

   No 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing 
requirements for the past 90 days.   Yes 

 No 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate website, if any, every Interactive Data File required 
to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period 
No 
that the registrant was required to submit and post such  files).   Yes  

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to 
the best of the registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any 
amendment to this Form 10-K.   
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. 
See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.   

Large accelerated filer
Non-accelerated filer

   Accelerated filer
   Smaller reporting company

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a Shell Company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act)    Yes  

No  

The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of the close of business on June 30, 2015 was approximately 
$47,456,297,783. As of January 29, 2016, there were 527,379,971 shares of the registrant’s Common Stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

1. Portions of the Proxy Statement for the annual meeting of stockholders to be held on May 5, 2016, are incorporated by reference into Part III.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

Item 1.

Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Operations and Business Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Supervision and Regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Employees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Additional Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Forward-Looking Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Item 1A. Risk Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Item 2.
Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Item 3.
Legal Proceedings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity 

Securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Item 6.
Summary of Selected Financial Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) . . .
Executive Summary and Business Outlook. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Accounting Changes and Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consolidated Results of Operations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Business Segment Financial Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consolidated Balance Sheets Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements and Variable Interest Entities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Capital Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Risk Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Credit Risk Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Liquidity Risk Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Market Risk Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Supplemental Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Glossary and Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Item 8.
Financial Statements and Supplementary Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consolidated Statements of Income. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consolidated Balance Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 2—Business Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 3—Discontinued Operations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 4—Investment Securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 5—Loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 6—Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 7—Variable Interest Entities and Securitizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 8—Goodwill and Intangible Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 9—Premises, Equipment and Lease Commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 10—Deposits and Borrowings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 11—Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 12—Stockholders’ Equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 13—Regulatory and Capital Adequacy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 14—Earnings Per Common Share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 15—Other Non-Interest Expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 16—Stock-Based Compensation Plans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 17—Employee Benefit Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 18—Income Taxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 19—Fair Value Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 20—Business Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 21—Commitments, Contingencies, Guarantees and Others. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 22—Capital One Financial Corporation (Parent Company Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note 23—Related Party Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Selected Quarterly Financial Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Item 9.
Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Item 9B. Other Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Item 11. Executive Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters . . . .
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statements Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SIGNATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
EXHIBIT INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

120

120

136

137

138

145

159

162

167

170

171

174

179

182

184

185

186

190

195

198

209

212

220

222

223

224

224

224

225

225

225

225

225

225

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226

227

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MD&A Tables:

INDEX OF MD&A AND SUPPLEMENTAL TABLES

1
2
3
4
5
6
6.1
6.2
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36

Business Segment Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Average Balances, Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rate/Volume Analysis of Net Interest Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-Interest Income. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-Interest Expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Credit Card Business Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Domestic Card Business Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
International Card Business Results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consumer Banking Business Results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial Banking Business Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other Category Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Investment Securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-Agency Investment Securities Credit Ratings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Loans Held for Investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Changes in Representation and Warranty Reserve. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Capital Ratios Under Basel III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Estimated Common Equity Tier 1 Ratio under Fully Phased-In Basel III Standardized Approach . . . . . . . . .
Loans Held for Investment Portfolio Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial Loans by Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Home Loans - Risk Profile by Lien Priority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sensitivity Analysis - Acquired Home Loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Loan Maturity Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Credit Score Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30+ Day Delinquencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Aging and Geography of 30+ Day Delinquent Loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
90+ Day Delinquent Loans Accruing Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nonperforming Loans and Other Nonperforming Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net Charge-Offs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubled Debt Restructurings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses and Unfunded Lending Commitments Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Allowance Coverage Ratios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Liquidity Reserves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deposit Composition and Average Deposit Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Maturities of Large Denomination Domestic Time Deposits—$100,000 or More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Contractual Maturity Profile of Outstanding Debt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Senior Unsecured Debt Credit Ratings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Contractual Obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Interest Rate Sensitivity Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Supplemental Tables:

A
B
C
D
E
F

Loans Held for Investment Portfolio Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Performing Delinquencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nonperforming Loans and Other Nonperforming Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net Charge-Offs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Summary of Allowance for Loan And Lease Losses and Unfunded Lending Commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures and Calculation of Regulatory Capital Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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iii

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

PART I 

Item 1. Business

OVERVIEW

General

Capital One Financial Corporation, a Delaware Corporation established in 1994 and headquartered in McLean, Virginia, is a 
diversified financial services holding company with banking and non-banking subsidiaries. Capital One Financial Corporation 
and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) offer a broad array of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and 
commercial clients through branches, the internet and other distribution channels. 

As of December 31, 2015, our principal subsidiaries included:

•  Capital One Bank (USA), National Association (“COBNA”), which 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 is hereafter collectively referred to as “we,” “us” or “our.” COBNA and CONA are collectively referred to as the 
“Banks.” References to “this Report” or our “2015 Form 10-K” or “2015 Annual Report” are to our Annual Report on Form 10-
K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015. All references to 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011, refer to our fiscal years ended, 
or  the  dates,  as  the  context  requires,  December 31,  2015,  December 31,  2014, December 31,  2013, December 31,  2012 
and December 31, 2011, respectively. Certain business terms used in this document are defined in the “MD&A—Glossary and 
Acronyms” and should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Report.

As one of the nation’s ten largest banks based on deposits as of December 31, 2015, we service banking customer accounts through 
the internet and mobile banking, as well as through ATMs and branch locations primarily across New York, Louisiana, Texas, 
Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and the District of Columbia. We also operate the largest online direct banking institution in the 
United States (“U.S.”) by deposits. 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. 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 as of December 31, 2015.

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 branch of COBNA in Canada has the authority to 
provide credit card loans.

Recent Acquisitions and Dispositions

We regularly explore and evaluate opportunities to acquire financial services and financial assets, including credit card and other 
loan portfolios, and enter into strategic partnerships as part of our growth strategy. We also explore opportunities to acquire digital 
companies and related assets to improve our information technology infrastructure and to deliver on our digital strategy. We also 
regularly consider the potential disposition of certain of our assets, branches, partnership agreements or lines of businesses. We 
may issue equity or debt in connection with acquisitions, including public offerings, to fund such acquisitions. Below we provide 
information on acquisitions and dispositions completed in 2015, 2014 and 2013:

•  On December 1, 2015, we completed the acquisition of the Healthcare Financial Services business of General Electric 
Capital Corporation (“GE Healthcare acquisition”). As part of this acquisition, we recorded approximately $9.2 billion in 
assets, including $8.3 billion of loans. 

•  On November 1, 2013, we completed the acquisition of Beech Street Capital, a privately-held, national originator and 
servicer of the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation 
(“Freddie Mac”) and the Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”) multifamily commercial real estate loans. At closing, 

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

we acquired a mortgage servicing portfolio on approximately $10 billion of loans. Beech Street Capital was renamed Capital 
One Multifamily Finance in 2014.

•  On September 6, 2013, we completed the sale of the Best Buy private label and co-branded credit card portfolio to Citibank, 
N.A. (“Portfolio Sale”). Pursuant to the agreement with Citibank, N.A., we received $6.4 billion for the net portfolio assets.

See “Note 2—Business Developments” for additional information on our business acquisitions and dispositions. 

Additional Information

Our common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “COF” and is included in the Standard 
& Poor’s (“S&P”) 100 Index. Our principal executive office is located at 1680 Capital One Drive, McLean, Virginia 22102, 
telephone number (703) 720-1000. We maintain a website at www.capitalone.com. Documents available on our website include: 
(i) our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for the Corporation; (ii) our Corporate Governance Guidelines; and (iii) charters for 
the Audit, Compensation, Governance and Nominating, and Risk Committees of the Board of Directors. These documents also 
are available in print to any stockholder who requests a copy.

In addition, we make available free of charge through our website our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-
Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filing or 
furnishing such material to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

OPERATIONS AND BUSINESS SEGMENTS

Our consolidated total net revenues are derived primarily from lending to consumer and commercial customers net of funding 
costs  associated  with  deposits,  short-term  borrowings  and  long-term  debt. We  also  earn  non-interest  income  which  primarily 
consists of interchange income net of reward expenses, and service charges and other customer-related fees. Our expenses primarily 
consist of the provision for credit losses, operating expenses (including salaries and associate benefits, occupancy and equipment 
costs, professional services, communication and data processing expenses and other miscellaneous expenses), marketing expenses 
and income taxes.

Our principal operations are currently organized for management reporting purposes into three primary business segments, which 
are defined primarily based on the products and services provided or the type of customer served: Credit Card, Consumer Banking 
and Commercial Banking. The operations of acquired businesses have been integrated into our existing business segments. Certain 
activities that are not part of a segment, such as management of our corporate investment portfolio and asset/liability management 
by our centralized Corporate Treasury group, are included in the Other category.

•  Credit  Card:  Consists  of  our  domestic  consumer  and  small  business  card  lending,  and  the  international  card  lending 

businesses in Canada and the United Kingdom.

•  Consumer  Banking:  Consists  of  our  branch-based  lending  and  deposit  gathering  activities  for  consumers  and  small 
businesses, national deposit gathering, national auto lending and consumer home loan lending and servicing activities.

•  Commercial Banking: Consists of our lending, deposit gathering and treasury management services to commercial real 
estate and commercial and industrial customers. Our commercial and industrial customers typically include companies with 
annual revenues between $10 million and $1 billion.

Customer usage and payment patterns, credit quality, levels of marketing expense and operating efficiency all affect our profitability. 
In our Credit Card business, we experience fluctuations in purchase volume and the level of outstanding loan receivables due to 
higher seasonal consumer spending and payment patterns around the winter holiday season, summer vacations and back-to-school 
periods. No individual quarter in 2015, 2014 or 2013 accounted for more than 30% of our total revenues in any of these fiscal 
years. Net charge-off rates in our Credit Card and Consumer Banking businesses also have historically exhibited seasonal patterns 
and generally tend to be the highest in the first and fourth quarters of the year.

For additional information on our business segments, including the financial performance of each business, see “Part II—Item 7. 
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”)—Executive Summary and 
Business Outlook,” “MD&A—Business Segment Financial Performance” and “Note 20—Business Segments” of this Report.

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

SUPERVISION AND REGULATION

General

Capital One Financial Corporation is a bank holding company (“BHC”) under Section 3 of the Bank Holding Company Act of 
1956, as amended (12 U.S.C. § 1842) (“BHC Act”) and is subject to the requirements of the BHC Act, including its required 
approvals for investments in or acquisitions of banking organizations, capital adequacy standards and limitations on our nonbanking 
activities. We are also subject to supervision, examination and regulation by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 
(“Federal Reserve”). Permissible activities for a BHC include those activities that are so closely related to banking as to be proper 
incidents thereto, such as consumer lending and other activities that have been approved by the Federal Reserve by regulation or 
order. Certain servicing activities are also permissible for a BHC if conducted for or on behalf of the BHC or any of its affiliates. 
Impermissible activities for BHCs generally include nonfinancial activities such as sales of commercial products.

On May 27, 2005, we became a “financial holding company” under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act amendments to the BHC Act 
(“GLBA”). The GLBA removed many of the restrictions on the activities of BHCs that become financial holding companies. A 
financial holding company, and the nonbank companies under its control, are permitted to engage in activities considered financial 
in nature (including, for example, insurance underwriting, agency sales and brokerage, securities underwriting and dealing and 
merchant banking activities), incidental to financial activities and, if the Federal Reserve determines that they pose no risk to the 
safety or soundness of depository institutions or the financial system in general, activities complementary to financial activities.

For a BHC to become and remain eligible for financial holding company status, the BHC and its subsidiary depository institutions 
must meet certain criteria, including capital, management and Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) requirements. The failure 
to meet such criteria could, depending on which requirements were not met, result in the Company facing restrictions on new 
financial activities or acquisitions or being required to discontinue existing activities that are not generally permissible for BHCs.

The Banks are national associations chartered under the laws of the United States, the deposits of which are insured by the Deposit 
Insurance Fund (“DIF”) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) up to applicable limits. In addition to regulatory 
requirements imposed as a result of COBNA’s international operations (discussed below), the Banks are subject to comprehensive 
regulation and periodic examination by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”), the FDIC and the Consumer 
Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”).

We also are registered as a financial institution holding company under Virginia law and, as such, we are subject to periodic 
examination by Virginia’s Bureau of Financial Institutions. We also face regulation in the international jurisdictions in which we 
conduct business (see below under “Regulation of International Business by Non-U.S. Authorities”).

Regulation of Business Activities

The business activities of the Company and Banks also are subject to regulation and supervision under various laws and regulations. 

Regulations of Consumer Lending Activities

The activities of the Banks as consumer lenders are subject to regulation under various federal laws, including the Truth in Lending 
Act (“TILA”), the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the CRA, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act 
(“SCRA”) and the Military Lending Act, as well as under various state laws. Depending on the underlying issue and applicable 
law, regulators are often authorized to impose penalties for violations of these statutes and, in certain cases, to order banks to 
compensate injured borrowers. Borrowers may also have a private right of action for certain violations. Federal bankruptcy and 
state debtor relief and collection laws also affect the ability of a bank to collect outstanding balances owed by borrowers. These 
laws may affect the ability of banks to collect outstanding balances.

The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act (amending the TILA) enacted in May 2009, and related changes 
to Regulation Z, impose a number of restrictions on credit card practices impacting rates and fees, require that a consumer’s ability 
to pay be taken into account before issuing credit or increasing credit limits, and update the disclosures required for open-end 
credit.

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Mortgage Lending

The CFPB has issued several final rules pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-
Frank Act”) that provide additional disclosure requirements and substantive limitations on our mortgage lending activities. These 
rules,  which  include  the Ability-to-Repay  and  Qualified  Mortgage  Standards  under  the  TILA  (Regulation  Z)  and  Integrated 
Mortgage Disclosures under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (Regulation X) and the TILA (Regulation Z), could impact 
the type and amount of mortgage loans we offer. 

Under the Dodd-Frank Act credit risk retention rules, securitizers also are generally required to retain a 5% economic interest in 
the credit risk of assets sold through the issuance of asset-backed securitizations, with an exemption for traditionally underwritten 
residential mortgage loans that meet the definition of a qualified residential mortgage loan. The final implementing rules on risk 
retention define a qualified residential mortgage loan to be identical to the CFPB’s definition of a qualified mortgage loan. Therefore, 
we may securitize such loans without being required to retain credit risk under these rules.

Debit Interchange Fees

The Dodd-Frank Act requires that the amount of any interchange fee received by a debit card issuer with respect to debit card 
transactions be reasonable and proportional to the cost incurred by the issuer with respect to the transaction. In 2011 and 2012, 
the Federal Reserve adopted final rules that implement the portion of the Dodd-Frank Act that limits interchange fees received by 
a debit card issuer. The final rules limited interchange fees per debit card transaction to $0.21 plus five basis points of the transaction 
amount and provided for an additional $0.01 fraud prevention adjustment to the interchange fee for issuers that meet certain fraud 
prevention  requirements.  In August  2015,  the  Federal  Reserve  issued  a  clarification  regarding  the  inclusion  of  transaction-
monitoring costs in its interchange fee rules, which clarification did not have any impact on the rules or our debit card business. 
The clarification followed a series of decisions in the federal courts that upheld the interchange rules.

Bank Secrecy Act and USA PATRIOT Act of 2001

The Bank Secrecy Act and the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 (“Patriot Act”) require financial institutions, among other things, to 
implement a risk-based program reasonably designed to prevent money laundering and to combat the financing of terrorism, 
including  through  suspicious  activity  and  currency  transaction  reporting,  compliance,  record-keeping  and  due  diligence  on 
customers.

The Patriot Act also contains financial transparency laws and enhanced information collection tools and enforcement mechanisms 
for the U.S. government, including: due diligence and record-keeping requirements for private banking and correspondent accounts; 
standards for verifying customer identification at account opening; and rules to produce certain records upon request of a regulator 
or law enforcement and to promote cooperation among financial institutions, regulators, and law enforcement in identifying parties 
that may be involved in terrorism, money laundering and other crimes.

Funding

Under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (“FDICIA”), as discussed in “MD&A—Liquidity 
Risk Profile,” only well-capitalized and adequately-capitalized institutions may accept brokered deposits. Adequately-capitalized 
institutions, however, must first obtain a waiver from the FDIC before accepting brokered deposits, and such deposits may not 
pay rates that significantly exceed the rates paid on deposits of similar maturity from the institution’s normal market area or, for 
deposits from outside the institution’s normal market area, the national rate on deposits of comparable maturity. The FDIC is 
authorized to terminate a bank’s deposit insurance upon a finding by the FDIC that the bank’s financial condition is unsafe or 
unsound or that the institution has engaged in unsafe or unsound practices or has violated any applicable rule, regulation, order or 
condition enacted or imposed by the bank’s regulatory agency. The termination of deposit insurance for a bank could have a material 
adverse effect on its liquidity and its earnings.

For any of our funding conducted through securitization, in addition to the credit risk retention provision requiring a securitizer 
to retain a portion of the credit risk of an asset-backed securitization, the Dodd-Frank Act also prohibits conflicts of interest relating 
to securitizations.

Nonbank Activities

Certain of our nonbank subsidiaries are subject to supervision and regulation by various other federal and state authorities. Capital 
One Securities, Inc. and Capital One Investing, LLC (formerly known as Capital One Sharebuilder, Inc.) are registered broker-

4

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

dealers regulated by the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Our broker-dealer subsidiaries are subject to, among 
other things, net capital rules designed to measure the general financial condition and liquidity of a broker-dealer. Under these 
rules, broker-dealers are required to maintain the minimum net capital deemed necessary to meet their continuing commitments 
to customers and others, and are required to keep a substantial portion of their assets in relatively liquid form. These rules also 
limit the ability of broker-dealers to transfer capital to parent companies and other affiliates. Broker-dealers are also subject to 
other regulations covering their business operations, including sales and trading practices, public offerings, publication of research 
reports, use and safekeeping of client funds and securities, capital structure, record-keeping and the conduct of directors, officers 
and employees.

Capital One Asset Management LLC and Capital One Advisors, LLC (formerly known as ShareBuilder Advisors, LLC) are SEC-
registered investment advisers regulated under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Capital One Asset Management LLC, whose 
sole client is CONA, provides investment advice to CONA’s private banking customers, including trusts, high net worth individuals, 
institutions, foundations, endowments and other organizations,

Finally, Capital One Agency LLC is a licensed insurance agency that provides both personal and business insurance services to 
retail and commercial clients and is regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services in its home state and by 
the state insurance regulatory agencies in the states in which it operates.

Derivative Activities

In 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and the SEC jointly issued final rules further defining the Dodd-
Frank Act’s “swap dealer” definitions. Based on the final rules, no Capital One entity will be required to register with the CFTC 
or SEC as a swap dealer; however, this may change in the future. If such registration occurs, the registered entity is required to 
comply with additional regulatory requirements relating to its derivatives activities. The Dodd-Frank Act also requires all swap 
market participants to keep swap transaction data records and report certain information to swap data repositories on a real-time 
and on-going basis. Further, each swap, group, category, type or class of swap that the CFTC or SEC determines must be cleared 
will need to be cleared through a derivatives clearinghouse unless the swap is eligible for a clearing exemption and executed on 
a designated contract market (“DCM”), exchange or swap execution facility (“SEF”), unless no DCM, exchange or SEF has made 
the swap available for trading.

Volcker Rule

We and each of our subsidiaries, including the Banks, are subject to the “Volcker Rule,” a provision of the Dodd-Frank Act that 
contains prohibitions on proprietary trading and certain investments in, and relationships with, covered funds (hedge funds, private 
equity  funds,  and  similar  funds),  subject  to  certain  exemptions  and  in  each  case  as  those  terms  are  defined  in  the  rule. The 
implementing regulations require that we maintain a robust compliance program in accordance with the requirements of the rule.

Capital Adequacy

The Company and the Banks are subject to capital adequacy guidelines adopted by the Federal Reserve and OCC. For a further 
discussion  of  the  capital  adequacy  guidelines,  see  “MD&A—Capital  Management”  and  “Note  13—Regulatory  and  Capital 
Adequacy.” The Company and the Banks exceeded minimum regulatory requirements under these guidelines as of December 31, 
2015.

Basel III and U.S. Capital and Liquidity Rules

In December 2010, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (“Basel Committee”) published a final framework on additional 
capital and liquidity requirements (“Basel III”), which included detailed capital ratios and buffers, subject to transition periods 
through 2018. In November 2011, the Basel Committee adopted a framework that would impose an additional common equity 
Tier 1 capital buffer on globally systemically important banking organizations (“G-SIBs”), which surcharge would vary based on 
the  company’s  systemic  importance  as  determined  using  five  criteria:  size,  interconnectedness,  cross-jurisdictional  activity, 
substitutability and complexity (“G-SIB Surcharge”). As discussed further below, Capital One is currently not identified as a G-
SIB. In January 2014, the Basel Committee made changes to the leverage ratio rules to account for differences in national accounting 
frameworks. The Basel Committee continues to evaluate further modifications to these and other capital standards, which, if 
finalized, would require rulemaking in the United States prior to their effectiveness for U.S. banking organizations.

The Federal Reserve, OCC and FDIC (collectively, the “Federal Banking Agencies”) issued a rule in July 2013 that implemented 
the Basel III capital framework developed by the Basel Committee and certain Dodd-Frank Act and other capital provisions, and 

5

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

that updated the prompt corrective action (“PCA”) framework to reflect the new regulatory capital minimums (“Final Basel III 
Capital Rule”). The Final Basel III Capital Rule increases the minimum capital that we and other institutions are required to hold. 

Prior to being revised in the Final Basel III Capital Rule in 2013, the minimum risk-based capital requirements adopted by the 
Federal Banking Agencies followed Basel I. In December 2007 the “Advanced Approaches” version of Basel II was adopted. The 
Final Basel III Capital Rule modified both Basel I and the Basel II Advanced Approaches (as modified, referred to respectively 
as the “Basel III Standardized Approach” and the “Basel III Advanced Approaches”).

The Basel III Advanced Approaches is mandatory for those institutions with total consolidated assets of $250 billion or more or 
total consolidated on-balance-sheet foreign exposure of $10 billion or more. We became subject to these rules at the end of 2012. 
Prior to full implementation of the Basel III Advanced Approaches framework, organizations must complete a qualification period, 
known as the parallel run, during which they must meet the requirements of the rule to the satisfaction of their primary U.S. banking 
regulator. According to the rule, parallel run must last at least four quarters, though in practice it has taken U.S. banks considerably 
longer to complete parallel run. We entered parallel run on January 1, 2015. Compliance with the Basel III Advanced Approaches 
framework requires a material investment of resources in building processes and systems. 

The so-called Collins Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act, as implemented in the Final Basel III Capital Rule, establishes a capital 
floor so that organizations subject to the Basel III Advanced Approaches may not hold less capital than would be required using 
the Basel III Standardized Approach capital calculations. Based on current rules and our business mix, we estimate that our Basel 
III Advanced Approaches ratios will be lower than our Standardized Approach ratios.

The Final Basel III Capital Rule revised the definition of regulatory capital, established a new common equity Tier 1 capital 
requirement, set higher minimum capital ratio requirements, introduced a new capital conservation buffer of 2.5%, introduced a 
new countercyclical capital buffer (currently set at 0.0%) and updated the PCA framework. Compliance with certain aspects of 
the Final Basel III Capital Rule went into effect for Capital One as of January 1, 2014 and other provisions go into effect according 
to different start dates and phase-in periods. As of January 1, 2014, the minimum risk-based and leverage capital requirements for 
Advanced Approaches banking organizations included a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of at least 4.0%, a Tier 1 risk-based 
capital ratio of at least 5.5%, a total risk-based capital ratio of at least 8.0% and a Tier 1 leverage capital ratio of at least 4.0%. On 
January 1, 2015, the minimum risk-based capital ratio requirements increased to 4.5% for the common equity Tier 1 capital ratio 
and to 6.0% for the Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio, and the minimum requirements for the total risk-based capital ratio and Tier 1 
leverage capital ratio remained the same. Both the capital conservation buffer and the countercyclical capital buffer will be phased-
in over a transition period of four years commencing on January 1, 2016. On January 1, 2014, we started to use the Basel III 
Standardized Approach, including transition provisions, for calculating our capital ratios. On January 1, 2015, we began to use 
the Basel III Standardized Approach for calculating our risk-weighted assets in our regulatory capital ratios, which were previously 
calculated under Basel I.

The  Final  Basel  III  Capital  Rules  also  introduced  a  new  supplementary  leverage ratio  (“SLR”)  for  all Advanced Approaches 
banking organizations with a minimum requirement of 3.0%. In September 2014, the Federal Banking Agencies issued a final rule 
that revised the calculation of total leverage exposures. The SLR compares Tier 1 capital to total leverage exposures and includes 
all on-balance sheet assets and many off-balance sheet assets, including derivatives and unused commitments. The new SLR 
becomes effective on January 1, 2018. However, as an Advanced Approaches banking organization, we were required to calculate 
and publicly disclose our SLR beginning in the first quarter of 2015.

For further information see “Part II—Item 7. MD&A—Capital Management.”

On July 20, 2015, the Federal Reserve approved a final rule establishing a G-SIB Surcharge for U.S.-based G-SIBs. The final rule 
establishes a methodology for determining which U.S. BHCs are considered G-SIBs and thus subject to a G-SIB Surcharge. A 
U.S. BHC whose score using the prescribed methodology equals or exceeds 130 is considered a G-SIB under the final rule. U.S. 
BHCs with total consolidated assets of $250 billion or more or total consolidated on-balance-sheet foreign exposure of $10 billion 
or more are required to determine annually, before December 31, beginning in 2015, whether or not they are considered G-SIBs 
for purposes of the G-SIB Surcharge. In connection with approving the final rule, the Federal Reserve identified eight U.S. BHCs 
that would be identified as G-SIBs based on the most recent available data. Capital One was not identified as a G-SIB based on 
the most recent available data.  

The Basel Committee also published a liquidity framework in December 2010, which was subsequently amended. The liquidity 
framework includes two standards for liquidity risk supervision, each subject to observation periods and transitional arrangements. 
One standard, the liquidity coverage ratio (“LCR”), seeks to promote short-term resilience by requiring sufficient high-quality 

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

liquid assets to survive a stress scenario lasting for 30 days. The other standard, the net stable funding ratio (“NSFR”), seeks to 
promote longer-term resilience by requiring sufficient stable funding over a one-year period, based on the liquidity characteristics 
of assets and activities. We expect that minimum liquidity requirements for us and other institutions will increase as a result of the 
Basel III liquidity framework, though rules implementing the Basel III NSFR have not yet been proposed by the Federal Banking 
Agencies.

In September 2014, the Federal Banking Agencies issued final rules implementing the LCR in the United States. The rule (“Final 
LCR Rule”) applies to institutions with total consolidated assets of $250 billion or more or total consolidated on-balance sheet 
foreign exposure of $10 billion or more, and their respective consolidated subsidiary depository institutions with $10 billion or 
more in total consolidated assets. As a result, the Company and the Banks are subject to the Final LCR Rule. The Final LCR Rule 
requires the Company and each of the Banks to hold an amount of eligible high-quality, liquid assets that equals or exceeds 100% 
of their respective projected net cash outflows over a 30-day period, each as calculated in accordance with the Final LCR Rule. 
The Final LCR Rule phases in the minimum LCR standard as follows: 80% by January 1, 2015; 90% by January 1, 2016; and 
100% by January 1, 2017 and thereafter. The Final LCR Rule came into effect in January 2015 and requires us to calculate the 
LCR as of the last business day of each month from January 2015 until July 2016. As of July 1, 2016, the Final LCR Rule requires 
us to calculate the LCR on a daily basis. In preparation for the Final LCR Rule, we modified the composition of our investment 
portfolio,  with  some  of  those  actions  resulting  in  us  purchasing  types  of  securities  that  are lower  yielding than  securities  we 
otherwise would have purchased if not for the Final LCR Rule.

We will continue to monitor regulators’ implementation of the new capital and liquidity rules and assess the potential impact to 
us.

Market Risk Capital Rule

A market risk capital rule, which the Federal Banking Agencies amended in August 2012, supplements both the general risk-based 
capital rules and the Basel III Advanced Approaches rules by requiring institutions subject to the rule to adjust their risk-based 
capital ratios to reflect the market risk in their trading activities. The rule applies to institutions with aggregate trading assets and 
liabilities equal to the lesser of (i) 10% or more of total assets or (ii) $1 billion or more. Currently, we are not subject to this rule 
but may become subject to it in the future. In January 2016, the Basel Committee issued a revised framework for minimum capital 
requirements for market risk, which would require rulemaking by the Federal Banking Agencies prior to it impacting capital 
requirements for market risk for U.S. banking institutions.

FDICIA and Prompt Corrective Action

In general, the FDICIA subjects banks to significantly increased regulation and supervision. Among other things, the FDICIA 
requires Federal Banking Agencies to take “prompt corrective action” for banks that do not meet minimum capital requirements. 
The  FDICIA  establishes  five  capital  ratio  levels:  well  capitalized;  adequately  capitalized;  undercapitalized;  significantly 
undercapitalized; and critically undercapitalized. The three undercapitalized categories are based upon the amount by which a 
bank falls below the ratios applicable to an adequately-capitalized institution. The capital categories are determined solely for 
purposes of applying the FDICIA’s PCA provisions, and such capital categories may not constitute an accurate representation of 
the Banks’ overall financial condition or prospects.

Under applicable regulations for 2014, an insured depository institution was considered to be well capitalized if it maintained a 
total risk-based capital ratio of at least 10%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of at least 6%, a Tier 1 leverage capital ratio of at least 
5% and was not subject to any supervisory agreement, order or directive to meet and maintain a specific capital level for any capital 
measure. An insured depository institution was considered to be adequately capitalized if it maintained a total risk-based capital 
ratio of at least 8%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of at least 4% and a Tier 1 leverage capital ratio of at least 4% (3% for certain 
highly rated institutions), and did not otherwise meet the definition of well capitalized. 

As noted above, the Final Basel III Capital Rule updated the PCA framework to reflect new, higher regulatory capital minimums. 
This rule adjusts the definitions of well capitalized and adequately capitalized. For an insured depository institution to be well 
capitalized, it must maintain a total risk-based capital ratio of 10% or more; a Tier 1 capital ratio of 8% or more; a common equity 
Tier 1 capital ratio of 6.5% or more; and a leverage ratio of 5% or more. An adequately-capitalized depository institution must 
maintain a total risk-based capital ratio of 8% or more; a Tier 1 capital ratio of 6% or more; a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio 
of 4.5% or more; a leverage ratio of 4% or more; and, for Basel III Advanced Approaches institutions, a supplementary leverage 
ratio, which incorporates a broader set of exposures as noted above, of 3% or more. The revised PCA requirements became effective 

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

on January 1, 2015, other than the supplementary leverage ratio, which becomes effective on January 1, 2018. As of December 
31, 2015, each of the Banks met the requirements for a well-capitalized institution.

As an additional means to identify problems in the financial management of depository institutions, the FDICIA requires regulators 
to establish certain non-capital safety and soundness standards. The standards relate generally to operations and management, asset 
quality, interest rate exposure and executive compensation. The agencies are authorized to take action against institutions that fail 
to meet such standards.

Enhanced Prudential Standards and Other Requirements Under the Dodd-Frank Act

With the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act, because we are a BHC with total consolidated assets of $50 billion or more (a “covered 
company”), we are subject to certain enhanced prudential standards, including requirements that may be recommended by the 
Financial Stability Oversight Council (“Council”) and implemented by the Federal Reserve and other regulators. As a result, we 
are becoming subject to more stringent standards and requirements than those applicable for smaller institutions. The Council also 
may issue recommendations to the Federal Reserve or other primary financial regulatory agencies to apply new or heightened 
standards to risky financial activities or practices.

In 2011, the Federal Reserve and FDIC finalized rules requiring us to implement resolution planning for orderly resolution in the 
event  the  Company  faces  material  financial  distress  or  failure.  The  FDIC  issued  similar  rules  regarding  resolution  planning 
applicable to the Banks. Additionally, although not a direct requirement under the Dodd-Frank Act, the OCC proposed guidelines 
in December 2015 that would require the Banks to develop recovery plans detailing the actions necessary to remain a going concern 
when the Banks are experiencing considerable financial or operational stress, but have not deteriorated to the extent resolution is 
imminent. 

In October 2012, the Federal Reserve issued a rule that implements the requirement in the Dodd-Frank Act that the Federal Reserve 
conducts annual stress tests on the capacity of our capital to absorb losses as a result of adverse economic conditions. The stress 
test rule also implements the requirement that we conduct our own semiannual stress tests and requires us to publish the results 
of the stress tests on our website or other public forum. The OCC finalized a similar stress test rule in October 2012, to implement 
the requirement that each of the Banks conduct annual stress tests. 

In December 2011, the Federal Reserve released proposed rules implementing certain other aspects of the enhanced prudential 
standards under the Dodd-Frank Act. The Federal Reserve finalized certain of the proposed rules on February 18, 2014, and we 
were required to comply with these requirements beginning on January 1, 2015 (“Enhanced Standards Rule”). The Enhanced 
Standards Rule, however, did not finalize the proposed single-counterparty credit limits or early remediation framework. Under 
the  Enhanced  Standards  Rule,  we  must  meet  liquidity  risk  management  standards,  conduct  internal  liquidity  stress  tests,  and 
maintain a 30-day buffer of highly liquid assets, in each case, consistent with the requirements of the rule. These requirements are 
in addition to the Final LCR, discussed above in “Basel III and U.S. Capital and Liquidity Rules.” In addition, the Enhanced 
Standards Rule requires that we comply with, and hold capital commensurate with the requirements of, any regulations adopted 
by the Federal Reserve relating to capital planning and stress tests. Stress testing and capital planning regulations are discussed 
further below under “Dividends, Stock Repurchases and Transfers of Funds.”

The Enhanced Standards Rule also requires that we establish and maintain an enterprise-wide risk management framework that 
includes a risk committee and a chief risk officer. 

While not a requirement of the Dodd-Frank Act, in 2014 the OCC issued regulatory guidelines (“Heightened Standards Guidelines”) 
that apply heightened standards for risk management to large institutions subject to its supervision, including the Banks. The 
Heightened Standards Guidelines establish standards for the development and implementation by the Banks of a risk governance 
framework. 

The Dodd-Frank Act also imposes new, more stringent standards and requirements with respect to bank and nonbank acquisitions 
and mergers and affiliate transactions. The Dodd-Frank Act also includes provisions related to corporate governance and executive 
compensation and new fees and assessments, among others. 

The federal agencies have significant discretion in drafting the implementing regulations of the Dodd-Frank Act. Implementing 
regulations may result in modifications to our business models and organizational structure, and may subject us to escalating costs 
associated with any such changes. The full impact of the regulatory reform, including the Dodd-Frank Act, will not be known for 
some time. In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act and subsequent legislation require various studies and reports to be delivered to 
Congress, which could result in additional legislative or regulatory action.

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Investment in the Company and the Banks

Certain acquisitions of our capital stock may be subject to regulatory approval or notice under federal or state law. Investors are 
responsible for ensuring that they do not, directly or indirectly, acquire shares of our capital stock in excess of the amount that can 
be acquired without regulatory approval, including under the BHC Act and the Change in Bank Control Act.

Federal law and regulations prohibit any person or company from acquiring control of the Company or the Banks without, in most 
cases, prior written approval of the Federal Reserve or the OCC, as applicable. Control exists if, among other things, a person or 
company acquires more than 25% of any class of our voting stock or otherwise has a controlling influence over us. For a publicly 
traded BHC like us, a rebuttable presumption of control arises if a person or company acquires more than 10% of any class of our 
voting stock.

Additionally, COBNA and CONA are “banks” within the meaning of Chapter 13 of Title 6.1 of the Code of Virginia governing 
the acquisition of interests in Virginia financial institutions (“Financial Institution Holding Company Act”). The Financial Institution 
Holding Company Act prohibits any person or entity from acquiring, or making any public offer to acquire, control of a Virginia 
financial institution or its holding company without making application to, and receiving prior approval from, the Virginia Bureau 
of Financial Institutions.

Dividends, Stock Repurchases and Transfers of Funds

In November 2011, the Federal Reserve finalized capital planning rules applicable to large BHCs including us (commonly referred 
to as Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review or “CCAR”). Under the rules, a BHC with total consolidated assets of $50 
billion or more must submit a capital plan to the Federal Reserve on an annual basis that contains a description of all planned 
capital actions, including dividends or stock repurchases, over a nine-quarter planning horizon beginning with the fourth quarter 
of the calendar year prior to the submission of the capital plan (“CCAR cycle”). The BHC may take the capital actions in its capital 
plan if the Federal Reserve provides a non-objection to the plan. The Federal Reserve’s objection or non-objection generally applies 
to capital actions during the four quarters beginning with the second quarter of the second calendar year in the planning horizon.

On September 24, 2013, the Federal Reserve released an interim final rule that incorporated the Final Basel III Capital Rule into 
CCAR. On October 17, 2014, the Federal Reserve issued a final rule to modify the regulations for capital planning and stress 
testing (“2014 Final Capital Plan and Stress Test Rule”). In addition, the OCC issued a final rule in December 2014 modifying its 
Dodd-Frank Act stress testing regulation, to be consistent with the 2014 Final Capital Plan and Stress Test Rule changes to the 
Federal Reserve’s Dodd-Frank Act stress testing regulation. The Dodd-Frank Act stress testing regulations are described above in 
“Enhanced Prudential Standards and Other Requirements under the Dodd-Frank Act.”

The 2014 Final Capital Plan and Stress Test Rule changes the annual capital plan and stress test cycle start date from October 1 
to January 1, effective for the cycle beginning January 1, 2016. Under the 2014 Final Capital Plan and Stress Test Rule, for the 
CCAR cycle under which capital plan submissions were due by January 5, 2015 (“2015 CCAR cycle”), the Federal Reserve’s 
objection or non-objection applies to planned capital actions from the second quarter of 2015 through the second quarter of 2016. 
Subsequent submissions each would cover a four-quarter period. The change in the start date of the annual cycle impacts the as-
of dates for data used to project results as well as the dates that stress test results must be submitted to the regulators and disclosed 
to the public. For the annual company-run stress test, a BHC is required to disclose the results within 15 calendar days after the 
Federal Reserve discloses the results of that BHC’s supervisory stress test, unless that time period is extended by the Federal 
Reserve. The 2014 Final Capital Plan and Stress Test Rule requires a BHC to disclose results of its mid-cycle stress test within 30 
calendar days after the BHC submits the results of its mid-cycle stress test to the Federal Reserve, unless that time period is extended 
by the Federal Reserve.

The 2014 Final Capital Plan and Stress Test Rule also provides a one-year deferral on the use of Basel III Advanced Approaches 
for banking institutions to estimate their capital ratios for the 2015 capital plan and stress test cycles. In addition, it shifts the focus 
of the Federal Reserve from annual capital issuances and distributions to quarterly capital issuances and distributions by establishing 
a new cumulative net distribution requirement. With certain limited exceptions, this requirement provides that--as measured on 
an aggregate basis beginning in the third quarter of the planning horizon--to the extent a BHC does not issue the amount of a given 
class of regulatory capital instrument that it projected in its capital plan, the BHC must reduce its capital distributions such that 
the cumulative net amounts of a BHC’s actual capital issuances and capital distributions for each category of regulatory capital 
instrument  cannot  be  less  than  the  cumulative  net  amounts  of  capital  issuances  and  capital  distributions  for  that  category  of 
regulatory capital instrument projected in the BHC’s capital plan.

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

The Federal Reserve issued a final rule on November 25, 2015 to further modify its capital planning and stress testing regulations 
(“2015 Final Capital Plan and Stress Test Rule”). Among other changes, the 2015 Final Capital Plan and Stress Test Rule would 
indefinitely delay incorporation of the Basel III Advanced Approaches; remove the tier 1 common ratio from the capital plan and 
stress testing regulations, given the full phase-in of the common equity tier 1 capital requirement in the nine-quarter planning 
horizon of the 2016 capital plan and stress testing cycles; and delay the incorporation of the supplementary leverage ratio until the 
2017 capital plan and stress testing cycles. In addition, on December 18, 2015, the Federal Reserve also issued guidance that 
summarizes and further details its supervisory expectations for the capital planning process, capital positions and modeling of 
large and complex firms such as the Company in connection with their capital planning and stress testing activities.

The purpose of the Federal Reserve’s capital plan and stress test rules is to ensure that large BHCs have robust, forward-looking 
capital planning processes that account for their unique risks and capital needs to continue operations through times of economic 
and financial stress. As part of its evaluation of a capital plan, the Federal Reserve will consider the comprehensiveness of the 
plan, the reasonableness of assumptions and analysis and methodologies used to assess capital adequacy and the ability of the 
BHC to maintain capital above each minimum regulatory capital ratio on a pro forma basis under expected and stressful conditions 
throughout a planning horizon of at least nine quarters. The 2016 CCAR cycle will measure our capital levels under the Basel III 
Standardized Approach, with appropriate phase-in provisions applicable to Capital One. 

Traditionally, dividends to us from our direct and indirect subsidiaries have represented a major source of funds for us to pay 
dividends on our stock, make payments on corporate debt securities and meet our other obligations. There are various federal law 
limitations on the extent to which the Banks can finance or otherwise supply funds to us through dividends and loans. These 
limitations  include  minimum  regulatory  capital  requirements,  federal  banking  law  requirements  concerning  the  payment  of 
dividends out of net profits or surplus, Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act and Regulation W governing transactions 
between an insured depository institution and its affiliates, as well as general federal regulatory oversight to prevent unsafe or 
unsound practices. In general, federal and applicable state banking laws prohibit, without first obtaining regulatory approval, 
insured depository institutions, such as the Banks, from making dividend distributions if such distributions are not paid out of 
available earnings or would cause the institution to fail to meet applicable capital adequacy standards.

Deposit Insurance Assessments

Each of CONA and COBNA, as an insured depository institution, is a member of the DIF maintained by the FDIC. Through the 
DIF, the FDIC insures the deposits of insured depository institutions up to prescribed limits for each depositor. The DIF was formed 
on March 31, 2006, upon the merger of the Bank Insurance Fund and the Savings Association Insurance Fund in accordance with 
the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005 (“Reform Act”). The Reform Act permits the FDIC to set a Designated Reserve 
Ratio (“DRR”) for the DIF. To maintain the DIF, member institutions may be assessed an insurance premium, and the FDIC may 
take action to increase insurance premiums if the DRR falls below its required level.

Prior to passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, the FDIC had established a plan to restore the DIF in the face of recent insurance losses 
and future loss projections, which resulted in several rules that generally increased deposit insurance rates and purported to improve 
risk  differentiation  so  that  riskier  institutions  bear  a  greater  share  of  insurance  premiums. The  Dodd-Frank Act  reformed  the 
management of the DIF in several ways: raised the minimum DRR to 1.35% (from the former minimum of 1.15%); removed the 
upper limit on the DRR; required that the reserve ratio reach 1.35% by September 30, 2020 (rather than 1.15% by the end of 2016); 
required  that  in  setting  assessments,  the  FDIC  must  offset  the  effect  of  meeting  the  increased  reserve  ratio  on  small  insured 
depository institutions; and eliminated the requirement that the FDIC pay dividends from the DIF when the reserve ratio reaches 
certain levels. The FDIC has set the DRR at 2% and, in lieu of dividends, has established progressively lower assessment rate 
schedules as the reserve ratio meets certain trigger levels. The Dodd-Frank Act also required the FDIC to change the deposit 
insurance assessment base from deposits to average total consolidated assets minus average tangible equity. In February 2011, the 
FDIC finalized rules to implement this change that significantly modified how deposit insurance assessment rates are calculated 
for those banks with assets of $10 billion or greater. On November 18, 2014, the FDIC issued final rules to amend its deposit 
insurance assessment regulation to conform to the Final Basel III Capital Rule and to the final rule revising the supplementary 
leverage ratio.

On October 22, 2015, the FDIC proposed rules to implement the requirement that the FDIC offset the effect of meeting the increased 
reserve ratio from 1.15% to 1.35% on insured depository institutions with total consolidated assets of less than $10 billion. The 
FDIC’s proposed rulemaking would impose a new quarterly deposit insurance surcharge assessment, with a quarterly rate of 1.125 
basis points, on all insured depository institutions with assets of $10 billion or more (including COBNA and CONA), in addition 
to regular quarterly deposit insurance assessments applicable to each insured depository institution. The surcharge would begin 
the quarter after the DIF reserve ratio first reaches or exceeds 1.15% (projected by the FDIC as likely to occur during the first 

10

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

quarter of 2016) and would continue until the reserve ratio first reaches or exceeds 1.35%, but no later than the fourth quarter of 
2018. As proposed, the surcharge is expected to be partially offset by lower FDIC assessment rates, which will be in effect once 
the DIF reserve ratio reaches 1.15%. The potential impact on COBNA and CONA is dependent upon the duration, rate and structure 
of the FDIC surcharge in the final rule, which has not yet been issued.

Source of Strength and Liability for Commonly-Controlled Institutions

Under the regulations issued by the Federal Reserve, a BHC must serve as a source of financial and managerial strength to its 
subsidiary  banks  (the  so-called  “source  of  strength  doctrine”). The  Dodd-Frank Act  codified  the  source  of  strength  doctrine, 
directing the Federal Reserve to require BHCs to serve as a source of financial strength to its subsidiary banks.

Under the “cross-guarantee” provision of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (“FIRREA”), 
insured depository institutions such as the Banks may be liable to the FDIC with respect to any loss  incurred, or  reasonably 
anticipated to be incurred, by the FDIC in connection with the default of, or FDIC assistance to, any commonly controlled insured 
depository institution. The Banks are commonly controlled within the meaning of the FIRREA cross-guarantee provision.

FDIC Orderly Liquidation Authority

The Dodd-Frank Act provides the FDIC with liquidation authority that may be used to liquidate nonbank financial companies and 
BHCs if the Treasury Secretary, in consultation with the President and based on the recommendation of the Federal Reserve and 
another federal agency, determines that doing so is necessary, among other criteria, to mitigate serious adverse effects on U.S. 
financial stability. Upon such a determination, the FDIC would be appointed receiver and must liquidate the company in a way 
that mitigates significant risks to financial stability and minimizes moral hazard. The costs of a liquidation of a financial company 
would  be  borne  by  shareholders  and  unsecured  creditors  and  then,  if  necessary,  by  risk-based  assessments  on  large  financial 
companies. The FDIC has issued rules implementing certain provisions of its liquidation authority and may issue additional rules 
in the future. In November 2015, the Federal Reserve proposed rules designed to promote U.S. financial stability and orderly 
liquidity authority by requiring U.S. BHCs identified as G-SIBs to maintain outstanding a minimum amount of loss absorbing 
instruments, including a minimum amount of unsecured long-term debt, and related buffer. Capital One would not be subject to 
this requirement as proposed.

Regulation of International Business by Non-U.S. Authorities

COBNA is subject to regulation in foreign jurisdictions where it operates, currently in the United Kingdom and Canada.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, COBNA operates through COEP, which was established in 2000 and is an authorized payment institution 
regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) under the Payment Services Regulations 2009 and the Financial Services 
and Markets Act 2000. COEP’s indirect parent, Capital One Global Corporation, is wholly-owned by COBNA and is subject to 
regulation by the Federal Reserve as an “agreement corporation” under the Federal Reserve’s Regulation K.

Over the past few years the U.K. government has enacted significant changes to the framework of financial services regulation. 
As part of these changes, in April 2013, the Financial Services Authority (“FSA”) was split into a new Prudential Regulatory 
Authority (“PRA”) and the FCA, with the FCA, rather than the PRA, regulating COEP. In April 2014, the FCA took over regulation 
of the U.K. consumer credit regime previously regulated by the Office of Fair Trading. The FCA’s new regulatory purview includes 
credit card lending activities. The FCA established a new Consumer Credit Sourcebook based on the existing regulatory regime 
which came into full effect on September 30, 2014. COEP, in common with other market participants, currently operates under 
certain “interim” permissions of FCA and COEP applied for related “full” permissions in October 2015 (with such full permissions 
anticipated to be granted during 2016).

Regulatory focus on Payment Protection Insurance (“PPI”) complaint handling has continued as PPI continues to be a key driver 
of consumer complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (“FOS”). In January 2015, FCA announced it would gather evidence 
on current trends in PPI complaints to assess whether further interventions were required. In May 2015, the FCA also announced 
that it was considering whether further rules and/or guidance were required to deal with the impact of the decision in the case of 
Plevin v. Paragon Personal Finance to the effect that failure to disclose the amount of commission included in the price of the 
single premium PPI sold to the plaintiff created an unfair relationship between the lender and the borrower under section 140A of 
the Consumer Credit Act 1974. On November 26, 2015, the FCA launched a consultation on proposed new rules relating to PPI 

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

complaint handling, including the introduction of a 2-year deadline by which consumers would need to make their PPI complaints 
or else lose their right to have them assessed by firms or by the FOS.

COEP is a party to the Sentinel Card Protection (“SCP”) redress scheme which enables customers who bought SCP provided by 
Affinion International Limited to seek compensation. In August 2015 the redress scheme became effective with a general claims 
bar date of March 18, 2016, other than for exceptional circumstances. The claims bar date for exceptional circumstances is September 
18, 2016. The redress scheme relating to Card Protection Plan (“CPP”) insurance, which enabled customers who bought card 
protection insurance with CPP to seek compensation, has now come to an end.

Canada

In Canada, COBNA operates as an authorized foreign bank pursuant to the Bank Act (Canada) (“Bank Act”) and is permitted to 
conduct its credit card business in Canada through its Canadian branch, Capital One Bank (Canada Branch) (“Capital One Canada”). 
The primary regulator of Capital One Canada is the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada (“OSFI”). Other 
regulators include the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (“FCAC”), the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, and 
the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada. Capital One Canada is subject to regulation under various 
Canadian  federal  laws,  including  the  Bank Act  and  its  regulations,  the  Proceeds  of  Crime  (Money  Laundering)  and Terrorist 
Financing Act and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.

There were two new significant developments described below that affect credit cards issued by federally regulated financial 
institutions in Canada, such as Capital One Canada. These changes could increase our operational and compliance costs and affect 
the types and terms of products that we offer in Canada.

In April 2015, the voluntary agreement to reduce interchange fees among the Canadian federal government, MasterCard Canada 
and Visa Canada came into effect. The agreement contains a commitment to reduce interchange fees for consumer credit cards to 
an average of 1.5% and will remain in effect for 5 years.

On September 19, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada (“Court”) released its decision in Bank of Montreal v. Marcotte. The Court 
found that certain provisions of Quebec provincial consumer protection legislation apply to credit cards issued by federally chartered 
banks. The broader implications of the applicability of provincial law to banks in Canada remain unclear.

COMPETITION

Each of our business segments operates in a highly competitive environment, and we face competition in all aspects of our business 
from numerous bank and non-bank providers of financial services.

Our Credit Card business competes with international, national, regional and local issuers of Visa and MasterCard credit cards, as 
well as with American Express®, Discover Card®, private-label card brands, and, to a certain extent, issuers of debit cards. In 
general, customers are attracted to credit card issuers largely on the basis of price, credit limit, reward programs and other product 
features.

Our Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking businesses compete with national, state and direct banks for deposits, commercial 
and auto loans, mortgages and trust accounts, as well as with savings and loan associations and credit unions for loans and deposits. 
Our competitors also include automotive finance companies, mortgage banking companies and other financial services providers 
that provide loans, deposits, and other similar services and products. In addition, we compete against non-depository institutions 
that are able to offer these products and services. Securities firms and insurance companies that elect to become financial holding 
companies may acquire banks and other financial institutions. Combinations of this type could significantly change the competitive 
environment in which we conduct business. The financial services industry is also likely to become more competitive as further 
technological advances enable more companies to provide financial services. These technological advances may diminish the 
importance  of  depository  institutions  and  other  financial  intermediaries  in  the  transfer  of  funds  between  parties.  In  addition, 
competition among direct banks is intense because online banking provides customers the ability to rapidly deposit and withdraw 
funds and open and close accounts in favor of products and services offered by competitors.

Our businesses generally compete on the basis of the quality and range of their products and services, transaction execution, 
innovation and price. Competition varies based on the types of clients, customers, industries and geographies served. Our ability 
to compete depends, in part, on our ability to attract and retain our associates and on our reputation. In the current environment, 
customers are generally attracted to depository institutions that are perceived as stable, with solid liquidity and funding. We believe 

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

that we are able to compete effectively in our current markets. There can be no assurance, however, that our ability to market 
products and services successfully or to obtain adequate returns on our products and services will not be impacted by the nature 
of the competition that now exists or may later develop, or by the broader economic environment. For a discussion of the risks 
related to our competitive environment, please refer to “Part I—Item 1A. Risk Factors.”

EMPLOYEES

A central part of our philosophy is to attract and retain highly capable staff. We had approximately 45,400 employees, whom we 
refer to as “associates,” as of December 31, 2015. None of our associates are covered under a collective bargaining agreement, 
and management considers our associate relations to be satisfactory.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Technology/Systems

We leverage information technology to achieve our business objectives and to develop and deliver products and services that 
satisfy our customers’ needs. A key part of our strategic focus is the development and use of efficient, flexible computer and 
operational systems, such as cloud technology, to support complex marketing and account management strategies, the servicing 
of our customers, and the development of new and diversified products. We believe that the continued development and integration 
of these systems is an important part of our efforts to reduce costs, improve quality and provide faster, more flexible technology 
services. Consequently, we continuously review capabilities and develop or acquire systems, processes and competencies to meet 
our unique business requirements.

As part of our continuous efforts to review and improve our technologies, we may either develop such capabilities internally or 
rely on third-party outsourcers who have the ability to deliver technology that is of higher quality, lower cost, or both. We continue 
to rely on third-party outsourcers to help us deliver systems and operational infrastructure. These relationships include (but are 
not  limited  to): Total  System  Services  Inc. (“TSYS”)  for  processing  services  for our  North American  and  U.K.  portfolios  of 
consumer and small business credit card accounts, and Fidelity Information Services (“FIS”) for certain of our banking systems.

To protect our systems and technologies, we employ security, backup and recovery systems and generally require the same of our 
third-party service providers. In addition, we perform, or cause to be performed, a variety of vulnerability and penetration testing 
on the platforms, systems and applications used to provide our products and services in an effort to ensure that any attacks on these 
platforms, systems and applications are unlikely to succeed.

Intellectual Property

As part of our overall and ongoing strategy to protect and enhance our intellectual property, we rely on a variety of protections, 
including copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents and certain restrictions on disclosure, solicitation and competition. We also 
undertake other measures to control access to and distribution of our other proprietary information. Despite these precautions, it 
may be possible for a third party to copy or otherwise obtain and use certain intellectual property or proprietary information without 
authorization.  Our  precautions  may  not  prevent  misappropriation  or  infringement  of  our  intellectual  property  or  proprietary 
information. In addition, our competitors and other third parties also file patent applications for innovations that are used in our 
industry. The ability of our competitors and other third parties to obtain such patents may adversely affect our ability to compete. 
Conversely, our ability to obtain such patents may increase our competitive advantage. There can be no assurance that we will be 
successful in such efforts, or that the ability of our competitors to obtain such patents may not adversely impact our financial 
results.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

From time to time, we have made and will make forward-looking statements, including those that discuss, among other things, 
strategies,  goals,  outlook  or  other  non-historical  matters;  projections,  revenues,  income,  returns,  expenses,  capital  measures, 
accruals for claims in litigation and for other claims against us; earnings per share or other financial measures for us; future financial 
and operating results; our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions; and the assumptions that underlie these matters.

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

To the extent that any such information is forward-looking, it is intended to fit within the safe harbor for forward-looking information 
provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Numerous factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking statements, 
including, among other things:

• 

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• 

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general economic and business conditions in the U.S., the U.K., Canada or our local markets, including conditions affecting 
employment levels, interest rates, collateral values, consumer income, credit worthiness and confidence, spending and 
savings that may affect consumer bankruptcies, defaults, charge-offs and deposit activity;

an increase or decrease in credit losses (including increases due to a worsening of general economic conditions in the 
credit environment), including the impact of inaccurate estimates or inadequate reserves;

financial, legal, regulatory, tax or accounting changes or actions, including the impact of the Dodd-Frank Act and the 
regulations promulgated thereunder, and other regulatory reforms and regulations governing bank capital and liquidity 
standards, including Basel-related initiatives and potential changes to financial accounting and reporting standards;

developments, changes or actions relating to any litigation, governmental investigation or regulatory enforcement action 
or matter involving us;

the inability to sustain revenue and earnings growth;

increases or decreases in interest rates;

our ability to access the capital markets at attractive rates and terms to capitalize and fund our operations and future 
growth;

the success of our marketing efforts in attracting and retaining customers;

increases or decreases in our aggregate loan balances or the number of customers and the growth rate and composition 
thereof, including increases or decreases resulting from factors such as shifting product mix, amount of actual marketing 
expenses we incur and attrition of loan balances;

the level of future repurchase or indemnification requests we may receive, the actual future performance of mortgage 
loans relating to such requests, the success rates of claimants against us, any developments in litigation and the actual 
recoveries we may make on any collateral relating to claims against us;

the amount and rate of deposit growth;

changes in the reputation of, or expectations regarding, the financial services industry or us with respect to practices, 
products or financial condition;

changes in retail distribution strategies and channels, including in the behavior and expectations of our customers, 

any significant disruption in our operations or technology platform, including security failures or breaches on our business;

our ability to maintain a compliance and technology infrastructure suitable for the nature of our business;

our ability to develop digital technology that addresses the needs of our customers, including the challenges relating to 
rapid significant technological changes;

our ability to control costs;

the effectiveness of our risk management strategies;

the amount of, and rate of growth in, our expenses as our business develops or changes or as it expands into new market 
areas;

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our ability to execute on our strategic and operational plans;

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

• 

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• 

• 

any significant disruption of, or loss of public confidence in, the United States mail service affecting our response rates 
and consumer payments;

any significant disruption of, or loss of public confidence in, the internet affecting the ability of our customers to access 
their accounts and conduct banking transactions;

our ability to recruit and retain talented and experienced personnel to assist in the development, management and operation 
of new products and services;

changes in the labor and employment markets;

fraud or misconduct by our customers, employees or business partners;

competition from providers of products and services that compete with our businesses; and

other risk factors listed from time to time in reports that we file with the SEC.

Any forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf speak only as of the date they are made or as of the date indicated, 
and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or 
otherwise. You should carefully consider the factors discussed above in evaluating these forward-looking statements. For additional 
information on factors that could materially influence forward-looking statements included in this Report, see the risk factors set 
forth under “Part I—Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this Report.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

This section highlights specific risks that could affect our business. Although we have tried to discuss all material risks of which 
we are aware at the time this Report has been filed, other risks may prove to be important in the future, including those that are 
not currently ascertainable. In addition to the factors discussed elsewhere in this Report, other factors that could cause actual results 
to differ materially from our forward looking statements include:

General Economic and Market Risks

Changes And  Instability  In  The  Macroeconomic  Environment  May Adversely Affect  Our  Industry,  Business,  Results  Of 
Operations And Financial Condition.

We offer a broad array of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. We market our 
credit card products on a national basis throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom and offer banking and other 
services in many regions within the United States. A prolonged period of slow economic growth or a significant deterioration in 
economic conditions in the United States or one of these countries could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition 
and results of operations as customers default on their loans or maintain lower deposit levels or, in the case of credit card accounts, 
carry lower balances and reduce credit card purchase activity.

Although certain economic conditions in the United States have shown signs of improvement in recent years, the macroeconomic 
environment remains unstable and uneven, and the U.S. economy remains susceptible to global events and volatility. Geopolitical 
matters, including international political unrest or disturbances, continued concerns over energy prices and economic instability 
or recession in certain regions, may impact the stability of financial markets and the U.S. economy.

Some of the risks we may face in connection with adverse changes and instability in macroeconomic environment include the 
following:

• 

• 

Payment patterns may change, causing increases in delinquencies and default rates, which could have a negative impact 
on  our  results  of  operations.  In  addition,  changes  in  consumer  confidence  levels  and  behavior,  including  decreased 
consumer spending, lower demand for credit and a shift in consumer payment behavior towards avoiding late fees, finance 
charges and other fees, could have a negative impact on our results of operations.

Increases in bankruptcies could cause increases in our charge-off rates, which could have a negative impact on our results 
of operations.

•  Our ability to recover debt that we have previously charged-off may be limited, which could have a negative impact on 

our results of operations.

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

•  The process and models we use to estimate our allowance for loan and lease losses may become less reliable if actual 
losses diverge from the projections of our models as a result of changes in customer behavior, volatile economic conditions 
or other unexpected variations in key inputs and assumptions. As a result, our estimates for credit losses may become 
increasingly subject to management’s judgment and high levels of volatility over short periods of time, which could 
negatively impact our results of operations. See “There Are Risks Resulting From The Extensive Use Of Models In Our 
Business.”

•  Risks associated with financial market instability and volatility could cause a material adverse effect on our liquidity and 
our funding costs. For example, increases in interest rates and our credit spreads could negatively impact our results of 
operations. 

•  Our ability to borrow from other financial institutions or to engage in funding transactions on favorable terms or at all 
could be adversely affected by disruptions in the capital markets or other events, including actions by rating agencies and 
deteriorating investor expectations, which could limit our access to funding. The interest rates that we pay on the securities 
we have issued are also influenced by, among other things, applicable credit ratings from recognized rating agencies. A 
downgrade to any of these credit ratings could affect our ability to access the capital markets, increase our borrowing 
costs and have a negative impact on our results of operations. Increased charge-offs, rising London Interbank Offering 
Rate (“LIBOR”) and other events may cause our securitization transactions to amortize earlier than scheduled, which 
could accelerate our need for additional funding from other sources.

•  An inability to accept or maintain deposits or to obtain other sources of funding could materially affect our ability to fund 
our business and our liquidity position. Many other financial institutions have also increased their reliance on deposit 
funding and, as such, we expect continued competition in the deposit markets. We cannot predict how this competition 
will affect our costs. If we are required to offer higher interest rates to attract or maintain deposits, our funding costs will 
be adversely impacted.

•  Both shorter-term and longer-term interest rates remain below historical averages, as well as the yield curve, which is 
flatter than its historical average. A flat yield curve combined with low interest rates generally leads to lower revenue and 
reduced margins because it would limit our opportunity to increase the spread between asset yields and funding costs. 
Sustained periods of time with a flat yield curve coupled with low interest rates could have a material adverse effect on 
our earnings and our net interest margin. 

•  A low interest rate environment increases our exposure to prepayment risk in our mortgage portfolio and the mortgage-
backed securities in our investment portfolio. Increased prepayments, refinancing or other factors that impact loan balances 
could reduce expected revenue associated with mortgage assets and could also lead to a reduction in the value of our 
mortgage servicing rights, which could have a negative impact on our financial results. In addition, the Federal Reserve’s 
recent decision to raise short-term interest rates will increase debt service requirements for some of our borrowers and 
may  adversely  affect  those  borrowers’  ability  to  pay  as  contractually  obligated,  which  could  result  in  additional 
delinquencies or charge-offs and negatively impact our results of operations.

Regulatory Risk

Compliance With New And Existing Laws, Regulations And Regulatory Expectations May Increase Our Costs, Reduce Our 
Revenue, Limit Our Ability To Pursue Business Opportunities, And Increase Compliance Challenges.

Legislation and regulation with respect to the financial services industry has increased in recent years, and we expect that oversight 
of our business will continue to expand in scope and complexity. A wide and increasing array of banking and consumer lending 
laws apply to almost every aspect of our business. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations could result in financial, 
structural and operational penalties, including significant fines and criminal sanctions, and could result in negative publicity or 
damage to our reputation with regulators or the public. In addition, establishing systems and processes to achieve compliance with 
these laws and regulations may increase our costs and limit our ability to pursue certain business opportunities.

We are subject to heightened regulatory oversight by the federal banking regulators to ensure that we build systems and processes 
that are commensurate with the nature of our business and that meet the heightened risk management and enhanced prudential 
standards issued by our regulators. For example, over the last several years, state and federal regulators have focused on compliance 
with the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering laws, data integrity and security, use of service providers, fair lending and 
other consumer protection issues. In July 2015, Capital One entered into a consent order with the OCC to address concerns about 
our anti-money laundering (“AML”) program (“AML Program”) emanating from our former Check Cashing Group within the 

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Commercial Banking business. We have made substantial progress in taking the steps and making the improvements required by 
the OCC consent order. We expect heightened oversight of our AML Program will continue for the foreseeable future.

The Dodd-Frank Act, other regulatory reforms and implementing regulations have increased our need to build new compliance 
processes and infrastructure and to otherwise enhance our risk management throughout all aspects of our business. The cumulative 
impact of these changes also includes higher expectations for the amount of capital and liquidity we must maintain, as discussed 
in more detail below under the heading “We May Not Be Able To Maintain Adequate Capital Or Liquidity Levels, Which Could 
Have A Negative Impact On Our Financial Results And Our Ability To Return Capital To Our Shareholders,” and higher operational 
costs, which may further increase as regulators continue to implement such reforms. U.S. government agencies charged with 
adopting and interpreting laws, rules and regulations, including under the Dodd-Frank Act, may do so in an unforeseen manner, 
including in ways that potentially expand the reach of the laws, rules or regulations more than initially contemplated or currently 
anticipated.

We have a large number of customer accounts in our credit card and auto lending businesses and we have made the strategic choice 
to originate and service subprime credit cards and auto loans which typically have higher delinquencies and charge-offs than prime 
customers. Accordingly, we have significant involvement with credit bureau reporting and the collection and recovery of delinquent 
and charged-off debt, primarily through customer communications, the filing of litigation against customers in default, the periodic 
sale  of  charged-off  debt  and  vehicle  repossession. The  banking  industry  is  subject  to  enhanced  legal  and  regulatory  scrutiny 
regarding credit bureau reporting and debt collection practices from regulators, courts and legislators. Any future changes to our 
business practices in these areas, including our debt collection practices, whether mandated by regulators, courts, legislators or 
otherwise, or any legal liabilities resulting from our business practices, including our debt collection practices, could have a material 
adverse impact on our financial condition.

The legislative and regulatory environment is beyond our control, may change rapidly and unpredictably and may negatively 
influence our revenue, costs, earnings, growth, liquidity and capital levels. In addition, some rules and regulations may be subject 
to litigation or other challenges that delay or modify their implementation and impact on us. Certain laws and regulations, and any 
interpretations and applications with respect thereto, may benefit consumers, borrowers and depositors, but not stockholders. Our 
success depends on our ability to maintain compliance with both existing and new laws and regulations. For a description of the 
material laws and regulations to which we are subject, please refer to “Part I—Item 1. Business—Supervision and Regulation.”

Credit Risk

We May Experience Increased Delinquencies, Credit Losses, Inaccurate Estimates, And Inadequate Reserves.

Like other lenders, we face the risk that our customers will not repay their loans. Rising losses or leading indicators of rising losses 
(such as higher delinquencies, higher rates of non-performing loans, higher bankruptcy rates, lower collateral values or elevated 
unemployment rates) may require us to increase our allowance for loan and lease losses, which may degrade our profitability if 
we are unable to raise revenue or reduce costs to compensate for higher losses. In particular, we face the following risks in this 
area:

•  Missed Payments: Our customers may miss payments. Loan charge-offs (including from bankruptcies) are generally 
preceded by missed payments or other indications of worsening financial condition for our customers. Customers are 
more likely to miss payments during an economic downturn or prolonged periods of slow economic growth. In addition, 
we  face  the  risk  that  consumer  and  commercial  customer  behavior  may  change  (for  example,  an  increase  in  the 
unwillingness or inability of customers to repay debt), causing a long-term rise in delinquencies and charge-offs.

•  Estimates of Inherent Losses: The credit quality of our portfolio can have a significant impact on our earnings. We allow 
for and reserve against credit risks based on our assessment of credit losses inherent in our loan portfolios. This process, 
which is critical to our financial results and condition, requires complex judgments, including forecasts of economic 
conditions. We may underestimate our inherent losses and fail to hold a loan loss allowance sufficient to account for these 
losses. Incorrect assumptions could lead to material underestimations of inherent losses and inadequate allowance for 
loan and lease losses. In cases where we modify a loan, if the modifications do not perform as anticipated we may be 
required to build additional allowance on these loans. The build or release of allowances impacts our current financial 
results.

•  Underwriting: Our ability to assess the credit worthiness of our customers may diminish, which could result in an increase 
in our credit losses and a deterioration of our returns. See “Our Risk Management Strategies May Not Be Fully Effective 
In Mitigating Our Risk Exposures In All Market Environments Or Against All Types Of Risk.”

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

•  Business Mix: We engage in a diverse mix of businesses with a broad range of potential credit exposure. Our business 
mix could change in ways that could adversely affect the credit quality of our portfolio. Because we originate a relatively 
greater proportion of consumer loans in our loan portfolio compared to other large bank peers and originate both prime 
and subprime credit card accounts and auto loans, we may experience higher delinquencies and a greater number of 
accounts charging off compared to other large bank peers, which could result in increased credit losses, operating costs 
and regulatory scrutiny.

•  Charge-off Recognition / Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses: The rules governing the allowance for loan and lease 
losses could change. We account for the allowance for loan and lease losses according to accounting and regulatory 
guidelines and rules. These guidelines and rules, including Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) standards 
and the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (“FFIEC”) Account Management Guidance, could require 
changes in our account management or loss allowance practices and cause our charge-offs and/or allowance for loan and 
lease losses to increase for reasons unrelated to the underlying performance of our portfolio. Such changes could have 
an adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operation.

• 

Industry Developments: Our charge-off and delinquency rates may be negatively impacted by industry developments, 
including new regulations applicable to our industry.

•  Collateral: The collateral we have on secured loans could be insufficient to compensate us for loan losses. When customers 
default on their secured loans, we attempt to recover collateral where permissible and appropriate. However, the value 
of the collateral may not be sufficient to compensate us for the amount of the unpaid loan, and we may be unsuccessful 
in recovering the remaining balance from our customers. Decreases in real estate values adversely affect the collateral 
value for our commercial lending and home loan activities, while the auto business is similarly exposed to collateral risks 
arising  from  the  auction  markets  that  determine  used  car  prices. Therefore,  the  recovery  of  such  property  could  be 
insufficient to compensate us for the value of these loans. Borrowers may be less likely to continue making payments on 
loans if the value of the property used as collateral for the loan is less than what the borrower owes, even if the borrower 
is still financially able to make the payments. Trends in home prices are a driver of credit costs in our home loan business 
as they impact both the probability of default and the loss severity of defaults. Additionally, the potential volatility in the 
number of defaulted and modified loans from changes in home prices can create material impacts on the servicing costs 
of the business, fluctuations in credit marks and profitability in acquired portfolios and volatility in mortgage servicing 
rights  valuations. Although  home  prices  have  generally  appreciated  recently,  the  slow  economic  recovery,  shifts  in 
monetary policy and potentially diminishing demands from investors could threaten or limit the recovery. In our auto 
business, if vehicle prices experience declines, we could be adversely affected. For example, business and economic 
conditions that negatively affect household incomes, housing prices, and consumer behavior related to our businesses 
could decrease (i) the demand for new and used vehicles and (ii) the value of the collateral underlying our portfolio of 
auto loans, which could cause the number of consumers who become delinquent or default on their loans to increase. 

•  Geographic and Industry Concentration: Although our consumer lending is geographically diversified, approximately 
31% of our commercial loan portfolio is concentrated in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The 
regional economic conditions in the tri-state area affect the demand for our commercial products and services as well as 
the ability of our customers to repay their commercial loans and the value of the collateral securing these loans. An 
economic downturn or prolonged period of slow economic growth in, or a catastrophic event that disproportionately 
affects, the tri-state area could have a material adverse effect on the performance of our commercial loan portfolio and 
our results of operations. In addition, our Commercial Banking strategy includes an industry-specific focus. If any of the 
industries that we focus in experience changes, we may experience increased credit losses and our results of operations 
could  be  adversely  impacted.  For  example,  as  of  December  31,  2015,  energy-related  loan  balances  represented 
approximately 5% of our total commercial loan portfolio. This amount is comprised of loans to commercial entities in 
the energy industry, such as exploration and production, oil field services, and pipeline transportation of gas and crude 
oil, as well as loans to entities in industries that are indirectly impacted by energy prices, such as petroleum wholesalers, 
oil and gas equipment manufacturing, air transportation, and petroleum bulk stations and terminals. In recent years, oil 
prices have been declining, which has had an adverse effect on many of the borrowers in this portfolio and on the value 
of the collateral securing our loans to these borrowers, which could impair their ability to service loans outstanding to 
them and/or reduce demand for loans. If energy-related industries or any of the other industries that we focus on experience 
adverse changes, we may experience increased credit losses and our results of operations could be adversely impacted.

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

We May Experience Increased Losses And Inadequate Reserves Associated With Mortgage Repurchases And Indemnification 
Obligations.

Certain of our subsidiaries, including GreenPoint Mortgage Funding, Inc. (“GreenPoint”), Capital One Home Loans, LLC and 
Capital One, N.A., as successor to Chevy Chase Bank (“CCB”), may be required to repurchase mortgage loans that have been 
sold to investors in the event there are breaches of certain representations and warranties contained within the sales agreements. 
We may be required to repurchase mortgage loans that we sell to investors in the event that there was improper underwriting or 
fraud or in the event that the loans become delinquent shortly after they are originated. These subsidiaries also may be required 
to indemnify certain purchasers and others against losses they incur in the event of breaches of representations and warranties and 
in various other circumstances, including securities fraud or other public disclosure-related claims, and the amount of such losses 
could exceed the repurchase amount of the related loans. Consequently, we may be exposed to credit risk associated with sold 
loans.

We have established reserves in our consolidated financial statements for potential losses that are considered to be both probable 
and reasonably estimable related to the mortgage loans sold by our originating subsidiaries. The adequacy of the reserve and the 
ultimate amount of losses incurred will depend on, among other things, the actual future mortgage loan performance, the actual 
level of future repurchase and indemnification requests, the actual success rate of claimants, developments in litigation and the 
regulatory environment related to us and the industry, actual recoveries on the collateral, and macroeconomic conditions (including 
unemployment levels and housing prices). Due to uncertainties relating to these factors, there can be no assurance that our reserves 
will be adequate or that the total amount of losses incurred will not have a material adverse effect upon our financial condition or 
results of operations.

In addition to the subsidiaries discussed above, we originate, sell and service commercial mortgage loans that meet underwriting 
guidelines established by GSEs. We are required to meet minimum collateral requirements and share a limited portion of the risk 
of loss during the remaining terms of these loans. The GSEs may change their collateral requirements for these loans in the future 
and also increase our loss-sharing obligations if the loans do not meet specific underwriting criteria or default within certain time 
periods following their sale to the GSEs. We cannot assure you that our liability associated with these loss-sharing agreements 
will be sufficient to cover any future losses from these loans. We may also be required to share additional losses with GSEs if loan 
defaults increase, which could impact our results of operations and liquidity.

For additional information related to our mortgage loan repurchase and indemnification obligations and related reserves and our 
estimate of the reasonably possible future losses from representation and warranty claims beyond the current accrual levels, as 
well as our loss-sharing agreements, as of December 31, 2015, see “Note 21—Commitments, Contingencies, Guarantees and 
Others.”

Capital and Liquidity Risk

We May Not Be Able To Maintain Adequate Capital Or Liquidity Levels, Which Could Have A Negative Impact On Our Financial 
Results And Our Ability To Return Capital To Our Shareholders.

As a result of the Dodd-Frank Act and the U.S. implementation of international accords, financial institutions are becoming subject 
to new and increased capital and liquidity requirements. Although U.S. regulators have finalized regulations for some of these 
requirements, continued uncertainty remains as to the form additional new requirements will take or how and when they will apply 
to us. As a result, it is possible that we could be required to increase our capital and/or liquidity levels above the levels assumed 
in our current financial plans. These new requirements could have a negative impact on our ability to lend, grow deposit balances 
or make acquisitions and limit our ability to make most capital distributions. Higher capital levels also lower our return on equity. 

In addition, as described further below, for regulatory capital purposes we entered parallel run on January 1, 2015, which must 
last  a  minimum  of  four  quarters. We  will  become  subject  to  the  Basel  III Advanced Approaches  framework  for  purposes  of 
determining our regulatory capital requirements once we receive regulatory approval to do so, although the exact timing of when 
such approval may be granted is uncertain. Although we have current estimates of risk-weighted asset calculations under that 
framework, there remains uncertainty around future regulatory interpretations of certain aspects of those calculations. Therefore, 
we cannot assure you that our current estimates will be correct, and we may need to hold significantly more regulatory capital in 
the future than we currently estimate to maintain a given capital ratio.

In September 2014, the Federal Banking Agencies issued the Final LCR Rule. See “Part I—Item 1. Business—Supervision and 
Regulation” for further details regarding the Final LCR Rule. There remains uncertainty as to the impact of daily compliance with 
the LCR on how we manage our business. See “Note 13—Regulatory and Capital Adequacy” and “Part I—Item 1. Business—

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Supervision and Regulation—Dividends, Stock Repurchases and Transfers of Funds” for additional information regarding recent 
developments in capital and liquidity requirements.

We consider various factors in the management of capital, including the impact of stress on our capital levels, as determined by 
both our internal modeling and the Federal Reserve’s modeling of our capital position in CCAR. In recent stress test cycles, 
including CCAR, we have observed a large difference between our estimates of our capital levels under stress and the Federal 
Reserve’s estimates of our capital levels under stress. In the current stress test cycle, including CCAR, the difference could be 
larger because we expect the Federal Reserve to continue to use its own assumptions in modeling results. Therefore, although our 
estimated capital levels under stress suggest that we have substantial capacity to return capital to shareholders and remain well 
capitalized under stress, it is possible that the Federal Reserve’s modeling may result in a materially lower capacity to return capital 
to shareholders than our estimates. See “Part I—Item 1. Business—Supervision and Regulation” for additional information.

Operational Risk

We Face Risks Related To Our Operational, Technological And Organizational Infrastructure.

Our  ability  to  grow  and  compete  is  dependent  on  our  ability  to  build  or  acquire  necessary  operational,  technological  and 
organizational infrastructure or adapt to technological advances involving such infrastructure, which can be a challenge due to the 
fast pace of digital transformation and advances. We are embedding technology, data, and software development deeply into our 
business model and how we work. 

Similar to other large corporations, we are exposed to operational risk that can manifest itself in many ways, such as errors related 
to failed or inadequate processes, inaccurate models, faulty or disabled computer systems, fraud by employees or persons outside 
of our company and exposure to external events. In addition, we are heavily dependent on the strength and capability of our 
technology systems which we use to manage our internal financial and other systems, interface with our customers and develop 
and implement effective marketing campaigns. We also depend on models to measure risks, estimate certain financial values, 
determine pricing on certain products, assess capital adequacy and calculate regulatory capital levels. If we implement or design 
our models poorly or use inaccurate assumptions in our models, business decisions based on the output of the models may be 
adversely affected. See “There Are Risks Resulting From The Extensive Use Of Models In Our Business.” 

In addition, our businesses are dependent on our ability to process, record and monitor a large number of complex transactions. 
If any of our financial, accounting, or other data processing systems fail or have other significant shortcomings, our business and 
reputation could be materially adversely affected. We may also be subject to disruptions of our operating systems arising from 
events  that  are  wholly  or  partially  beyond  our  control,  which  may  include,  for  example,  computer  viruses  or  electrical  or 
telecommunications outages, cyber-attacks, including Distributed Denial of Service (“DDOS”) attacks discussed below, natural 
disasters, other damage to property or physical assets or events arising from local or larger scale politics, including terrorist acts. 
Any of these occurrences could diminish our ability to operate our businesses, service customer accounts, and protect customers’ 
information,  or  result  in  potential  liability  to  customers,  reputational  damage,  regulatory  intervention  and  customers’  loss  of 
confidence in our businesses, any of which could result in a material adverse effect. We also rely on the business infrastructure 
and systems of third parties with which we do business and to whom we outsource the maintenance and development of operational 
and technological functionality. System breakdowns or failures, adverse changes to financial condition, bankruptcy or other adverse 
conditions affecting the businesses of such third parties, including our vendors and other service providers, could have a material 
adverse effect on our business and reputation. Thus, any increase in the amount of our infrastructure that we outsource to third 
parties may increase our risk exposure.

Our ability to develop and deliver new products that meet the needs of our existing customers and attract new ones and to run our 
business in compliance with applicable laws and regulations depends on the functionality and reliability of our operational and 
technology systems. Any disruptions, failures or inaccuracies of our operational and technology systems and models, including 
those associated with improvements or modifications to such systems and models, could cause us to be unable to market and 
manage our products and services, manage our risk or to report our financial results in a timely and accurate manner, all of which 
could have a negative impact on our results of operations. In addition, our ongoing investments in infrastructure, which are necessary 
to maintain a competitive business, integrate acquisitions and establish scalable operations, may increase our expenses. As our 
business develops, changes or expands, additional expenses can arise as a result of a reevaluation of business strategies, management 
of outsourced services, asset purchases or other acquisitions, structural reorganization, compliance with new laws or regulations 
or the integration of newly acquired businesses. If we are unable to successfully manage our expenses, our financial results will 
be negatively affected.

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

We Could Incur Increased Costs Or Reductions In Revenue Or Suffer Reputational Damage And Business Disruptions In The 
Event Of The Theft, Loss Or Misuse Of Information, Including As A Result Of A Cyber-Attack.

Our products and services involve the gathering, management, processing, storage and transmission of sensitive and confidential 
information regarding our customers and their accounts, our employees and other third parties with which we do business. Our 
ability to provide such products and services, many of which are web-based, depends upon the management and safeguarding of 
information, software, methodologies and business secrets. To provide these products and services, we use information systems 
and  infrastructure,  including  digital  technologies,  computer  and  email  systems,  software,  networks,  and  other  web-based 
technologies, that we and third-party service providers operate. We also have arrangements in place with third parties through 
which we share and receive information about their customers who are or may become our customers. 

Like other financial services firms, technologies, systems, networks and devices of Capital One or our customers, employees or 
other third parties with whom we interact continue to be the subject of attempted unauthorized access, mishandling or misuse of 
information, computer viruses or malware, cyber-attacks designed to obtain confidential information, destroy data, disrupt or 
degrade service, sabotage systems or cause other damage, denial of service attacks and other events. These threats may derive 
from human error, fraud or malice on the part of our employees or third parties or may result from accidental technological failure. 
Any of these parties may also attempt to fraudulently induce employees, customers, or other third-party users of our systems to 
disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to our data or that of our customers or third parties with whom we interact. 
Further, cyber and information security risks for large financial institutions like us have generally increased in recent years in part 
because of the proliferation of new technologies, the use of the Internet and telecommunications technologies to conduct financial 
transactions and the increased sophistication and activities of organized crime, perpetrators of fraud, hackers, terrorists, activists, 
formal and informal instrumentalities of foreign governments and other external parties. In addition, to access our products and 
services, our customers may use computers, smartphones, tablet PCs and other mobile devices that are beyond our security control 
systems.

If our information systems or infrastructure or those of our customers, partners or other market participants experience a significant 
disruption or breach, it could lead, depending on the nature of the disruption or breach, to the unauthorized access to and release, 
gathering, monitoring, misuse, loss or destruction of our confidential information or personal or confidential information of our 
customers, employees or other third parties in our possession. Further, such disruption or breach could also result in unauthorized 
access to our proprietary information, software, methodologies and business secrets and in unauthorized transactions in Capital 
One accounts or unauthorized access to personal or confidential information maintained by those entities. 

As a financial institution, we are subject to and examined for compliance with an array of data protection laws, regulations and 
guidance, as well as to our own internal privacy and information security policies and programs. However, because the methods 
and  techniques  employed  by  perpetrators  of  fraud  and  others  to  attack,  disable,  degrade  or  sabotage  platforms,  systems  and 
applications change frequently, are increasingly sophisticated and often are not fully recognized or understood until after they have 
occurred, we and our third-party service providers and partners may be unable to anticipate certain attack methods in order to 
implement effective preventative measures or mitigate or remediate the damages caused in a timely manner. We may also be unable 
to hire and develop talent capable of detecting, mitigating or remediating these risks. Although we believe we have a robust suite 
of authentication and layered information security controls, including our cyber threat analytics, data encryption and tokenization 
technologies, anti-malware defenses and vulnerability management program, any one or combination of these controls could fail 
to detect, mitigate or remediate these risks in a timely manner. 

A disruption or breach such as those discussed above could result in significant legal and financial exposure, regulatory intervention, 
remediation costs, card reissuance, supervisory liability, damage to our reputation or loss of confidence in the security of our 
systems, products and services that could adversely affect our business. We and other U.S. financial services providers continue 
to be targeted with evolving and adaptive cybersecurity threats from sophisticated third parties. Although we have not experienced 
any material losses relating to cyber incidents, there can be no assurance that unauthorized access or cyber incidents will not occur 
or that we will not suffer such losses in the future. Unauthorized access or cyber incidents could occur more frequently and on a 
more significant scale. If future attacks like these are successful or if customers are unable to access their accounts online for other 
reasons, it could adversely impact our ability to service customer accounts or loans, complete financial transactions for our customers 
or otherwise operate any of our businesses or services. In addition, a breach or attack affecting one of our third-party service 
providers or partners could harm our business even if we do not control the service that is attacked.

In addition, the increasing prevalence and the evolution of cyber-attacks and other efforts to breach or disrupt our systems or those 
of our partners, retailers or other market participants has led, and will likely continue to lead, to increased costs to us with respect 

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

to  preventing,  mitigating and  remediating these  risks,  as  well  as  any  related attempted fraud. We  may  be  required to  expend 
significant additional resources to continue to modify or strengthen our protective security measures, investigate and remediate 
any vulnerabilities of our information systems and infrastructure or invest in new technology designed to mitigate security risks. 
For example, various retailers have continued to be victims of cyber-attacks in which customer data, including debit and credit 
card information, was obtained. In these situations, we incur a variety of costs, including those associated with replacing the 
compromised  cards  and  remediating  fraudulent  transaction  activity.  Further,  successful  cyber-attacks  at  other  large  financial 
institutions or other market participants, whether or not we are impacted, could lead to a general loss of customer confidence in 
financial institutions that could negatively affect us, including harming the market perception of the effectiveness of our security 
measures or the financial system in general which could result in reduced use of our financial products. Though we have insurance 
against some cyber-risks and attacks, it may not be sufficient to offset the impact of a material loss event.

Legal Risk

Our Businesses Are Subject To The Risk Of Increased Litigation, Government Investigations And Regulatory Enforcement.

Our businesses are subject to increased litigation, government investigations and other regulatory enforcement risks as a result of 
a number of factors and from various sources, including the highly regulated nature of the financial services industry, the focus 
of state and federal prosecutors on banks and the financial services industry, the structure of the credit card industry and business 
practices in the mortgage lending business. Given the inherent uncertainties involved in litigation, government investigations, and 
regulatory enforcement decisions, and the very large or indeterminate damages sought in some matters asserted against us, there 
can be significant uncertainty as to the ultimate liability we may incur from these kinds of matters. The finding, or even the assertion, 
of substantial legal liability against us could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition and could cause 
significant reputational harm to us, which could seriously harm our business.

In addition, financial institutions, including us, have faced significant regulatory scrutiny over the past several years, which has 
increasingly led to public enforcement actions. We and our subsidiaries are subject to comprehensive regulation and periodic 
examination by the Federal Reserve, the SEC, OCC, FDIC and CFPB. We have been subject to enforcement actions by many of 
these and other regulators and may continue to be involved in such actions, including governmental inquiries, investigations and 
enforcement proceedings, including by the Department of Justice. We expect that regulators and governmental enforcement bodies 
will continue taking formal enforcement actions against financial institutions in addition to addressing supervisory concerns through 
non-public supervisory actions or findings, which could involve restrictions on our activities, among other limitations that could 
adversely affect our business. Litigation, government investigations and other regulatory actions generally could subject us to 
significant fines, increased expenses, restrictions on our activities and damage to our reputation and our brand, and could adversely 
affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Other Business Risks

We Face Intense Competition In All Of Our Markets.

We operate in a highly competitive environment, both in making loans and attracting deposits, and we expect competitive conditions 
to continue to intensify with respect to most of our products. We compete on the basis of the rates we pay on deposits and the rates 
and other terms we charge on the loans we originate or purchase, as well as the quality and range of our customer service, products, 
innovation and experience. Price competition for loans might result in origination of fewer loans or earning less on our loans. 
Some of our competitors are substantially larger than we are, which may give those competitors advantages, including a more 
diversified product and customer base, the ability to reach out to more customers and potential customers, operational efficiencies, 
more versatile technology platforms, the ability to innovate faster, broad-based local distribution capabilities, lower-cost funding 
and larger existing branch networks. In addition, some of our competitors, including new and emerging competitors in the digital 
and mobile payments space, are not subject to the same regulatory requirements or legislative scrutiny to which we are subject, 
which also could place us at a competitive disadvantage. Many of our competitors are also focusing on cross-selling their products 
and developing new products or technologies, which could affect our ability to maintain or grow existing customer relationships 
or require us to offer lower interest rates or fees on our lending products or higher interest rates on deposits. This increasingly 
competitive environment is primarily a result of changes in regulation, changes in technology and product delivery systems, as 
well as the consolidation of financial service providers, all of which may affect our customers’ expectations and demands.

As of December 31, 2015, we operate the largest online direct banking institution in the U.S. by deposits. While direct banking 
represents a significant opportunity to attract new customers that value greater and more flexible access to banking services at 

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reduced costs, we face strong competition in the direct banking market. Aggressive pricing throughout the industry may adversely 
affect the retention of existing balances and the cost-efficient acquisition of new deposit funds and may affect our growth and 
profitability. In addition, the effects of a competitive environment may be exacerbated by the flexibility of direct banking and the 
increasing financial and technological sophistication of our customer base. Customers could also close their online accounts or 
reduce balances or deposits in favor of products and services offered by competitors for other reasons. These shifts, which could 
be rapid, could result from general dissatisfaction with our products or services, including concerns over pricing, online security 
or our reputation.

We have expanded our credit card partnership business over the past several years with the additions of a number of credit card 
partnerships. The market for key business partners, especially in the credit card business, is very competitive, and we may not be 
able to grow or maintain these partner relationships. We face the risk that we could lose partner relationships, even after we have 
invested significant resources, time and expense into acquiring and developing the relationships. The loss of any of our business 
partners could have a negative impact on our results of operations, including lower returns, excess operating expense and excess 
funding capacity.

In addition, the global payments industry is highly competitive and is rapidly changing and increasingly subject to regulatory 
scrutiny. We compete with all forms of payments, including a variety of new and evolving alternative payment mechanisms, 
systems and products, such as aggregators and web-based and wireless payment platforms or technologies, digital currencies, 
prepaid systems and payment services targeting users of social networks and online gaming (including those offering billing to 
the consumer’s mobile phone account), as well as consortia of merchants that are expected to combine payment systems to reduce 
interchange and other costs. If we are unable to continue to keep pace with innovation, our business and results of operations could 
be adversely affected.

In such a competitive environment, we may lose entire accounts or may lose account balances to competing firms, or we may find 
it more costly to maintain our existing customer base. Customer attrition from any or all of our lending products, together with 
any lowering of interest rates or fees that we might implement to retain customers, could reduce our revenues and therefore our 
earnings. Similarly, unexpected customer attrition from our deposit products, in addition to an increase in rates or services that we 
may offer to retain those deposits, may increase our expenses and therefore reduce our earnings.

Our Business, Financial Condition And Results Of Operations May Be Adversely Affected By Merchants’ Increasing Focus 
On The Fees Charged By Credit Card Networks And By Regulation And Legislation Impacting Such Fees.

Credit card interchange fees are generally one of the largest components of the costs that merchants pay in connection with the 
acceptance of credit cards and are a meaningful source of revenue for our credit card businesses. Interchange fees are the subject 
of significant and intense global legal, regulatory and legislative focus, and the resulting decisions, regulations and legislation may 
have a material adverse impact on our overall business, financial condition and results of operations.

Regulators and legislative bodies in a number of countries are seeking to reduce credit card interchange fees through legislation, 
competition-related regulatory proceedings, central bank regulation and or litigation. Interchange reimbursement rates in the United 
States are set by credit card networks such as MasterCard and Visa. In some jurisdictions, such as Canada and certain countries 
in the European Union, interchange fees and related practices are subject to regulatory activity that have limited the ability of 
certain networks to establish default rates, including in some cases imposing caps on permissible interchange fees and we have 
already experienced these impacts in our International Card business. Legislators and regulators around the world are aware of 
each other’s approaches to the regulation of the payments industry. Consequently, a development in one country, state or region 
may influence regulatory approaches in another, such as our primary market, the United States. 

In addition to this regulatory activity, merchants are also seeking avenues to reduce interchange fees. During the past few years, 
merchants and their trade groups have filed numerous lawsuits against Visa, MasterCard, American Express and their card-issuing 
banks, claiming that their practices toward merchants, including interchange and similar fees, violate federal antitrust laws. In 
2005, a number of entities filed antitrust lawsuits against MasterCard and Visa and several member banks, including our subsidiaries 
and us, alleging among other things, that the defendants conspired to fix the level of interchange fees. In December 2013, the U.S. 
District  Court  for  the  Eastern  District  of  New York  granted  final  approval  of  the  proposed  class  settlement.  See  “Note  21—
Commitments, Contingencies, Guarantees and Others” for further details. Among other results of the settlement, merchants are 
now entitled to join together to negotiate lower interchange fees. Some major retailers may have sufficient bargaining power to 
independently negotiate lower interchange fees with MasterCard and Visa, which could, in turn, result in lower interchange fees 
for us when our cardholders undertake purchase transactions with these retailers. These and other merchants also continue to lobby 

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

aggressively for caps and restrictions on interchange fees and there can be no assurance that their efforts will not be successful or 
that they will not in the future bring legal proceedings against us or other credit card and debit card issuers and networks. 

Beyond pursuing litigation, legislation and regulation, merchants may also promote forms of payment with lower fees, such as 
ACH-based payments, or seek to impose surcharges at the point of sale for use of credit or debit cards. For example, a consortium 
of large U.S. retailers was recently created to develop a merchant-owned mobile payment system in part to reduce interchange 
fees.

The heightened focus by merchants and regulatory and legislative bodies on the fees charged by credit and debit card networks, 
and the ability of certain merchants to successfully negotiate discounts to interchange fees with MasterCard and Visa or develop 
alternative payment systems could result in a reduction of interchange fees. Any resulting loss in income to us could have a material 
adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If We Are Not Able To Invest Successfully In And Introduce Digital And Other Technological Developments Across All Our 
Businesses, Our Financial Performance May Suffer.

Our industry is subject to rapid and significant technological changes and our ability to meet our customers’ needs and expectations 
is key to our ability to grow revenue and earnings. We expect digital technologies to have a significant impact on banking over 
time. Consumers increasingly expect robust digital experiences from their financial services providers. The ability for customers 
to access their accounts and conduct financial transactions using digital technology, including mobile applications, is an increasingly 
important aspect of the financial services industry and it impacts our ability to deliver products and services to our customers. To 
that end, financial institutions are rapidly introducing new digital and other technology-driven products and services, which aim 
to offer a better customer experience and to reduce costs. We continue to invest in digital technology designed to attract new 
customers, facilitate the ability of existing customers to conduct financial transactions and enhance the customer experience related 
to our products and services. 

Our continued success depends, in part, upon our ability to address the needs of our customers by using digital technology to 
provide products and services that efficiently meet their expectations in a cost-effective manner. The development and launch of 
new digital products and services depends in large part on our capacity to invest in and build the technology platforms that can 
enable them. We continue to actively invest in such technology platforms, however, we may fail to implement the correct technology, 
or may fail to do so in a timely manner as discussed in more detail above under the headings “We Face Intense Competition In All 
Of Our Markets” and “We Face Risks Related To Our Operational, Technological And Organizational Infrastructure.” 

Some of our competitors are substantially larger than we are, which may allow those competitors to invest more money into their 
technology infrastructure and digital innovation than we do. In addition, we face intense competition from smaller companies 
which experience lower cost structures and different regulatory requirements than we do, and which may allow them to innovate 
more rapidly than we can. See “We Face Intense Competition In All Of Our Markets.” Further, our success depends on our ability 
to attract and retain strong digital and technology leaders, engineers and other talent, and competition for such talent is intense. If 
we are unable to attract and retain digital and technology talent, our ability to offer digital products and services and build the 
necessary technology infrastructure could be negatively affected, which could negatively impact our business and financial results. 
A failure to maintain or enhance our competitive position with respect to digital products and services, whether because we fail 
to anticipate customer expectations or because our technological developments fail to perform as desired or are not implemented 
in a timely or successful manner, could negatively impact our business and financial results.

We May Fail To Realize All Of The Anticipated Benefits Of Our Mergers, Acquisitions And Strategic Partnerships.

We have engaged in merger and acquisition activity and entered into strategic partnerships over the past several years and may 
continue to engage in such activity in the future. We continue to evaluate and anticipate engaging in, among other merger and 
acquisition activity, additional strategic partnerships and selected acquisitions of financial institutions and other financial assets, 
including credit card and other loan portfolios.

Any merger, acquisition or strategic partnership we undertake entails certain risks, which may materially and adversely affect our 
results of operations. If we experience greater than anticipated costs to integrate acquired businesses into our existing operations 
or are not able to achieve the anticipated benefits of any merger, acquisition or strategic partnership, including cost savings and 
other synergies, our business could be negatively affected. In addition, it is possible that the ongoing integration processes could 
result  in  the  loss  of  key  employees,  errors  or  delays  in  systems  implementation,  the  disruption  of  our  ongoing  businesses  or 
inconsistencies  in  standards,  controls,  procedures  and  policies  that  adversely  affect  our  ability  to  maintain  relationships  with 

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partners, clients, customers, depositors and employees or to achieve the anticipated benefits of any merger, acquisition or strategic 
partnership. Integration efforts also may divert management attention and resources. These integration matters may have an adverse 
effect on us during any transition period.

In addition, we may face the following risks in connection with any merger, acquisition or strategic partnership:

•  New Businesses and Geographic or Other Markets: Our merger, acquisition or strategic partnership activity may involve 
our entry into new businesses and new geographic areas or other markets which present risks resulting from our relative 
inexperience in these new businesses or markets. These new businesses or markets may change the overall character of 
our consolidated portfolio of businesses and could react differently to economic and other external factors. We face the 
risk that we will not be successful in these new businesses or in these new markets.

• 

Identification and Assessment of Merger and Acquisition Targets and Deployment of Acquired Assets: We cannot assure 
you that we will identify or acquire suitable financial assets or institutions to supplement our organic growth through 
acquisitions or strategic partnerships. In addition, we may incorrectly assess the asset quality and value of the particular 
assets or institutions we acquire. Further, our ability to achieve the anticipated benefits of any merger, acquisition or 
strategic partnership will depend on our ability to assess the asset quality and value of the particular assets or institutions 
we partner with, merge with or acquire. We may be unable to profitably deploy any assets we acquire.

•  Accuracy of Assumptions: In connection with any merger, acquisition or strategic partnership, we may make certain 
assumptions relating to the proposed merger, acquisition or strategic partnership that may be, or may prove to be, inaccurate, 
including as a result of the failure to realize the expected benefits of any merger, acquisition or strategic partnership. The 
inaccuracy of any assumptions we may make could result in unanticipated consequences that could have a material adverse 
effect on our results of operations or financial condition. 

• 

Target-specific Risk: Assets and companies that we acquire, or companies that we enter into strategic partnerships with, 
will have their own risks that are specific to a particular asset or company. These risks include, but are not limited to, 
particular  or  specific  regulatory,  accounting,  operational,  reputational  and  industry  risks,  any  of  which  could  have  a 
material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. Indemnification rights, if any, may be insufficient 
to compensate us for any losses or damages resulting from such risks. In addition to regulatory approvals discussed above, 
certain of our merger, acquisition or partnership activity may require third-party consents in order for us to fully realize 
the anticipated benefits of any such transaction.

Reputational Risk And Social Factors May Impact Our Results And Damage Our Brand.

Our ability to originate and maintain accounts is highly dependent upon the perceptions of consumer and commercial borrowers 
and deposit holders and other external perceptions of our business and compliance practices or our financial health. In addition, 
our brand has historically been, and we expect it to continue to be, very important to us. Maintaining and enhancing our brand 
will depend largely on our ability to continue to provide high-quality products and services. Adverse perceptions regarding our 
reputation in the consumer, commercial and funding markets could lead to difficulties in generating and maintaining accounts as 
well as in financing them. In particular, negative public perceptions regarding our reputation could lead to decreases in the levels 
of deposits that consumer and commercial customers and potential customers choose to maintain with us. In addition, negative 
perceptions regarding certain industries or clients could also prompt us to cease business activities associated with those industries 
or clients. 

Negative public opinion or damage to our brand could also result from actual or alleged conduct in any number of activities or 
circumstances, including lending practices, regulatory compliance, security breaches (including the use and protection of customer 
information), corporate governance, and sales and marketing, and from actions taken by regulators or other persons in response 
to such conduct. Such conduct could fall short of our customers’ and the public’s heightened expectations of companies of our 
size with rigorous data, privacy and compliance practices, and could further harm our reputation. In addition, third parties with 
whom we have important relationships may take actions over which we have limited control that could negatively impact perceptions 
about us. The proliferation of social media may increase the likelihood that negative public opinion from any of the events discussed 
above will impact our reputation and business.

In addition, a variety of social factors may cause changes in borrowing activity, including credit card use, payment patterns and 
the rate of defaults by accountholders and borrowers domestically and internationally. These social factors include changes in 
consumer confidence levels, the public’s perception regarding consumer debt, including credit card use, and changing attitudes 
about the stigma of bankruptcy. If consumers develop or maintain negative attitudes about incurring debt, or if consumption trends 

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

decline or if we fail to maintain and enhance our brand, or we incur significant expenses in this effort, our business and financial 
results could be materially and negatively affected.

If We Are Not Able To Protect Our Intellectual Property, Our Revenue And Profitability Could Be Negatively Affected.

We rely on a variety of measures to protect and enhance our intellectual property, including copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, 
patents and certain restrictions on disclosure, solicitation and competition. We also undertake other measures to control access to 
and  distribution  of  our  other  proprietary  information.  These  measures  may  not  prevent  misappropriation  of  our  proprietary 
information or infringement of our intellectual property rights and a resulting loss of competitive advantage. In addition, our 
competitors or other third parties may file patent applications for innovations that are used in our industry or allege that our systems, 
processes or technologies infringe on their intellectual property rights. If our competitors or other third parties are successful in 
obtaining such patents or prevail in intellectual property-related litigation against us, we could lose significant revenues, incur 
significant license, royalty or technology development expenses, or pay significant damages.

There Are Risks Resulting From The Extensive Use Of Models In Our Business.

We rely on quantitative models to aggregate and assess our various risk exposures and to estimate certain financial values. Models 
may be used in such processes as determining the pricing of various products, grading loans and extending credit, measuring 
interest rate and other market risks, predicting losses, assessing capital adequacy, and calculating economic and regulatory capital 
levels, as well as to estimate the value of financial instruments and balance sheet items. Poorly designed or implemented models 
present  the  risk  that  our  business  decisions  based  on  information  incorporating  models  will  be  adversely  affected  due  to  the 
inadequacy  of  that  information. Also,  information  we  provide  to  the  public  or  to  our  regulators  based  on  poorly  designed  or 
implemented models could be inaccurate or misleading. Some of the decisions that our regulators make, including those related 
to capital distribution to our shareholders, could be affected adversely due to the perception that the quality of the models used to 
generate the relevant information is insufficient. Any issues with the quality or effectiveness of our data aggregation and validation 
procedures, as well as the quality and integrity of data inputs, could result in ineffective risk management practices or inaccurate 
risk reporting. If our risk management framework proves ineffective, we could suffer unexpected losses which could materially 
adversely affect our results of operation or financial condition. 

Our Risk Management Strategies May Not Be Fully Effective In Mitigating Our Risk Exposures In All Market Environments 
Or Against All Types Of Risk.

Management of risk, including market, credit, liquidity, compliance and strategic risks, requires, among other things, policies and 
procedures to record properly and verify a large number of transactions and events. See “MD&A—Risk Management” for further 
details. We have devoted significant resources to developing our risk management policies and procedures and expect to continue 
to do so in the future. Nonetheless, our risk management strategies may not be fully effective in identifying and mitigating our 
risk exposure in all market environments or against all types of risk, including risks that are unidentified or unanticipated, even if 
our models for assessing risk are properly designed and implemented. 

Some of our methods of managing risk are based upon our use of observed historical market behavior and management’s judgment. 
These methods may not accurately predict future exposures, which could be significantly greater than the historical measures 
indicate.  For  example,  market  conditions  during  the  financial  crisis  involved  unprecedented  dislocations  and  highlight  the 
limitations inherent in using historical information to manage risk. In addition, credit risk is inherent in the financial services 
business and results from, among other things, extending credit to customers. Our ability to assess the creditworthiness of our 
customers may be impaired if the models and approaches we use to select, manage and underwrite our consumer and commercial 
customers  become  less  predictive  of  future  charge-offs  (due,  for  example,  to  rapid  changes  in  the  economy,  including  the 
unemployment rate). 

While we employ a broad and diversified set of risk monitoring and risk mitigation techniques, those techniques and the judgments 
that accompany their application cannot anticipate every economic and financial outcome or the timing of such outcomes. For 
example, our ability to implement our risk management strategies may be hindered by adverse changes in the volatility or liquidity 
conditions in certain markets and as a result, may limit our ability to distribute such risks (for instance, when we seek to syndicate 
exposure  in  bridge  financing  transactions  we  have  underwritten).  We  may,  therefore,  incur  losses  in  the  course  of  our  risk 
management or investing activities. 

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Changes In Consumer Behavior And Their Adoption of Digital Technology May Change Retail Distribution Strategies And 
May Adversely Impact Our Investments In Our Bank Premises And Equipment And Other Retail Distribution Assets, Lead To 
Increased Expenditures And Expose Us To Additional Risk.

We have significant investments in bank premises and equipment for our branch network and other branch banking assets including 
our full service banking centers, parcels of land held for the development of future banking centers and our retail work force. 
Advances in technology such as digital and mobile banking, in-branch self-service technologies, proximity or remote payment 
technologies, as well as progressively changing customer preferences for these other methods of banking, could decrease the value 
of our branch network or other retail distribution assets. As a result, we may need to change our retail distribution strategy and 
close, sell and/or renovate certain branches or parcels of land held for development and restructure or reduce our remaining branches 
and work force. These actions could lead to losses on these assets or could adversely impact the carrying value of other long-lived 
assets, increase our expenditures, dilute our brand and/or reduce customer demand for our products and services.

Further, to the extent that we change our retail distribution strategy and as a result expand into new business areas, we may face 
more competitors with more experience in the new business areas and more established relationships with relevant customers, 
regulators and industry participants, which could adversely affect our ability to compete. Our competitors may also be subject to 
less burdensome regulations. See “We Face Intense Competition In All Our Markets.”

Fluctuations In Market Interest Rates Or Volatility In The Capital Markets Could Adversely Affect Our Income And Expense, 
The Value Of Assets And Obligations, Our Regulatory Capital, Cost Of Capital Or Our Liquidity.

Like other financial institutions, our business may be sensitive to market interest rate movement and the performance of the capital 
markets. Disruptions, uncertainty or volatility across the capital markets could negatively impact market liquidity and limit our 
access to liquidity required to operate and grow our business. In addition, changes in interest rates or in valuations in the debt or 
equity markets could directly impact us. For example, we borrow money from other institutions and depositors, which we use to 
make loans to customers and invest in debt securities and other earning assets. We earn interest on these loans and assets and pay 
interest on the money we borrow from institutions and depositors. Fluctuations in interest rates, including changes in the relationship 
between short-term rates and long-term rates and in the relationship between our funding basis rate and our lending basis rate, 
may have negative impacts on our net interest income and therefore our earnings. In addition, interest rate fluctuations and competitor 
responses to those changes may affect the rate of customer prepayments for mortgage, auto and other term loans and may affect 
the balances customers carry on their credit cards. These changes can reduce the overall yield on our earning asset portfolio. 
Changes in interest rates and competitor responses to these changes may also impact customer decisions to maintain balances in 
the deposit accounts they have with us. In addition, changes in valuations in the debt and equity markets could have a negative 
impact on the assets we hold in our investment portfolio. Such market changes could also have a negative impact on the valuation 
of assets for which we provide servicing. Finally, the Final Basel III Capital Rule requires that most amounts reported in Accumulated 
Other Comprehensive Income (“AOCI”), including unrealized gains and losses on securities designated as available for sale, be 
included in our regulatory capital calculations. Changes in interest rates or market valuations that result in unrealized losses on 
components of AOCI could therefore impact our regulatory capital ratios negatively.

We assess our interest rate risk by estimating the effect on our earnings under various scenarios that differ based on assumptions 
about the direction and the magnitude of interest rate changes. We take risk mitigation actions based on those assessments. We 
face the risk that changes in interest rates could materially reduce our net interest income and our earnings, especially if actual 
conditions turn out to be materially different than those we assumed. See “MD&A—Market Risk Management” for additional 
information.

Our Business Could Be Negatively Affected If We Are Unable To Attract, Retain And Motivate Skilled Senior Leaders.

Our success depends, in large part, on our ability to retain key senior leaders, and competition for such senior leaders is intense. 
The executive compensation provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act and the regulations issued thereunder, and any further legislation, 
regulation or regulatory guidance restricting executive compensation, may limit the types of compensation arrangements that we 
may enter into with our most senior leaders and could have a negative impact on our ability to attract, retain and motivate such 
leaders in support of our long-term strategy. These laws and regulations may not apply in the same manner to all financial institutions, 
and we therefore may face more restrictions than other institutions and companies with whom we compete for talent. If we are 
unable to retain talented senior leadership, our business could be negatively affected.

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

We Face Risks From Unpredictable Catastrophic Events.

Despite our substantial business contingency plans, the impact from natural disasters and other catastrophic events, including 
terrorist attacks, may have a negative effect on our business and infrastructure, including our information technology systems. In 
addition, if a natural disaster or other catastrophic event occurs in certain regions where our business and customers are concentrated, 
such as the mid-Atlantic and New York metropolitan area, we could be disproportionately impacted as compared to our competitors. 
The impact of such events and other catastrophes on the overall economy may also adversely affect our financial condition and 
results of operations.

We Face Risks From The Use Of Or Changes To Assumptions Or Estimates In Our Financial Statements.

Pursuant to generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. (“U.S. GAAP”), we are required to use certain assumptions and 
estimates in preparing our financial statements, including determining our allowance for loan and lease losses, the fair value of 
certain assets and liabilities, and asset impairment, among other items. In addition, the FASB, the SEC and other regulatory bodies 
may change the financial accounting and reporting standards, including those related to assumptions and estimates we use to 
prepare our financial statements, in ways that we cannot predict and that could impact our financial statements. If actual results 
differ from the assumptions or estimates underlying our financial statements or if financial accounting and reporting standards are 
changed,  we  may  experience  unexpected  material  losses.  For  a  discussion  of  our  use  of  estimates  in  the  preparation  of  our 
consolidated  financial  statements,  see  “MD&A—Critical  Accounting  Policies  and  Estimates”  and  “Note  1—Summary  of 
Significant Accounting Policies.”

Limitations  On  Our Ability  To  Receive  Dividends  From  Our  Subsidiaries  Could Affect  Our  Liquidity And Ability  To  Pay 
Dividends And Repurchase Common Stock.

We are a separate and distinct legal entity from our subsidiaries, including the Banks. Dividends to us from our direct and indirect 
subsidiaries, including the Banks, have represented a major source of funds for us to pay dividends on our common and preferred 
stock, repurchase common stock, make payments on corporate debt securities and meet other obligations. There are various federal 
law limitations on the extent to which the Banks can finance or otherwise supply funds to us through dividends and loans. These 
limitations  include  minimum  regulatory  capital  requirements,  federal  banking  law  requirements  concerning  the  payment  of 
dividends out of net profits or surplus, Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act and Regulation W governing transactions 
between an insured depository institution and its affiliates, as well as general federal regulatory oversight to prevent unsafe or 
unsound practices. If our subsidiaries’ earnings are not sufficient to make dividend payments to us while maintaining adequate 
capital levels, our liquidity may be affected and we may not be able to make dividend payments to our common or preferred 
stockholders, repurchase our common stock, make payments on outstanding corporate debt securities or meet other obligations, 
each and any of which could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations, financial position or perception of financial 
health.

The Soundness Of Other Financial Institutions And Other Third Parties Could Adversely Affect Us.

Our ability to engage in routine funding and other transactions could be adversely affected by the stability and actions of other 
financial services institutions. Financial services institutions are interrelated as a result of trading, clearing, servicing, counterparty 
and other relationships. We have exposure to an increasing number of financial institutions and counterparties. These counterparties 
include institutions that may be exposed to various risks over which we have little or no control, including European or U.S. 
sovereign debt that is currently or may become in the future subject to significant price pressure, rating agency downgrade or 
default risk.

In addition, we routinely execute transactions with counterparties in the financial services industry, including brokers and dealers, 
commercial  banks,  investment  banks,  mutual  and  hedge  funds  and  other  institutional  clients,  resulting  in  a  significant  credit 
concentration with respect to the financial services industry overall. As a result, defaults by, or even rumors or questions about, 
one or more financial services institutions, or the financial services industry generally, have led to market-wide liquidity problems 
and could lead to losses or defaults by us or by other institutions.

Likewise, adverse developments affecting the overall strength and soundness of our competitors, the financial services industry 
as a whole and the general economic climate or sovereign debt could have a negative impact on perceptions about the strength 
and soundness of our business even if we are not subject to the same adverse developments. In addition, adverse developments 
with respect to third parties with whom we have important relationships also could negatively impact perceptions about us. These 
perceptions about us could cause our business to be negatively affected and exacerbate the other risks that we face.

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Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties

Our corporate and banking real estate portfolio consists of approximately 15.0 million square feet of owned or leased office and 
retail space, used to support our business. Of this overall portfolio, approximately 10.8 million square feet of space is dedicated 
for various corporate office uses and approximately 4.2 million square feet of space is for bank branches and related offices.

Our 10.8 million square feet of corporate office space consists of approximately 5.9 million square feet of leased space and 4.9 
million square feet of owned space. Our headquarters is located in McLean, Virginia, and is included in our corporate office space. 
We maintain office space primarily in Virginia, Texas, Illinois, New York, Delaware, Louisiana and Maryland.

Our 4.2 million square feet of bank branches and related office space consists of approximately 2.1 million square feet of leased 
space  and  2.1  million  square  feet  of  owned  space,  including  branch  locations  primarily  across  New York,  Louisiana, Texas, 
Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and District of Columbia. See “Note 9—Premises, Equipment and Lease Commitments” for 
information about our premises.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

The information required by Item 103 of Regulation S-K is included in “Note 21—Commitments, Contingencies, Guarantees and 
Others.”

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

29

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Market Information

Our common stock is listed on the NYSE and is traded under the symbol “COF.” As of January 29, 2016, there were 12,056 holders 
of record of our common stock. The table below presents the high and low closing trade prices of our common stock as reported 
by the NYSE and cash dividends per common share declared by us during each quarter indicated. 

For the Quarter Ended
December 31, 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

September 30, 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

June 30, 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

March 31, 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

81.42

$

72.18

$

91.71

89.38

82.49

71.55

79.67

73.21

December 31, 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

83.31

$

76.43

$

September 30, 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

June 30, 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

March 31, 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

84.95

83.49

78.02

78.04

72.95

68.66

0.40

0.40

0.40

0.30

0.30

0.30

0.30

0.30

Trade Price

High

Low

Cash
Dividends

Dividend Restrictions

For information regarding our ability to pay dividends, see the discussion under “Part I—Item 1. Business—Supervision and 
Regulation—Dividends,  Stock  Repurchases  and Transfers  of  Funds,”  “MD&A—Capital  Management—Dividend  Policy  and 
Stock Purchases,” and “Note 13—Regulatory and Capital Adequacy.”

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

Information relating to compensation plans under which our equity securities are authorized for issuance is presented in Part III 
of this Report under “Part III—Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder 
Matters.”

30

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
Common Stock Performance Graph

The following graph shows the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock compared to an overall stock market 
index, the S&P Composite 500 Stock Index (“S&P 500 Index”), and a published industry index, the S&P Financial Composite 
Index (“S&P Financial Index”), over the five-year period commencing December 31, 2010 and ending December 31, 2015. The 
stock performance graph assumes that $100 was invested in our common stock and each index and that all dividends were reinvested. 
The stock price performance on the graph below is not necessarily indicative of future performance.

Comparison of 5-Year Cummulative Total Return
(Capital One, S&P 500 Index and S&P Financial Index)

$250

$200

$150

$100

$50

$180

$163
$150

$0

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Capital One

S&P 500 Index

S&P Financial Index

Capital One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

100.00

$

99.79

$

137.21

$

184.12

$

201.53

$

179.55

S&P 500 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S&P Financial Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

100.00

100.00

100.00

81.59

113.40

103.01

146.97

137.22

163.71

155.19

162.52

149.80

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

December 31,

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

We did not have any sales of unregistered equity securities in 2015.

31

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

The following table presents information related to repurchases of shares of our common stock for each calendar month in the 
fourth quarter of 2015.

(Dollars in millions, except per share information)
October . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

November . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8,095,963

$

Total
Number 
of Shares
Purchased(1)

Average
Price Paid
per Share(2)

Total Number of
Shares Purchased as
Part of Publicly
Announced Plans

Maximum
Amount That May
Yet be Purchased
Under the Plan
or Program(2)

3,036,479

$

3,247,143

1,812,341

75.06

79.21

77.93

77.37

3,036,479

$

3,229,942

1,812,341

8,078,762

1,647

1,391

1,250

__________
(1) 

Primarily comprised of repurchases under the $3.125 billion common stock repurchase program authorized by our Board of Directors and announced on 
March 11, 2015, which began on April 1, 2015 and authorized share repurchases through June 30, 2016. Also includes 17,201 shares purchased in November 
related to the withholding of shares to cover taxes on restricted stock awards whose restrictions have lapsed.

(2)  Amounts exclude commission costs.

32

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Item 6. Summary of Selected Financial Data

The  following  table  presents  selected  consolidated  financial  data  and  performance  metrics  for  the  five-year  period  ended 
December 31, 2015. Certain prior period amounts have been recast to conform to the current period presentation. We prepare our 
consolidated financial statements based on U.S. GAAP. This data should be reviewed in conjunction with our audited consolidated 
financial statements and related notes and with the MD&A included in this Report. The historical financial information presented 
may not be indicative of our future performance. 

Five-Year Summary of Selected Financial Data(1)

(Dollars in millions, except per share data and as noted)

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

Income statement

Year Ended December 31,

Change

2015 vs.
2014

2014 vs.
2013

Interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 20,459

$ 19,397

$ 19,898

$ 18,964

$ 14,987

5%

(3)%

Interest expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net interest income. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-interest income(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total net revenue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Provision for credit losses(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-interest expense:

Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Amortization of intangibles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Operating expenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total non-interest expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income from continuing operations before income taxes . . . . .

Income tax provision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income from continuing operations, net of tax . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax . . . . . . .

Net income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Dividends and undistributed earnings allocated to
participating securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Preferred stock dividends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,625

18,834

4,579

23,413

4,536

1,744

430

10,822

12,996

5,881

1,869

4,012

38

4,050

(20)

(158)

1,579

17,818

4,472

22,290

3,541

1,561

532

10,087

12,180

6,569

2,146

4,423

5

4,428

(18)

(67)

1,792

18,106

4,278

22,384

3,453

1,373

671

10,309

12,353

6,578

2,224

4,354

(233)

4,121

(17)

(53)

2,375

16,589

4,807

21,396

4,415

1,364

609

9,824

11,797

5,184

1,475

3,709

(217)

3,492

(15)

(15)

2,246

12,741

3,538

16,279

2,360

1,337

222

7,672

9,231

4,688

1,452

3,236

(106)

3,130

(26)

—

Net income available to common stockholders . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

3,872

$

4,343

$

4,051

$

3,462

$

3,104

Common share statistics

Basic earnings per common share:

Net income from continuing operations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income (loss) from discontinued operations . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net income per basic common share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Diluted earnings per common share:

Net income from continuing operations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income (loss) from discontinued operations . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net income per diluted common share. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Common shares outstanding (period end, in millions). . . . . . . .

Dividends paid per common share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tangible book value per common share (period end) . . . . . . . .
Common dividend payout ratio(4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stock price per common share at period end . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Book value per common share at period end . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total market capitalization at period end . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

$

$

$

$

7.08

0.07

7.15

7.00

0.07

7.07

527.3

1.50

53.65
20.98%

$

72.18

89.67

38,061

$

$

$

$

$

$

7.70

0.01

7.71

7.58

0.01

7.59

553.4

1.20

50.32
15.56%

82.55

81.41

45,683

$

$

$

$

$

$

7.39

(0.40)

6.99

7.28

(0.39)

6.89

572.7

0.95

43.64
13.59%

76.61

72.69

43,875

$

$

$

$

$

$

6.56

(0.39)

6.17

6.49

(0.38)

6.11

582.2

0.20

40.10
3.24%

57.93

69.43

33,727

$

$

$

$

$

$

7.04

(0.23)

6.81

6.99

(0.23)

6.76

459.9

0.20

3

6

2

5

28

12

(19)

7

7

(10)

(13)

(9)

**

(9)

11

136

(11)

(8)%

**

(7)

(8)

**

(7)

(5)

25

(12)

(2)

5

   —

3

14

(21)

(2)

(1)

—

(4)

2

**

7

6

26

7

4%

**

10

4

**

10

(3)

26

34.16
2.93% 542bps

7

42.29

64.40

19,301

(13)%

10

(17)

15
197bps

8%

12

4

33

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

  
  
 
 
(Dollars in millions, except per share data and as noted)

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

Balance sheet (average balances)

Year Ended December 31,

Change

2015 vs.
2014

2014 vs.
2013

Loans held for investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 210,745

$ 197,925

$ 192,614

$ 187,915

$ 128,424

6%

3%

Interest-earning assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Interest-bearing deposits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Borrowings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Common equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total stockholders’ equity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Selected performance metrics
Purchase volume(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total net revenue margin(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net interest margin(7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Return on average assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Return on average tangible assets(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Return on average common equity(9) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Return on average tangible common equity (“TCE”)(10) . . . . . .
Equity-to-assets ratio(11) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Non-interest expense as a percentage of average loans held for 
investment(12) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Efficiency ratio(13). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Effective income tax rate from continuing operations . . . . . . . .

Net charge-offs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net charge-off rate(14) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

282,581

313,474

185,677

210,989

45,420

45,072

47,713

267,174

297,659

181,036

205,675

38,882

43,055

44,268

266,423

296,200

187,700

209,045

37,807

40,629

41,482

255,079

285,142

183,314

203,055

38,025

36,934

37,265

175,265

198,323

109,644

126,694

38,022

28,538

28,538

6

5

3

3

17

5

8

   —

   —

(4)

(2)

3

6

7

$ 271,167

$ 224,750

$ 201,074

$ 180,599

$ 135,120

21%

12%

8.29%

8.34%

8.40%

8.39%

9.29%

(5)bps

(6)bps

6.66

1.28

1.35

8.51

12.87

15.22

6.17

55.51

31.8

6.67

1.49

1.57

10.08
15.79

14.87

6.15

54.64

32.7

6.80

1.47

1.55

10.54
17.35

14.00

6.41

55.19

33.8

6.50

1.30

1.38

9.96
17.25

13.07

6.28

55.14

28.5

7.27

1.63

1.76

11.25
22.05

14.39

7.19

56.70

31.0

(1)

(21)

(22)

(157)
(292)

35

2

87

(90)

(13)

2

2

(46)
(156)

87

(26)

(55)

   (110)

$

3,695

$

3,414

$

3,934

$

3,555

$

3,771

1.75%

1.72%

2.04%

1.89%

2.94%

8%

3bps

(13)%

(32)bps

(Dollars in millions, except as noted)

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

December 31,

Change

2015 vs.
2014

2014 vs.
2013

Balance sheet (period end)
Loans held for investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Interest-earning assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Interest-bearing deposits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Borrowings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Common equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total stockholders’ equity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Credit quality metrics (period end)
Allowance for loan and lease losses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Allowance as a percentage of loans held for investment
(“allowance coverage ratio”) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

30+ day performing delinquency rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

30+ day delinquency rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Capital ratios(15)
Common equity Tier 1 capital ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tier 1 common ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tier 1 capital ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total capital ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tier 1 leverage ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tangible common equity ratio(16) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Supplementary leverage ratio(17). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 229,851

$ 208,316

$ 197,199

$ 205,889

$ 135,892

10%

6%

302,007

334,048

191,874

217,721

59,115

43,990

47,284

277,849

308,167

180,467

205,548

48,457

43,231

45,053

265,170

296,064

181,880

204,523

40,654

40,779

41,632

280,096

311,682

190,018

212,485

49,910

39,572

40,425

179,878

204,336

109,945

128,226

39,561

29,617

29,617

9

8

6

6

22

2

5

5

4

(1)

1

19

6

8

$

5,130

$

4,383

$

4,315

$

5,156

$

4,250

17%

2%

2.23%

2.10%

2.19%

2.50%

3.13%

13bps

(9)bps

2.69

3.00

2.62

2.91

11.1%

12.5%

N/A

12.4

14.6

10.6

8.9

9.2

N/A

13.2

15.1

10.8

9.5

N/A

2.63

2.96

N/A

12.2

12.6

14.7

10.1

8.9

N/A

2.70

3.09

N/A

10.9

11.3

13.5

8.6

7.9

N/A

3.35

3.95

7

9

N/A

(140)bps

(1)

(5)

**

**

9.6

12.0

14.8

10.0

8.2

N/A

**

(80)bps

60bps

(50)

(20)

(60)

**

40

70

60

**

34

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

  
  
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(Dollars in millions, except as noted)

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

Other

December 31,

Change

2015 vs.
2014

2014 vs.
2013

Employees (in thousands), period end . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

45.4

46.0

45.4

42.2

34.1

(1)%

1%

__________  
**  Change is not meaningful.
(1)  As of January 1, 2015, we changed our accounting principle to move from a gross basis of presentation to a net basis, for presenting qualifying derivative 
assets and liabilities, as well as the related right to reclaim cash collateral or obligation to return cash collateral. See “Note 1—Summary of Significant 
Accounting Policies” for additional information. Prior period results, excluding regulatory ratios, have been recast to conform to this presentation.

(2) 

(3) 

Includes a bargain purchase gain of $594 million attributable to the ING Direct acquisition recognized in non-interest income in the first quarter of 2012. 
The bargain purchase gain represents the excess of the fair value of the net assets acquired from ING Direct as of the acquisition date over the consideration 
transferred. See “MD&A—Glossary and Acronyms” for the definition of ING Direct acquisition. 

Provision for credit losses for 2012 includes expense of $1.2 billion to establish an initial allowance for the receivables acquired in the 2012 U.S. card 
acquisition accounted for based on contractual cash flows. See “MD&A—Glossary and Acronyms” for the definition of 2012 U.S. card acquisition. 

(4)  Calculated based on dividends per common share for the period divided by basic earnings per common share for the period.
(5)  Consists of credit card purchase transactions, net of returns, for the period for both loans classified as held for investment and loans classified as held for 

sale. Excludes cash advance and balance transfer transactions.

(6)  Calculated based on total net revenue for the period divided by average interest-earning assets for the period.
(7)  Calculated based on net interest income for the period divided by average interest-earning assets for the period.
(8)  Calculated based on income from continuing operations, net of tax, for the period divided by average tangible assets for the period. See “MD&A—Table F

—Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures and Calculation of Regulatory Capital Measures” for additional information.

(9)  Calculated based on the sum of (i) income from continuing operations, net of tax; (ii) less dividends and undistributed earnings allocated to participating 
securities; (iii) less preferred stock dividends, for the period, divided by average common equity. Our calculation of return on average common equity may 
not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

(10)  Calculated based on the sum of (i) income from continuing operations, net of tax; (ii) less dividends and undistributed earnings allocated to participating 
securities; (iii) less preferred stock dividends, for the period, divided by average tangible common equity (“TCE”). Our calculation of return on average TCE 
may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. See “MD&A—Table F—Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures and 
Calculation of Regulatory Capital Measures” for additional information.

(11)  Calculated based on average stockholders’ equity for the period divided by average total assets for the period.
(12)  Calculated based on non-interest expense for the period divided by average loans held for investment for the period. 
(13)  Calculated based on non-interest expense for the period divided by total net revenue for the period.
(14)  Calculated based on net charge-offs for the period divided by average loans held for investment for the period.
(15)  Beginning on January 1, 2014, we calculate our regulatory capital under Basel III Standardized Approach subject to transition provisions. Prior to January 
1, 2014, we calculated regulatory capital measures under Basel I. See “MD&A—Capital Management” and “MD&A—Table F—Reconciliation of Non-
GAAP Measures and Calculation of Regulatory Capital Measures” for additional information, including the calculation of each of these ratios.

(16)  The tangible common equity ratio is a non-GAAP measure calculated as TCE divided by tangible assets. See “MD&A—Table F—Reconciliation of Non-
GAAP Measures and Calculation of Regulatory Capital Measures” for the calculation of this measure and reconciliation to the comparative U.S. GAAP 
measure.

(17)  Supplementary leverage ratio is a regulatory capital measure calculated based on Tier 1 capital under the Basel III Standardized Approach divided by total 

leverage exposure. See “MD&A—Capital Management” for additional information.

35

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”)

This discussion contains forward-looking statements that are based upon management’s current expectations and are subject to 
significant uncertainties and changes in circumstances. Please review “Forward-Looking Statements” for more information on 
the forward-looking statements in this 2015 Annual Report on Form 10-K (“this Report”). Our actual results may differ materially 
from those included in these forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors including, but not limited to, those described 
in “Part I—Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this Report. Unless otherwise specified, references to notes to our consolidated financial 
statements refer to the notes to our consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2015 included in this Report.

Management monitors a variety of key indicators to evaluate our business results and financial condition. The following MD&A 
is intended to provide the reader with an understanding of our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity by focusing 
on changes from year to year in certain key measures used by management to evaluate performance, such as profitability, growth 
and credit quality metrics. MD&A is provided as a supplement to, and should be read in conjunction with, our audited consolidated 
financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2015 and accompanying notes. MD&A is organized in the following 
sections:

•   Executive Summary and Business Outlook

•   Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

•   Accounting Changes and Developments

•   Consolidated Results of Operations

•   Business Segment Financial Performance

•   Consolidated Balance Sheets Analysis
•   Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements and Variable Interest Entities  

•   Capital Management

•   Risk Management

•   Credit Risk Profile

•   Liquidity Risk Profile

•   Market Risk Profile

•   Supplemental Tables

•   Glossary and Acronyms

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND BUSINESS OUTLOOK

In 2015 all three of our business segments delivered strong underlying performance. We continue to deliver attractive risk-adjusted 
returns while investing to improve profitability. 

Financial Highlights

We  reported  net  income  of  $4.1  billion  ($7.07  per  diluted  common  share)  on  total  net  revenue  of  $23.4  billion  for  2015.  In 
comparison, we reported net income of $4.4 billion ($7.59 per diluted common share) on total net revenue of $22.3 billion for 
2014 and $4.1 billion ($6.89 per diluted common share) on total net revenue of $22.4 billion for 2013.

Our common equity Tier 1 capital ratio, as calculated under the Basel III Standardized Approach, including transition provisions, 
was 11.1% and 12.5% as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. We formally entered parallel run for Basel III Advanced 
Approaches on January 1, 2015. See “MD&A—Capital Management” below for additional information.

On March 11, 2015, we announced that our Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $3.125 billion of shares of our 
common stock (“2015 Stock Repurchase Program”). Through the end of 2015, we repurchased approximately $1.875 billion of 
shares of common stock as part of this program and expect to complete the 2015 Stock Repurchase Program by the end of the 
second quarter of 2016. On February 17, 2016, we announced that our Board of Directors had authorized the repurchase of up to 
an  additional  $300  million  of  shares  of  common  stock  through  the  end  of  the  second  quarter  of  2016  under  the  2015  Stock 
Repurchase Program. See “MD&A—Capital Management” below for additional information.

Below are additional highlights of our performance in 2015. These highlights are generally based on a comparison between the 
results of 2015 and 2014, except as otherwise noted. The changes in our financial condition and credit performance are generally 
based on our financial condition and credit performance as of December 31, 2015, compared to our financial condition and credit 
performance as of December 31, 2014. We provide a more detailed discussion of our financial performance in the sections following 
this “Executive Summary and Business Outlook.”

36

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
 
 
 
 
Total Company Performance

•  Earnings: Our net income decreased by $378 million to $4.1 billion in 2015, compared to 2014. The decrease in net income 
from continuing operations in 2015 was driven by (i) an increase in the provision for credit losses in our domestic credit 
card loan portfolio due to a larger allowance build in 2015 due to continued loan growth coupled with our expectations for 
rising charge-off rates, and higher charge-offs as new loan balances season; (ii) an increase in the provision for credit losses 
in our commercial loan portfolio due to a larger build in both the allowance and reserve for unfunded lending commitments 
resulting from adverse market conditions impacting our oil and gas portfolio and taxi medallion lending portfolio; and (iii) 
an increase in non-interest expense driven by higher operating and marketing expenses associated with loan growth and 
continued technology and infrastructure investments. In 2015, we recorded charges totaling $150 million for severance and 
related benefits pursuant to our ongoing benefit programs and certain site closures, as a result of the realignment of our 
workforce. We also recorded a build in the U.K. Payment Protection Insurance customer refund reserve (“U.K. PPI Reserve”) 
of $147 million in 2015, reflecting recent U.K. regulatory developments and updated estimates of future complaint levels. 
These expenses were partially offset by (i) higher interest income due to growth in our credit card, commercial and auto 
loan portfolios, partially offset by the planned run-off of our acquired home loan portfolio; and (ii) an increase in non-
interest income primarily attributable to higher net interchange fees, partially offset by lower service charges and other 
customer-related fees primarily driven by the continued run-off of our payment protection products in our Domestic Card 
business. The increase in net income from discontinued operations in 2015 was primarily driven by a reduction in our 
mortgage representation and warranty reserve in 2015 resulting from favorable industry legal developments.

• 

Loans  Held  for  Investment:  Period-end  loans  held  for  investment  increased  by  $21.5  billion  to  $229.9  billion  as  of 
December 31, 2015 from December 31, 2014 and average loans held for investment increased by $12.8 billion to $210.7 
billion in 2015 compared to 2014. The increases were primarily driven by continued growth in our credit card, auto and 
commercial loan portfolios, including loans acquired from the GE Healthcare acquisition, partially offset by the planned 
run-off of our acquired home loan portfolio.

•  Net Charge-off and Delinquency Statistics: Our net charge-off rate increased by 3 basis points to 1.75% in 2015 compared 
to 2014. Net charge-off rates remained low compared to our long-term trends, while we experienced rising losses in our 
taxi medallion lending portfolio and oil and gas portfolio within our Commercial Banking business. Our 30+ day delinquency 
rate increased by 9 basis points to 3.00% as of December 31, 2015, from December 31, 2014, primarily due to the seasoning 
of recent credit card loan originations and adverse market conditions impacting our taxi medallion lending portfolio. We 
provide additional information on our credit quality metrics below under “Business Segment Financial Performance” and 
“Credit Risk Profile.”

•  Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses: Our allowance for loan and lease losses increased by $747 million to $5.1 billion 
as of December 31, 2015 from December 31, 2014. The increase in the allowance for loan and lease losses was primarily 
driven by continued loan growth, coupled with our expectations of rising charge-off rates in our domestic credit card portfolio 
driven by growth, as well as adverse market conditions impacting our oil and gas portfolio and taxi medallion lending 
portfolio in our Commercial Banking business. These factors also contributed to a higher allowance coverage ratio, which 
increased by 13 basis points to 2.23% as of December 31, 2015 from December 31, 2014.

Business Segment Financial Performance

Table 1 summarizes our business segment results, which we report based on revenue and income from continuing operations, net 
of tax, for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013. We provide information on the allocation methodologies used to 
derive our business segment results in “Note 20—Business Segments.”

37

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Table 1: Business Segment Results

2015

2014

2013

Total Net 
Revenue(1)

Net Income(2)

Total Net 
Revenue(1)

Net Income(2)

Total Net 
Revenue(1)

Net Income
(Loss)(2)

Year Ended December 31,

(Dollars in millions)

Amount

% of
Total

Amount

% of
Total

Amount

% of
Total

Amount

% of
Total

Amount

% of
Total

Amount

% of
Total

Credit Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 14,582

62% $ 2,354

59% $ 13,621

61% $ 2,479

56% $ 14,287

64% $ 2,615

60%

Consumer Banking . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial Banking(3) . . . . . . . . .
Other(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6,465

2,352

14

28

10

—

1,034

570

54

26

14

1

6,432

2,201

36

29

10

—

1,195

659

90

27

15

2

6,654

2,069

(626)

30

9

(3)

1,451

731

33

17

(443)

(10)

Total from continuing operations .

$ 23,413

100% $ 4,012

100% $ 22,290

100% $ 4,423

100% $ 22,384

100% $ 4,354

100%

__________
(1) 

Total net revenue consists of net interest income and non-interest income.

(2)  Net income (loss) for our business segments and the Other category is based on income (loss) from continuing operations, net of tax.
(3) 

Some  of  our  tax-related  commercial  investments  generate  tax-exempt  income  or  tax  credits. Accordingly,  we  make  certain  reclassifications  within  our 
Commercial Banking business results to present revenues and yields on a taxable-equivalent basis, calculated assuming an effective tax rate approximately 
equal to our federal statutory tax rate of 35% with offsetting reclassifications within the Other category.

(4) 

Includes the residual impact of the allocation of our centralized Corporate Treasury group activities, unallocated corporate expenses that do not directly 
support the operations of the business segments and other items as described in “Note 20—Business Segments.”

Credit Card: Our Credit Card business generated net income from continuing operations of $2.4 billion in 2015, compared to net 
income from continuing operations of $2.5 billion in 2014. The decrease in net income in 2015 was primarily attributable to (i)  
higher provision for credit losses driven by a larger allowance build in our domestic credit card loan portfolio in 2015 due to 
continued loan growth coupled with our expectations for rising charge-off rates, as well as higher charge-offs as new loan balances 
season; and (ii) higher non-interest expense due to higher operating and marketing expenses associated with loan growth. These 
drivers were partially offset by (i) higher net interest income primarily driven by loan growth; and (ii) higher non-interest income 
attributable to an increase in net interchange fees, partially offset by a decline in service charges and other customer-related fees 
primarily due to the continued run-off of our payment protection products in our Domestic Card business. Period-end loans held 
for investment increased by $10.2 billion to $96.1 billion as of December 31, 2015 from December 31, 2014, primarily due to 
loan growth in our Domestic Card business.

Consumer Banking: Our Consumer Banking business generated net income from continuing operations of $1.0 billion in 2015, 
compared to net income from continuing operations of $1.2 billion in 2014. The decrease in net income in 2015 was primarily 
attributable to higher non-interest expense largely driven by increased operating expenses due to growth in our auto loan portfolio 
and continued technology and infrastructure investments in our retail banking business, as well as higher provision for credit losses 
due to a higher build in the allowance build for loan and lease losses in our Consumer Banking business, coupled with higher net 
charge-offs driven by growth in our auto loan portfolio. Period-end loans held for investment decreased by $1.1 billion to $70.4 
billion as of December 31, 2015 from December 31, 2014, primarily due to the planned run-off of our acquired home loan portfolio 
outpacing the growth in our auto loan portfolio.

Commercial Banking: Our Commercial Banking business generated net income from continuing operations of $570 million in 
2015, compared to net income from continuing operations of $659 million in 2014. The decrease in net income in 2015 was 
primarily attributable to (i) higher provision for credit losses due to a larger build in both the allowance for loan and lease losses 
and the reserve for unfunded lending commitments resulting from adverse market conditions impacting our oil and gas portfolio 
and taxi medallion lending portfolio, and (ii) higher non-interest expense largely driven by higher operating expenses due to costs 
associated with the GE Healthcare acquisition and continued growth in our Commercial Banking business. These expenses were 
partially offset by higher net interest income driven by growth in commercial and multifamily real estate and commercial and 
industrial average loans and higher non-interest income driven by increased revenue from products and services provided to our 
commercial customers. Period-end loans held for investment increased by $12.4 billion to $63.3 billion as of December 31, 2015 
from December 31, 2014, driven by the GE Healthcare acquisition, as well as loan growth in our commercial and multifamily real 
estate and commercial and industrial loan portfolios.

38

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
 
Business Outlook 

We discuss below our current expectations regarding our total company performance and the performance of each of our business 
segments over the near-term based on market conditions, the regulatory environment and our business strategies as of the time we 
filed this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The statements contained in this section are based on our current expectations regarding 
our outlook for our financial results and business strategies. Our expectations take into account, and should be read in conjunction 
with, our expectations regarding economic trends and analysis of our business as discussed in “Part I—Item 1. Business” and “Part 
II—Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of this Report. Certain 
statements are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual 
results  could  differ  materially  from  those  in  our  forward-looking  statements.  Except  as  otherwise  disclosed,  forward-looking 
statements do not reflect: (i) any change in current dividend or repurchase strategies; (ii) the effect of any acquisitions, divestitures 
or similar transactions that have not been previously disclosed; or (iii) any changes in laws, regulations or regulatory interpretations, 
in each case after the date as of which such statements are made. See “Part I—Item 1. Business-Forward-Looking Statements” in 
this Report for more information on the forward-looking statements included in this Report and “Part I—Item 1A. Risk Factors” 
in this Report for factors that could materially influence our results. 

Total Company Expectations

Our strategies and actions are designed to deliver and sustain strong returns and capital generation through the acquisition and 
retention  of  franchise-enhancing  customer  relationships  across  our  businesses. We  believe  that  franchise-enhancing  customer 
relationships create and sustain significant long-term value through long and loyal customer relationships and a gradual build in 
loan balances and revenues over time. Examples of franchise-enhancing customer relationships include rewards customers in our 
Credit  Card  business,  retail  deposit  customers  in  our  Consumer  Banking  business  and  primary  banking  relationships  with 
commercial customers in our Commercial Banking business. We intend to grow these customer relationships by continuing to 
invest in scalable infrastructure and operating platforms, so that we can meet the heightened risk management expectations facing 
all banks and deliver a “brand-defining” customer experience that builds and sustains a valuable, long-term customer franchise.

We delivered revenue growth and attractive risk-adjusted returns in 2015, highlighted by strong growth in our Domestic Card 
business. In 2016, we expect full year growth in revenues, driven by loan growth. We expect some improvement in the full year 
2016 efficiency ratio compared to 2015, with continuing improvement in 2017, excluding adjusting items.

We believe our actions have created a balance sheet with strong capital and liquidity. Pursuant to our approved 2015 capital plan, 
we increased our quarterly common stock dividend from $0.30 per share to $0.40 per share starting in the second quarter of 2015. 
We also expect to complete the repurchase of up to $3.125 billion of shares of our common stock pursuant to the 2015 Stock 
Repurchase Program through the second quarter of 2016. The timing and exact amount of any common stock repurchases will 
depend on various factors, including market conditions, opportunities for growth, and our capital position and amount of retained 
earnings. The 2015 Stock Repurchase Program does not include specific price targets, may be executed through open market 
purchases or privately negotiated transactions, including utilizing Rule 10b5-1 programs, and may be suspended at any time. See 
“MD&A—Capital Management—Dividend Policy and Stock Purchases” for more information.

Business Segment Expectations

Credit Card: In our Domestic Card business, we expect the upward pressure on delinquencies and charge-offs as new loan balances 
season and become a larger proportion of our overall portfolio will continue through 2016 and begin to moderate in 2017. We 
continue to expect the full-year 2016 charge-off rate to be around four percent, with quarterly seasonal variability. Based on current 
information and assuming relative stability in consumer behavior, the domestic economy, and competitive conditions, we expect 
the full-year 2017 charge-off rate in the low four percent range, with quarterly seasonal variability. Loan growth coupled with our 
expectations for a rising charge-off rate drove an allowance build in the fourth quarter, and we expect loan growth to drive allowance 
additions going forward.

Consumer Banking: In our Consumer Banking business, we expect persistently low interest rates will continue to pressure returns 
in our deposit businesses in 2016. We expect planned run-off from our acquired home loan portfolio to continue in 2016. We also 
expect continued pressure on margins in our auto business due to the mix shift toward prime and continuing competitive pressure. 
We expect these trends will negatively affect revenues in 2016.

Commercial Banking: Organic growth in our Commercial Banking business is slowing compared to prior years because of actions 
we are taking in response to market conditions. While competition in the Commercial Banking business remains intense, pressuring 

39

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

margin and returns, we continue to see good growth opportunities in select specialty industry verticals. Credit performance remains 
strong for the majority of our commercial businesses, but credit pressures continue in our oil and gas portfolio and taxi medallion 
lending portfolio. Unless oil prices rebound it is likely that energy loans will drive increases in our criticized and non-performing 
loans, further allowance additions, and possibly increasing charge-offs in 2016.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES

The preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP requires management to make a number of judgments, 
estimates and assumptions that affect the amount of assets, liabilities, income and expenses on the consolidated financial statements. 
Understanding our accounting policies and the extent to which we use management judgment and estimates in applying these 
policies is integral to understanding our financial statements. We provide a summary of our significant accounting policies under 
“Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies.”

We have identified the following accounting policies as critical because they require significant judgments and assumptions about 
highly complex and inherently uncertain matters and the use of reasonably different estimates and assumptions could have a 
material impact on our results of operations or financial condition. These critical accounting policies govern:

•  Loan loss reserves

•  Asset impairment

• 

Fair value of financial instruments

•  Representation and warranty reserves

•  Customer rewards reserves

We evaluate our critical accounting estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis and update them, as necessary, based on changing 
conditions. Management has discussed our critical accounting policies and estimates with the Audit Committee of the Board of 
Directors.

Loan Loss Reserves

We maintain an allowance for loan and lease losses that represents management’s estimate of incurred loan and lease losses inherent 
in our held-for-investment credit card, consumer banking and commercial banking loan portfolios as of each balance sheet date. 
We also separately reserve for binding unfunded lending commitments, letters of credit and financial guarantees.

We build our allowance for loan and lease losses and reserve for unfunded lending commitments through the provision for credit 
losses. Our provision for credit losses in each period is driven by charge-offs, changes to allowance for loan and lease losses, and 
changes to unfunded lending commitments. We recorded a provision for credit losses of $4.5 billion in 2015 and $3.5 billion in 
both 2014 and 2013.

We have an established process, using analytical tools and management judgment, to determine our allowance for loan and lease 
losses. Losses are inherent in our loan portfolio and we calculate the allowance for loan and lease losses by estimating incurred 
losses for segments of our loan portfolio with similar risk characteristics and record a provision for credit losses. The allowance 
totaled $5.1 billion as of December 31, 2015, compared to $4.4 billion as of December 31, 2014.

We review and assess our allowance methodologies and adequacy of the allowance for loan and lease losses on a quarterly basis. 
Our assessment involves evaluating many factors including, but not limited to, historical loss and recovery experience, recent 
trends in delinquencies and charge-offs, risk ratings, the impact of bankruptcy filings, the value of collateral underlying secured 
loans, account seasoning, changes in our credit evaluation, underwriting and collection management policies, seasonality, general 
economic conditions, changes in the legal and regulatory environment and uncertainties in forecasting and modeling techniques 
used in estimating our allowance for loan and lease losses. Key factors that have a significant impact on our allowance for loan 
and lease losses include assumptions about unemployment rates, home prices, and the valuation of commercial properties and 
other collateral, consumer real estate, and automobiles.

40

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

In addition to the allowance for loan and lease losses, we review and assess our estimate of probable losses related to binding 
unfunded lending commitments, such as letters of credit and financial guarantees, and unfunded loan commitments on a quarterly 
basis. The factors impacting our assessment generally align with those considered in our evaluation of the allowance for loan and 
lease losses for the Commercial Banking business. Changes to the reserve for losses on unfunded lending commitments are recorded 
through the provision for credit losses in the consolidated statements of income and to other liabilities on the consolidated balance 
sheets.

Although  we  examine  a  variety  of  externally  available  data,  as  well  as  our  internal  loan  performance  data,  to  determine  our 
allowance for loan and lease losses and reserve for unfunded lending commitments, our estimation process is subject to risks and 
uncertainties, including a reliance on historical loss and trend information that may not be representative of current conditions and 
indicative of future performance. Accordingly, our actual credit loss experience may not be in line with our expectations. We 
provide additional information on the methodologies and key assumptions used in determining our allowance for loan and lease 
losses for each of our loan portfolio segments in “Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies.” We provide information 
on the components of our allowance, disaggregated by impairment methodology, and changes in our allowance in “Note 6—
Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses.”

Finance Charge and Fee Reserves

Finance charges and fees on credit card loans, net of amounts that we consider uncollectible, are included in loan receivables and 
revenue when the finance charges and fees are earned. We continue to accrue finance charges and fees on credit card loans until 
the account is charged-off; however, when we do not expect full payment of billed finance charges and fees, we reduce the balance 
of our credit card loan receivables by the amount of finance charges and fees billed but not expected to be collected and exclude 
this amount from revenue. Total net revenue was reduced by $732 million, $645 million and $796 million in 2015, 2014 and 2013, 
respectively, for the estimated uncollectible amount of billed finance charges and fees. The finance charge and fee reserve totaled 
$262 million as of December 31, 2015, compared to $216 million as of December 31, 2014.

We review and assess the adequacy of the uncollectible finance charge and fee reserve on a quarterly basis. Our methodology for 
estimating the uncollectible portion of billed finance charges and fees is consistent with the methodology we use to estimate the 
allowance for incurred losses on the principal portion of our credit card loan receivables.

Asset Impairment

In addition to our loan portfolio, we review other assets for impairment on a regular basis in accordance with applicable impairment 
accounting guidance. This process requires significant management judgment and involves various estimates and assumptions. 
Our  investment  securities,  goodwill  and  intangible  assets  represent  a  significant  portion  of  our  total  assets  excluding  loans. 
Accordingly, below we describe our process for assessing impairment of these assets and the key estimates and assumptions 
involved in this process.

Investment Securities

We  regularly  review  our  investment  securities  for  other-than-temporary  impairment  (“OTTI”)  using  both  quantitative  and 
qualitative criteria. If we intend to sell a security in an unrealized loss position or it is more likely than not that we will be required 
to sell the security prior to recovery of its amortized cost basis, the entire difference between the amortized cost basis of the security 
and its fair value is recognized in income. If we do not intend to sell the security and it is not more likely than not that we will be 
required to sell the security before recovery of our amortized cost, we evaluate other quantitative and qualitative criteria to determine 
whether  a  credit  loss  exists.  Our  evaluation  requires  significant  management  judgment  and  a  consideration  of  many  factors, 
including, but not limited to, the extent and duration of the impairment; the health of and specific prospects for the issuer, including 
whether the issuer has failed to make scheduled interest or principal payments; recent events specific to the issuer and/or industry 
to which the issuer belongs; the payment structure of the security; external credit ratings; the value of underlying collateral and 
current market conditions. Quantitative criteria include assessing whether there has been an adverse change in expected future 
cash flows. See “Note 4—Investment Securities” for additional information.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill resulting from business combinations prior to January 1, 2009 represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair 
value of the net assets of businesses acquired. Goodwill resulting from business combinations after January 1, 2009, is generally 

41

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

determined as the excess of the fair value of the consideration transferred, plus the fair value of any non-controlling interests in 
the acquiree, over the fair value of the net assets acquired and liabilities assumed as of the acquisition date.

Goodwill totaled $14.5 billion and $14.0 billion as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. The increase was primarily 
attributable to $500 million of goodwill recognized as part of the GE Healthcare acquisition. See “Note 2—Business Developments” 
for additional information. Intangible assets, which we report on our consolidated balance sheets as a component of other assets, 
consist  primarily  of  purchased  credit  card  relationships  (“PCCR”)  and  core  deposit  intangibles.  The  net  carrying  amount  of 
intangible assets decreased to $1.0 billion as of December 31, 2015, from $1.3 billion as of December 31, 2014. Goodwill and 
intangible assets together represented 5% of our total assets as of both December 31, 2015 and 2014. We did not recognize material 
impairment on goodwill or intangible assets in 2015, 2014 or 2013.

Goodwill

Goodwill is not amortized but is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level, on an annual basis or in interim periods if events 
or  circumstances  indicate  potential  impairment. A  reporting  unit  is  an  operating  segment  or  one  level  below.  The  goodwill 
impairment test, performed as of October 1 of each year, is a two-step test. The first step identifies whether there is potential 
impairment by comparing the fair value of each reporting unit to its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the fair value of a 
reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, the second step of the impairment test is required to measure the amount of any 
potential impairment loss.

Estimating the fair value of reporting units and the assets, liabilities and intangible assets of a reporting unit is a subjective process 
that involves the use of estimates and judgments. The fair value of reporting units is calculated using a discounted cash flow 
calculation, a form of the income approach. The calculation uses projected cash flows based on each reporting unit’s internal 
forecast and the perpetuity growth method to calculate terminal values. These cash flows and terminal values are then discounted 
using discount rates based on our external cost of equity with adjustments for risk inherent in each reporting unit. Cash flows are 
adjusted, as necessary, in order to maintain each reporting unit’s equity capital requirements. Our discounted cash flow analysis 
requires management to make judgments about future loan and deposit growth, revenue growth, credit losses, and capital rates. 
Discount rates used in 2015 for the reporting units ranged from 8% to 13%. The key inputs into the discounted cash flow analysis 
were consistent with market data, where available, indicating that assumptions used were within a reasonable range of observable 
market data. 

We calculate the carrying amounts of our reporting units using an allocated capital approach based on each reporting unit’s specific 
regulatory capital, economic capital requirements, and underlying risks. The total of the reporting unit carrying amount for the 
October 1,  2015  annual  goodwill  impairment  test  was  $35.1  billion,  compared  to  consolidated  equity  of  $47.7  billion  as  of 
September 30, 2015. Of the $12.6 billion remaining equity, $8.2 billion was primarily attributable to the following items: capital 
allocated to our Other category, preferred stock, and capital that was reserved for dividends and share buy-backs that occurred 
during the fourth quarter of 2015. The remaining unallocated equity of approximately $4.4 billion, which represented approximately 
9% of our total equity, has been reserved for potential future capital needs. 

We compare the total reporting unit carrying amounts to our total consolidated stockholders’ equity to assess the appropriateness 
of our methodology. If the second step of goodwill impairment testing is required for a reporting unit, we would undertake an 
extensive effort to build the specific reporting unit’s balance sheet for the test based on applicable accounting guidance. Based on 
our analysis, the current fair value exceeded the carrying amount of all reporting units as of our annual testing date; therefore, the 
second step of impairment testing was unnecessary.

Intangible Assets

Intangible  assets  with  definitive  useful  lives  are  amortized  over  their  estimated  lives  and  evaluated  for  potential  impairment 
whenever events or changes in circumstances suggest that an asset’s or asset group’s carrying amount may not be fully recoverable. 
An impairment loss, generally calculated as the difference between the estimated fair value and the carrying amount of an asset 
or asset group, is recognized if the sum of the estimated undiscounted cash flows relating to the asset or asset group is less than 
the corresponding carrying amount. See “Note 8—Goodwill and Intangible Assets” for additional information.

Fair Value

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between 
market participants on the measurement date (also referred to as an exit price). The fair value accounting guidance provides a 

42

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

three-level fair value hierarchy for classifying financial instruments. This hierarchy is based on the markets in which the assets or 
liabilities trade and whether the inputs to the valuation techniques used to measure fair value are observable or unobservable. Fair 
value measurement of a financial asset or liability is assigned a level based on the lowest level of any input that is significant to the 
fair value measurement in its entirety. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described below:

Level 1: Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities

Level 2: Observable market-based inputs, other than quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities

Level 3: Unobservable inputs

The  degree  of  management  judgment  involved  in  determining  the  fair  value  of  a  financial  instrument  is  dependent  upon  the 
availability of quoted prices in active markets or observable market parameters. When quoted prices and observable data in active 
markets are not fully available, management judgment is necessary to estimate fair value. Changes in market conditions, such as 
reduced liquidity in the capital markets or changes in secondary market activities, may reduce the availability and reliability of 
quoted prices or observable data used to determine fair value.

We have developed policies and procedures to determine when markets for our financial assets and liabilities are inactive if the 
level and volume of activity has declined significantly relative to normal conditions. If markets are determined to be inactive, it 
may be appropriate to adjust price quotes received. When significant adjustments are required to price quotes or inputs, it may be 
appropriate to utilize an estimate based primarily on unobservable inputs.

Significant judgment may be required to determine whether certain financial instruments measured at fair value are classified as 
Level 2 or Level 3. In making this determination, we consider all available information that market participants use to measure 
the fair value of the financial instrument, including observable market data, indications of market liquidity and orderliness, and 
our understanding of the valuation techniques and significant inputs used. Based upon the specific facts and circumstances of each 
instrument or instrument category, judgments are made regarding the significance of the Level 3 inputs to the instruments’ fair 
value measurement in its entirety. If Level 3 inputs are considered significant, the instrument is classified as Level 3. The process 
for determining fair value using unobservable inputs is generally more subjective and involves a high degree of management 
judgment and assumptions.

Our financial instruments recorded at fair value on a recurring basis represented approximately 12% and 13% of our total assets 
as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Financial assets for which the fair value was determined using significant Level 
3 inputs represented approximately 2% and 4% of these financial instruments as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

We discuss changes in the valuation inputs and assumptions used in determining the fair value of our financial instruments, including 
the extent to which we have relied on significant unobservable inputs to estimate fair value and our process for corroborating these 
inputs, in “Note 19—Fair Value Measurement.”

Fair Value Measurement

We have a governance framework and a number of key controls that are intended to ensure that our fair value measurements are 
appropriate and reliable. Our governance framework provides for independent oversight and segregation of duties. Our control 
processes include review and approval of new transaction types, price verification and review of valuation judgments, methods, 
models,  process  controls  and  results.  Groups  independent  from  our  trading  and  investing  functions,  including  our  Corporate 
Valuations Group (“CVG”), Fair Value Committee (“FVC”) and Model Validation Group, participate in the review and validation 
process. The fair valuation governance process is set up in a manner that allows the Chairperson of the FVC to escalate valuation 
disputes that cannot be resolved at the FVC to a more senior committee called the Valuations Advisory Committee (“VAC”) for 
resolution. The VAC is chaired by the Chief Financial Officer and includes other senior management. The VAC is only required 
to convene to review escalated valuation disputes; however, it met once during 2015 for a general update on the valuation process.

The  CVG  performs  periodic  verification  of  fair  value  measurements  to  determine  if  assigned  fair  values  are  reasonable.  For 
example, in cases where we rely on third party pricing services to obtain fair value measures, we analyze pricing variances among 
different pricing sources and validate the final price used by comparing the information to additional sources, including dealer 
pricing indications in transaction results and other internal sources, where necessary. Additional validation procedures performed 
by the CVG include reviewing (either directly or indirectly through the reasonableness of assigned fair values) valuation inputs 
and assumptions, and monitoring acceptable variances between recommended prices and validation prices. The CVG and the Trade 
Analytics and Valuation team (“TAV”) perform due diligence reviews of the third party pricing services by comparing their prices 

43

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

with  prices  from  other  sources  and  reviewing  other  control  documentation. Additionally,  when  necessary,  the  CVG  and TAV 
challenge prices from third-party vendors to ensure reasonableness of prices through a pricing challenge process. This may include 
a request for a transparency of the assumptions used by the third party.

The FVC, which includes representation from business areas, our Risk Management division and our Finance division, is a forum 
for discussing fair market valuations, inputs, assumptions, methodologies, variance thresholds, valuation control environment and 
material risks or concerns related to fair market valuations. Additionally, the FVC is empowered to resolve valuation disputes 
between the primary valuation providers and the CVG. It provides guidance and oversight to ensure an appropriate valuation 
control environment. The FVC regularly reviews and approves our valuation methodologies to ensure that our methodologies and 
practices are consistent with industry standards and adhere to regulatory and accounting guidance. The Chief Financial Officer 
determines  when  material  issues  or  concerns  regarding  valuations  shall  be  raised  to  the Audit  Committee  or  other  delegated 
committee of the Board of Directors.

We have a model policy, established by an independent Model Risk Office, which governs the validation of models and related 
supporting documentation to ensure the appropriate use of models for pricing. The Model Validation Group is part of the Model 
Risk Office and validates all models and provides ongoing monitoring of their performance, including the validation and monitoring 
of the performance of all valuation models.

Representation and Warranty Reserve

In connection with the sales of mortgage loans, certain subsidiaries entered into agreements containing varying representations 
and warranties about, among other things, the ownership of the loan, the validity of the lien securing the loan, the loan’s compliance 
with any applicable loan criteria established by the purchaser, including underwriting guidelines and the ongoing existence of 
mortgage insurance, and the loan’s compliance with applicable federal, state and local laws. We may be required to repurchase 
the mortgage loan, indemnify the investor or insurer, or reimburse the investor for losses incurred on the loan in the event of a 
material breach of contractual representations or warranties.

We have established representation and warranty reserves for losses that we consider to be both probable and reasonably estimable 
associated with the mortgage loans sold by each subsidiary, including both litigation and non-litigation liabilities. The reserve-
setting process relies heavily on estimates, which are inherently uncertain, and requires the application of judgment. In establishing 
the representation and warranty reserves, we rely on historical data and consider a variety of factors, depending on the category 
of purchaser. These factors include, but are not limited to, the historical relationship between loan losses and repurchase outcomes; 
the percentage of current and future loan defaults that we anticipate will result in repurchase requests over the lifetime of the loans; 
the percentage of those repurchase requests that we anticipate will result in actual repurchases; and estimated collateral valuations. 
We evaluate these factors and update our loss forecast models on a quarterly basis to estimate our lifetime liability.

Our aggregate representation and warranty mortgage reserve, which we report as a component of other liabilities on our consolidated 
balance sheets, totaled $610 million and $731 million as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. The adequacy of the reserve 
and the ultimate amount of losses incurred by us or one of our subsidiaries will depend on, among other things, actual future 
mortgage loan performance, the actual level of future repurchase and indemnification requests, the actual success rates of claimants, 
developments in litigation, actual recoveries on the collateral and macroeconomic conditions (including unemployment levels and 
housing prices).

As part of our business planning processes, we have considered various outcomes relating to the potential future representation 
and warranty liabilities of our subsidiaries that are possible but do not rise to the level of being both probable and reasonably 
estimable outcomes justifying an incremental accrual under applicable accounting standards. Our current best estimate of reasonably 
possible  future  losses  from  representation  and  warranty  claims  beyond  what  was  in  our  reserve  as  of  December 31,  2015  is 
approximately $1.6 billion, a decline from our estimate of $2.1 billion as of December 31, 2014. Notwithstanding our ongoing 
attempts to estimate a reasonably possible amount of future losses beyond our current accrual levels based on current information, 
it is possible that actual future losses will exceed both the current accrual level and our current estimate of the amount of reasonably 
possible losses. This estimate involves considerable judgment, and reflects that there is still significant uncertainty regarding the 
numerous factors that may impact the ultimate loss levels, including, but not limited to, anticipated litigation outcomes, future 
repurchase and indemnification claim levels, ultimate repurchase and indemnification rates, future mortgage loan performance 
levels, actual recoveries on the collateral and macroeconomic conditions (including unemployment levels and housing prices). In 
light of the significant uncertainty as to the ultimate liability our subsidiaries may incur from these matters, an adverse outcome 
in one or more of these matters could be material to our consolidated results of operations or cash flows for any particular reporting 
period. See “Note 21—Commitments, Contingencies, Guarantees and Others” for additional information.

44

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Customer Rewards Reserve

We offer products, primarily credit cards, which include programs that allow members to earn rewards, in the form of points, that 
can be redeemed for cash (primarily in the form of statement credits), gift cards, airline tickets or merchandise, based on account 
activity. The amount of rewards that a customer earns varies based on the terms and conditions of the rewards program and product. 
The majority of our rewards do not expire and there is no limit on the number of rewards points an eligible card member can earn. 
Customer rewards costs, which we generally record as an offset to interchange income, are driven by various factors, such as card 
member purchase volume, the terms and conditions of the rewards program and rewards redemption cost. We establish a customer 
rewards reserve that reflects management’s judgment regarding rewards earned that are expected to be redeemed and the estimated 
redemption cost.

We use financial models to estimate ultimate redemption rates of rewards earned to date by current card members based on historical 
redemption trends, current enrollee redemption behavior, card product type, year of program enrollment, enrollment tenure and 
card spend levels. Our current assumption is that the vast majority of all rewards earned will eventually be redeemed. We use a 
weighted-average cost per reward redeemed during the previous twelve months, adjusted as appropriate for recent changes in 
redemption costs, including mix of rewards redeemed, to estimate future redemption costs. We continually evaluate our reserve 
and assumptions based on developments in redemption patterns, cost per point redeemed, changes to the terms and conditions of 
the rewards program and other factors. Changes in the ultimate redemption rate and weighted-average cost per point have the 
effect of either increasing or decreasing the reserve through the current period provision by an amount estimated to cover the cost 
of all points previously earned but not yet redeemed by card members as of the end of the reporting period. We recognized customer 
rewards expense of $2.7 billion, $2.0 billion and $1.6 billion in 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Our customer rewards liability, 
which is included in other liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets, totaled $3.2 billion and $2.7 billion as of December 31, 
2015 and 2014, respectively.

ACCOUNTING CHANGES AND DEVELOPMENTS

Accounting for Derivative Assets and Liabilities

As of January 1, 2015, we changed our accounting principle to move from a gross basis of presentation to a net basis, for presenting 
qualifying derivative assets and liabilities, as well as the related fair value amounts recognized for the right to reclaim cash collateral 
(a receivable) or the obligation to return cash collateral (a payable), for instruments executed with the same counterparty where a 
right of setoff exists. This newly adopted policy is preferable as it more accurately reflects the Company’s counterparty credit risk 
as well as our contractual rights and obligations under these arrangements. Further, this change will align our presentation with 
that of the majority of our peer institutions. We retrospectively adopted this change in accounting principle and our consolidated 
balance sheet has been recast for all prior periods presented. 

See “Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this 
Report regarding the impact of recently issued or adopted new accounting pronouncements.

CONSOLIDATED RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The section below provides a comparative discussion of our consolidated financial performance for 2015, 2014 and 2013. Following 
this section, we provide a discussion of our business segment results. You should read this section together with our “Executive 
Summary and Business Outlook,” where we discuss trends and other factors that we expect will affect our future results of operations.

Net Interest Income

Net interest income represents the difference between the interest income, including certain fees, earned on our interest-earning 
assets and the interest expense on our interest-bearing liabilities. Interest-earning assets include loans, investment securities and 
other interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities include interest-bearing deposits, securitized debt obligations, senior 
and subordinated notes, and other borrowings. Generally, we include in interest income any past due fees on loans that we deem 
collectible. Our net interest margin, based on our consolidated results, represents the difference between the yield on our interest-
earning assets and the cost of our interest-bearing liabilities, including the notional impact of non-interest bearing funding. We 

45

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

expect net interest income and our net interest margin to fluctuate based on changes in interest rates and changes in the amount 
and composition of our interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities.

Table 2 below presents, for each major category of our interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities, the average outstanding 
balances, interest income earned, interest expense incurred, average yield and rate for 2015, 2014 and 2013.

Table 2: Average Balances, Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin(1)

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

Average
Balance

Interest
Income/
Expense(2)(3)

Average 
Yield/
Rate

Average
Balance

Interest
Income/
Expense(2)(3)

Average 
Yield/
Rate

Average
Balance

Interest
Income/
Expense(2)(3)

Average 
Yield/
Rate

(Dollars in millions)

Assets:

Interest-earning assets:

Loans:

Credit card:

Domestic credit card . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 78,931

$

11,187

14.17% $ 71,272

$

10,161

14.26% $ 74,950

$

10,876

14.51%

International credit card. . . . . . . . .

Total credit card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Consumer banking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commercial banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7,992

86,923

71,365

53,161

100

1,200

12,387

4,460

1,710

15.02

14.25

6.25

3.22

228

228.00

Total loans, including loans held for sale .

211,549

Investment securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

63,738

18,785

1,575

Cash equivalents and other interest-
earning assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7,294

99

Total interest-earning assets . . . . . . . . . . .

$282,581

$

20,459

8.88

2.47

1.36

7.24

Cash and due from banks . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Allowance for loan and lease losses . . . . .

Premises and equipment, net . . . . . . . . . . .

Other assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2,970

(4,582)

3,701

28,804

Total assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$313,474

Liabilities and stockholders’ equity:

Interest-bearing liabilities:

7,684

78,956

71,127

48,210

126

198,419

62,547

7,973

82,923

72,652

40,866

168

196,609

63,522

1,269

11,430

4,447

1,649

16.51

14.48

6.25

3.42

136

107.94

17,662

1,628

8.90

2.60

1.72

7.26

1,295

12,171

4,428

1,587

16.24

14.68

6.09

3.88

36

21.43

18,222

1,575

9.27

2.48

1.61

7.47

6,208

107

$267,174

$

19,397

2,994

(4,151)

3,790

27,852

$297,659

6,292

101

$266,423

$

19,898

2,461

(4,572)

3,770

28,118

$296,200

Deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$185,677

$

1,091

Securitized debt obligations . . . . . . . .

Senior and subordinated notes. . . . . . .

Other borrowings and liabilities . . . . .

13,929

20,935

11,297

151

330

53

Total interest-bearing liabilities. . . . . . . . .

$231,838

$

1,625

0.59

1.08

1.58

0.47

0.70

$181,036

$

1,088

10,686

16,543

12,325

145

299

47

$220,590

$

1,579

0.60

1.36

1.81

0.38

0.72

$187,700

$

1,241

10,697

12,440

14,670

183

315

53

$225,507

$

1,792

0.66

1.71

2.53

0.36

0.79

Non-interest-bearing deposits . . . . . . . . . .

Other liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25,312

8,611

Total liabilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

265,761

Stockholders’ equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

47,713

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity. .

$313,474

24,639

8,162

253,391

44,268

$297,659

21,345

7,866

254,718

41,482

$296,200

Net interest income/spread . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

18,834

Impact of non-interest-bearing funding. . .

Net interest margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6.54

0.12

6.66%

$

17,818

6.54

0.13

6.67%

$

18,106

6.68

0.12

6.80%

__________  
(1)   As of January 1, 2015, we changed our accounting principle to move from a gross basis of presentation to a net basis, for presenting qualifying derivative 
assets and liabilities, as well as the related right to reclaim cash collateral or obligation to return cash collateral. See “Note 1—Summary of Significant 
Accounting Policies” for additional information. Prior period results have been recast to conform to this presentation.

(2)  

(3) 

Past due fees included in interest income totaled approximately $1.4 billion in both 2015 and 2014, and $1.7 billion in 2013.

Interest income and interest expense and the calculation of average yields on interest-earning assets and average rates on interest-bearing liabilities include 
the impact of hedge accounting.

46

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
Net interest income increased by $1.0 billion to $18.8 billion in 2015 compared to 2014. The increase was primarily driven by 
growth in our credit card and commercial loan portfolios, as well as our auto loan portfolio in our Consumer Banking business. 
Net interest margin decreased by 1 basis point to 6.66% in 2015 compared to 2014. The relatively consistent net interest margin 
reflected continued growth in our domestic card loan portfolio and the planned run-off of the acquired home loan portfolio in our 
Consumer  Banking  business,  as  well  as  lower  wholesale  funding  costs;  offset  by  the  impact  of  declining  yields  in  our  auto, 
commercial, credit card and investment securities portfolios. The lower yield in the international credit card loan portfolio also 
reflected the impact from the build in the U.K. PPI Reserve in the second and third quarters of 2015.

Net interest income decreased by $288 million to $17.8 billion in 2014 compared to 2013. The decrease was primarily driven by 
the Portfolio Sale in 2013, partially offset by growth in commercial, auto and credit card loan portfolios, lower funding costs and 
higher yielding investment securities in 2014. Net interest margin decreased by 13 basis points to 6.67% in 2014 compared to 
2013. The decrease was primarily due to lower average loan yields driven by the Portfolio Sale in 2013 and a shift in the mix of 
the loan portfolio to lower yielding commercial and auto loans, partially offset by a reduction in our cost of funds and higher 
yielding investment securities.

Table 3 displays the change in our net interest income between periods and the extent to which the variance is attributable to 
(i) changes in the volume of our interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities; or (ii) changes in the interest rates related 
to these assets and liabilities.

Table 3: Rate/Volume Analysis of Net Interest Income(1) 

(Dollars in millions)

Interest income:

Loans:

Credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consumer banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total loans, including loans held for sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Investment securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cash equivalents and other interest-earning assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Interest expense:

Deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Securitized debt obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Senior and subordinated notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other borrowings and liabilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total interest expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2015 vs. 2014

2014 vs. 2013

Total
Variance

Volume

Rate

Total
Variance

Volume

Rate

$

957

$ 1,135

$

(178) $

(741) $

(576) $

(165)

13

61

92

15

159

(28)

1,123

1,281

(53)

(8)

30

15

1,062

1,326

3

6

31

6

46

27

35

70

(4)

128

(2)

(98)

120

(158)

(83)

(23)

(264)

(24)

(29)

(39)

10

(82)

19

62

100

(560)

53

6

(501)

(93)

251

(9)

(427)

(24)

(1)

(452)

112

(189)

109

(133)

77

7

(49)

(153)

(43)

(110)

(38)

(16)

(6)

(213)

—

74

(8)

23

(38)

(90)

2

(236)
187  

$ 1,016

$ 1,198

$

(182) $

(288) $

(475) $

__________ 
(1)  We calculate the change in interest income and interest expense separately for each item. The portion of interest income or interest expense attributable to 
both volume and rate is allocated proportionately when the calculation results in a positive value. When the portion of interest income or interest expense 
attributable to both volume and rate results in a negative value, the total amount is allocated to volume or rate, depending on which amount is positive.

Non-Interest Income

Non-interest income primarily consists of interchange income net of rewards expense, service charges and other customer-related 
fees, and other non-interest income. Other non-interest income includes the pre-tax net benefit for mortgage representation and 
warranty losses  related to continuing operations, gains  and losses  from the  sale of investment securities, gains  and losses  on 
derivatives not accounted for in hedge accounting relationships, and hedge ineffectiveness.

47

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
Table 4 displays the components of non-interest income for 2015, 2014 and 2013.

Table 4: Non-Interest Income

(Dollars in millions)

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

Service charges and other customer-related fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

1,715

$

1,867

$

Interchange fees, net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net other-than-temporary impairment recognized in earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2,235

(30)

2,021

(24)

Other non-interest income:

Benefit for mortgage representation and warranty losses(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net (losses) gains from the sale of investment securities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net fair value gains on free-standing derivatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total other non-interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

16

(2)

66

579

659

26

21

52

509

608

Total non-interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

4,579

$

4,472

$

2,118

1,896

(41)

24

7

3

271

305
4,278  

__________
(1)  Represents the benefit for mortgage representation and warranty losses recorded in continuing operations. For the total impact to the net benefit for mortgage 
representation and warranty losses, including the portion recognized in our consolidated statements of income as a component of discontinued operations, 
see “MD&A—Consolidated Balance Sheets Analysis—Table 13: Changes in Representation and Warranty Reserve.”

Non-interest  income  increased  by  $107  million  to  $4.6  billion  in  2015  compared  to  2014  primarily  driven  by  an  increase  in  
interchange fees due to higher purchase volume in our Credit Card business, partially offset by (i) increased rewards expense due 
to a greater proportion of customers with rewards coupled with increased spend on products with higher rewards; and (ii) lower 
service charges and other customer-related fees primarily due to the continued run-off of our payment protection products in our 
Domestic Card business.

Non-interest income increased by $194 million to $4.5 billion in 2014 compared to 2013. The main drivers included an increase 
in net interchange fees due to strong purchase volume in our credit card loan portfolio, partially offset by a decline in our service 
charges and other customer-related fees due to strategic choices we made related to our Domestic Card business.

Provision for Credit Losses

Our provision for credit losses in each period is driven by net charge-offs, changes to the allowance for loan and lease losses and 
changes to the reserve for unfunded lending commitments. We recorded a provision for credit losses of $4.5 billion in 2015 and 
$3.5 billion in both 2014 and 2013. The provision for credit losses as a percentage of net interest income was 24.1%, 19.9% and 
19.1% in 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Our provision for credit losses increased by $995 million in 2015 compared to 2014. The increase was primarily driven by (i) a 
larger allowance build in our domestic credit card loan portfolio in 2015 due to continued loan growth coupled with our expectations 
for rising charge-off rates, as well as higher charge-offs as new loan balances season; and (ii) a larger build in both the allowance 
and reserve for unfunded lending commitments resulting from adverse market conditions impacting our oil and gas portfolio and 
taxi medallion lending portfolio in our Commercial Banking business. 

The increase in the provision for credit losses of $88 million in 2014 compared to 2013, was primarily driven by a small allowance 
build of $68 million in 2014 due to loan growth in our domestic card, auto and commercial portfolios, as compared to a release 
of $552 million in 2013 due to an improved credit outlook coupled with improvements in delinquency inventories in our domestic 
card portfolio, which were observed in 2014; partially offset by lower net charge-offs of $520 million in 2014 compared to 2013, 
mainly due to continued economic improvement and portfolio seasoning in our credit card loan portfolio.

We provide additional information on the provision for credit losses and changes in the allowance for loan and lease losses within 
“Credit Risk Profile—Summary of Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses,” “Note 5—Loans” and “Note 6—Allowance for Loan 
and Lease Losses.” For information on the allowance methodology for each of our loan categories, see “Note 1—Summary of 
Significant Accounting Policies.”

48

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
Non-Interest Expense

Non-interest expense consists of ongoing operating expenses, such as salaries and associate benefits, occupancy and equipment 
costs, professional services, communications and data processing expenses and other non-interest expenses, as well as marketing 
costs and amortization of intangibles.

Table 5 displays the components of non-interest expense for 2015, 2014 and 2013.

Table 5: Non-Interest Expense

(Dollars in millions)
Salaries and associate benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Occupancy and equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Professional services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Communications and data processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Amortization of intangibles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other non-interest expense:

Collections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fraud losses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bankcard, regulatory and other fee assessments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other non-interest expense. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total non-interest expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

$

4,975

$

4,593

$

1,829

1,744

1,292

883

430

322

316

444

761

1,745

1,561

1,216

798

532

372

275

465

623

4,480

1,541

1,373

1,347

897

671

470

218

562

794

1,843

1,735

2,044

$

12,996

$

12,180

$ 12,353

Non-interest expense increased by $816 million to $13.0 billion in 2015 compared to 2014. The increase was primarily due to (i) 
higher personnel expenses and charges for severance and related benefits pursuant to our ongoing benefit programs and certain 
site closures, as a result of the realignment of our workforce; (ii) higher operating and marketing expenses associated with loan 
growth, as well as acquisition and operating expenses related to the GE Healthcare acquisition; and (iii) continued technology and 
infrastructure investments. These increases were partially offset by a decline in the amortization of intangibles.

Non-interest expense decreased by $173 million, to $12.2 billion in 2014 compared to 2013. The decrease reflects a decline in the 
amortization of intangibles and a reduction in acquisition-related costs and provision for litigation matters. These were partially 
offset by (i) higher marketing expenses associated with loan growth; (ii) higher operating expenses attributable to growth in our 
commercial and auto loan portfolios; and (iii) the change to include auto repossession-related expenses as a component of operating 
expenses (prior to January 1, 2014 these costs were reported as a component of net charge-offs), partially offset by lower bankcard, 
regulatory and other fee assessments and communications and data processing expenses.

Income (Loss) from Discontinued Operations, Net of Tax

Income  (loss)  from  discontinued  operations  reflects  ongoing  costs,  which  primarily  consist  of  mortgage  loan  repurchase 
representation and warranty charges, related to the mortgage origination operations of our former wholesale mortgage banking 
unit, GreenPoint Mortgage Funding, Inc. (“GreenPoint”), which was closed in 2007. Income from discontinued operations, net of 
tax, was $38 million in 2015, compared to income from discontinued operations of $5 million in 2014 and a loss from discontinued 
operations of $233 million in 2013. We recorded a benefit net of tax for mortgage representation and warranty reserve of $41 
million ($64 million before tax) in 2015, compared to a $4 million benefit net of tax ($7 million before tax) and a provision net 
of tax of $210 million ($333 million before tax) in 2014 and 2013, respectively.

We provide additional information on the net provision for mortgage representation and warranty losses and the related reserve 
for  representation  and  warranty  claims  in  “Consolidated  Balance  Sheets Analysis—Mortgage  Representation  and  Warranty 
Reserve” and “Note 21—Commitments, Contingencies, Guarantees and Others.”

49

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Income Taxes

We recorded income tax provisions of $1.9 billion (31.8% effective income tax rate), $2.1 billion (32.7% effective income tax 
rate), $2.2 billion (33.8% effective income tax rate) in 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Our effective tax rate on income from 
continuing operations varies between periods due, in part, to fluctuations in our pre-tax earnings, which affects the relative tax 
benefit of tax-exempt income, tax credits and other permanent tax items.

The decrease in our effective income tax rate in 2015, from 2014, was primarily due to lower income before taxes, higher discrete 
tax benefits and increased net tax credits. This decrease was partially offset by a reduced benefit of lower taxed foreign earnings.

The decrease in our effective income tax rate in 2014, from 2013, was primarily attributable to increased net tax credits and tax 
exempt income, and reductions in state rates, partially offset by increased discrete tax expenses. 

We recorded net discrete tax benefits of $15 million in 2015, and net discrete tax expenses of $33 million and $16 million in 2014 
and 2013, respectively. Our effective income tax rate, excluding the impact of discrete tax items discussed above, was 32.0%, 
32.2% and 33.6% in 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

We provide additional information on items affecting our income taxes and effective tax rate under “Note 18—Income Taxes.” 

BUSINESS SEGMENT FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

Our principal operations are currently organized into three major business segments, which are defined based on the products and 
services provided or the type of customer served: Credit Card, Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking. The operations of 
acquired businesses have been integrated into our existing business segments. Certain activities that are not part of a segment, 
such as management of our corporate investment portfolio and asset/liability management by our centralized Corporate Treasury 
group, are included in the Other category.

The results of our individual businesses, which we report on a continuing operations basis, reflect the manner in which management 
evaluates performance and makes decisions about funding our operations and allocating resources. We may periodically change 
our business segments or reclassify business segment results based on modifications to our management reporting methodologies 
and changes in organizational alignment. Our business segment results are intended to reflect each segment as if it were a stand-
alone  business.  We  use  an  internal  management  and  reporting  process  to  derive  our  business  segment  results.  Our  internal 
management and reporting process employs various allocation methodologies, including funds transfer pricing, to assign certain 
balance sheet assets, deposits and other liabilities and their related revenue and expenses directly or indirectly attributable to each 
business segment. Total interest income and net fees are directly attributable to the segment in which they are reported. The net 
interest income of each segment reflects the results of our funds transfer pricing process, which is primarily based on a matched 
maturity method that takes into consideration market rates. Our funds transfer pricing process provides a funds credit for sources 
of funds, such as deposits generated by our Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking businesses, and a funds charge for the 
use of funds by each segment. The allocation process is unique to each business segment and acquired businesses. We regularly 
assess  the  assumptions,  methodologies  and  reporting  classifications  used  for  segment  reporting,  which  may  result  in  the 
implementation of refinements or changes in future periods.

We refer to the business segment results derived from our internal management accounting and reporting process as our “managed” 
presentation, which differs in some cases from our reported results prepared based on U.S. GAAP. There is no comprehensive 
authoritative body of guidance for management accounting equivalent to U.S. GAAP; therefore, the managed presentation of our 
business segment results may not be comparable to similar information provided by other financial services companies. In addition, 
our individual business segment results should not be used as a substitute for comparable results determined in accordance with 
U.S. GAAP.

Below we summarize our business segment results for 2015, 2014 and 2013 and provide a comparative discussion of these results. 
We  also  discuss  changes  in  our  financial  condition  and  credit  performance  statistics  as  of  December 31,  2015,  compared  to 
December 31,  2014. We  provide  a  reconciliation  of  our  total  business  segment  results  to  our  reported  consolidated  results  in 
“Note 20—Business Segments.” Additionally, we provide information on the outlook for each of our business segments as described 
above under “Executive Summary and Business Outlook.”

50

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Credit Card Business

The primary sources of revenue for our Credit Card business are interest income, net interchange income and fees collected from 
customers. Expenses primarily consist of the provision for credit losses, operating costs such as salaries and associate benefits, 
occupancy and equipment, professional services, communications and data processing expenses and marketing expenses.

Our Credit Card business generated net income from continuing operations of $2.4 billion, $2.5 billion and $2.6 billion in 2015, 
2014 and 2013, respectively.

Table 6 summarizes the financial results of our Credit Card business, which is comprised of Domestic Card and International Card, 
and displays selected key metrics for the periods indicated.

Table 6: Credit Card Business Results

(Dollars in millions)

Selected income statement data:

Net interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total net revenue(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Provision for credit losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-interest expense. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income from continuing operations before income taxes. . . . . . . . . . .
Income tax provision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income from continuing operations, net of tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Selected performance metrics:
Average loans held for investment(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Average yield on loans held for investment(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total net revenue margin(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net charge-offs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net charge-off rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Card loan premium amortization and other intangible accretion(5). . . .
Purchased credit card relationship (“PCCR”) intangible amortization.
Purchase volume(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(Dollars in millions)

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

Change

2015 vs.
2014

2014 vs.
2013

$

11,161

$

10,310

$

10,967

8%

3,421

14,582

3,417

7,502

3,663

1,309

2,354

86,735

14.28%

16.81

2,918

3.36%

28

316

$

$

$

$

3,311

13,621

2,750

7,063

3,808

1,329

2,479

78,946

14.48%

17.25

2,728

3.46%

97

369

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

3,320

14,287

2,824

7,439

4,024

1,409

2,615

3

7

24

6

(4)

(2)

(5)

(6)%

—

(5)

(3)

(5)

(5)

(6)

(5)

79,207

10

—

15.37%

(20)bps

(89)bps

18.04

3,285

(44)

(79)

7%

(17)%

4.15%

(10)bps

(69)bps

198

434

(71)%

(51)%

(14)

21

(15)

12

271,167

224,750

201,074

December 31,
2015

December 31,
2014

Change

Selected period-end data:
Loans held for investment(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30+ day performing delinquency rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30+ day delinquency rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nonperforming loan rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Allowance for loan and lease losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Allowance coverage ratio(7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

96,125

$

85,876

3.36%

3.40

0.06

3.24%

3.30

0.08

$

3,654

$

3,204

3.80%

3.73%

12%

12bps

10

(2)

14%

7bps

__________
(1)  We recognize billed finance charges and fee income on open-ended loans in accordance with the contractual provisions of the credit arrangements and 
estimate the uncollectible amount on a quarterly basis. The estimated uncollectible amount of billed finance charges and fees is reflected as a reduction in 
revenue and is not included in our net charge-offs. Total net revenue was reduced by $732 million, $645 million and $796 million in 2015, 2014 and 2013, 
respectively, for the estimated uncollectible amount of billed finance charges and fees. The finance charge and fee reserve totaled $262 million and $216 
million as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

(2) 

Period-end loans held for investment and average loans held for investment include accrued finance charges and fees, net of the estimated uncollectible 
amount.

51

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
(3)  Calculated by dividing interest income for the period by average loans held for investment during the period. Interest income excludes various allocations 
including funds transfer pricing that assigns certain balance sheet assets, deposits and other liabilities and their related revenue and expenses attributable to 
each business segment. The transfer of the Best Buy Stores, L.P. (“Best Buy”) loan portfolio to held for sale resulted in an increase in the average yield for 
the total Credit Card business of 90 basis points in 2013.

(4)  Calculated by dividing total net revenue for the period by average loans held for investment during the period for the specified loan category. Interest income 
also includes interest income on loans held for sale. The transfer of the Best Buy loan portfolio from loans held for investment to loans held for sale resulted 
in an increase in the net revenue margin for the total Credit Card business of 100 basis points in 2013.

(5)  Represents the net reduction in interest income attributable to the amortization of premiums on purchased loans accounted for based on contractual cash 

flows and the accretion of other intangibles associated with the 2012 U.S. card acquisition.

(6)  Consists of credit card purchase transactions, net of returns for the period for both loans classified as held for investment and loans classified as held for 

sale. Excludes cash advance and balance transfer transactions.

(7)  Calculated by dividing the allowance for loan and lease losses as of the end of the period by period-end loans held for investment.

Key factors affecting the results of our Credit Card business for 2015, compared to 2014, and changes in financial condition and 
credit performance between December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 include the following:

•  Net Interest Income: Net interest income increased by $851 million to $11.2 billion in 2015, primarily driven by loan growth 

in our Domestic Card business.

•  Non-Interest Income: Non-interest income increased by $110 million to $3.4 billion in 2015. The increase was primarily 
attributable to an increase in interchange fees driven by higher purchase volume, partially offset by (i) increased rewards 
expense due to a greater proportion of customers with rewards coupled with increased spend on products with higher rewards; 
and (ii) lower service charges and other customer-related fees primarily due to the continued run-off of our payment protection 
products in our Domestic Card business.

•  Provision for Credit Losses: The provision for credit losses increased by $667 million to $3.4 billion in 2015, primarily 
driven by a larger allowance build in our domestic credit card loan portfolio in 2015 due to continued loan growth coupled 
with our expectations for rising charge-off rates, as well as higher charge-offs as new loan balances season. 

•  Non-Interest Expense: Non-interest expense increased by $439 million to $7.5 billion in 2015. The increase was due to 
higher operating and marketing expenses associated with loan growth, partially offset by operating efficiencies and lower 
intangibles amortization expense.

• 

Loans  Held  for  Investment:  Period-end  loans  held  for  investment  increased  by  $10.2  billion  to  $96.1  billion  as  of 
December 31, 2015 from December 31, 2014, and average loans held for investment increased by $7.8 billion to $86.7 
billion in 2015 compared to 2014. The increases were primarily due to loan growth in our domestic card loan portfolio, 
partially offset by the impact of foreign exchange rates in our international card loan portfolio driven by the strengthening 
of the U.S. dollar in 2015.

•  Net Charge-off and Delinquency Statistics: The net charge-off rate decreased by 10 basis points to 3.36% in 2015 compared 
to 2014, driven by our international card loan portfolio which benefited from the ramp up of our international partnership 
portfolio in Canada. The 30+ day delinquency rate increased by 10 basis points to 3.40% as of December 31, 2015 from 
December 31, 2014 due to the seasoning of our domestic card portfolio growth which has begun to put upward pressure on 
delinquencies.

Key factors affecting the results of our Credit Card business for 2014, compared to 2013, and changes in financial condition and 
credit performance between December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 include the following:

•  Net Interest Income: Net interest income decreased by $657 million to $10.3 billion in 2014. The decrease in net interest 

income was primarily driven by the Portfolio Sale in the third quarter of 2013.

•  Non-Interest Income: Non-interest income was consistent at $3.3 billion in 2014 compared to 2013. During 2014 there was 
an increase in net interchange fees driven by higher purchase volume, offset by a reduction in service charges and other 
customer-related fees due to strategic choices we made in our Domestic Card business.

•  Provision for Credit Losses: The provision for credit losses decreased by $74 million to $2.8 billion in 2014. The decrease 
was due to lower net charge-offs, partially offset by an absence of a release in the allowance for loan and lease losses that 
was incurred in 2013 related to the domestic card loan portfolio.

52

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

•  Non-Interest Expense: Non-interest expense decreased by $376 million to $7.1 billion in 2014. The decrease was largely 
due  to  (i)  lower  acquisition-related  costs;  (ii)  lower  operating  expenses  driven  by  the  Portfolio  Sale;  (iii)  operating 
efficiencies; and (iv) lower provision for litigation matters; partially offset by higher marketing expenses. Non-interest 
expense also included PCCR intangible amortization of $369 million in 2014.

• 

Loans Held for Investment: Period-end loans held for investment increased by $4.6 billion to $85.9 billion as of December 31, 
2014 from December 31, 2013. This increase was primarily driven by growth in the domestic card loan portfolio. Average 
loans held for investment decreased by $261 million to $78.9 billion in 2014 compared to 2013, due to the run-off of certain 
loans acquired in the 2012 U.S. card acquisition, as well as the Portfolio Sale in 2013, partially offset by growth in the 
second half of 2014.

•  Net Charge-off and Delinquency Statistics: The net charge-off rate decreased by 69 basis points to 3.46% in 2014 compared 
to 2013, largely due to continued economic improvement and portfolio seasoning. The 30+ day delinquency rate decreased 
by 24 basis points to 3.30% as of December 31, 2014 from December 31, 2013, due to lower delinquency inventories.

Domestic Card Business

Domestic Card generated net income from continuing operations of $2.2 billion in both 2015 and 2014, and $2.4 billion in 2013. 
Domestic Card accounted for 91% of total net revenues of our Credit Card business in 2015, compared to 90% in both 2014 and 
2013. Income attributable to Domestic Card represented 95% of net income of our Credit Card business in 2015, compared to 
90% and 91% in 2014 and 2013, respectively. The higher portion of total net revenue attributable to Domestic Card was primarily 
due to strong loan growth in our Domestic business, the impact of foreign exchange rates driven by the strengthening of the U.S. 
dollar, as well as the build in our U.K. PPI Reserve in our International Card business.Table 6.1 summarizes the financial results 
for Domestic Card and displays selected key metrics for the periods indicated.

Table 6.1: Domestic Card Business Results

(Dollars in millions)

Selected income statement data:
Net interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total net revenue(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Provision for credit losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-interest expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income from continuing operations before income taxes . . . . . . . . . .
Income tax provision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income from continuing operations, net of tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Selected performance metrics:
Average loans held for investment(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Average yield on loans held for investment(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total net revenue margin(4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net charge-offs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net charge-off rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Card loan premium amortization and other intangible accretion(5) . . .
PCCR intangible amortization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Purchase volume(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

9,887

2,957

12,844

2,502

6,645

3,697

1,316

2,381

71,234

$

10,147

$

3,183

13,330

3,204

6,627

3,499

1,267

2,232

78,743

14.21%

16.93

2,718

3.45%

28

316

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

9,241

3,001

12,242

2,493

6,264

3,485

1,246

2,239

71,262

14.26%

17.18

2,445

3.43%

97

369

246,740

208,716

186,901

Change

2015 vs.
2014

2014 vs.
2013

10%

(7)%

6

9

29

6

—

2

—

10

1

(5)

—

(6)

(6)

(5)

(6)

—

15.27%

(5)bps

(101)bps

18.03

2,904

(25)

11%

(85)

(16)%

4.08%

2bps

(65)bps

198

434

(71)%

(51)%

(14)

18

(15)

12

53

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

(Dollars in millions)

Selected period-end data:
Loans held for investment(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30+ day delinquency rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Allowance for loan and lease losses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Allowance coverage ratio(7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31,
2015

December 31,
2014

Change

$

$

$

$

87,939

3.39%

3,355

3.82%

77,704

3.27%

2,878

3.70%

13%

12bps

17%

12bps

__________
(1)  We recognize billed finance charges and fee income on open-ended loans in accordance with the contractual provisions of the credit arrangements and 
estimate the uncollectible amount on a quarterly basis. The estimated uncollectible amount of billed finance charges and fees is reflected as a reduction in 
revenue and is not included in our net charge-offs.

(2) 

Period-end loans held for investment and average loans held for investment include accrued finance charges and fees, net of the estimated uncollectible 
amount.

(3)  Calculated by dividing interest income for the period by average loans held for investment during the period for the specified loan category. Interest income 
includes interest income on loans held for sale and excludes various allocations including funds transfer pricing that assigns certain balance sheet assets, 
deposits and other liabilities and their related revenue and expenses attributable to each business segment. The transfer of the Best Buy loan portfolio from 
loans held for investment to loans held for sale resulted in an increase in the average yield for the Domestic Card business of 99 basis points in 2013.
(4)  Calculated by dividing total net revenue for the period by average loans held for investment during the period. The transfer of the Best Buy loan portfolio 
from loans held for investment to loans held for sale resulted in an increase in the net revenue margin for the Domestic Card business of 111 basis points in 
2013.

(5)  Represents the net reduction in interest income attributable to the amortization of premiums on purchased loans accounted for based on contractual cash 

flows and the accretion of other intangibles associated with the 2012 U.S. card acquisition.

(6)  Consists of domestic card purchase transactions, net of returns, for the period for both loans classified as held for investment and loans classified as held for 

sale. Excludes cash advance and balance transfer transactions.

(7)  Calculated by dividing the allowance for loan and lease losses as of the end of the period by period-end loans held for investment.

Because our Domestic Card business accounts for the substantial majority of our Credit Card business, the key factors driving the 
results discussed above are similar to the key factors affecting our total Credit Card business. Net income for our Domestic Card 
business remained flat in 2015, compared to 2014 as continued loan growth drove increases in both revenue and expenses, including 
provision for credit losses, and operating and marketing expenses.

The primary driver of the decline in net income for our Domestic Card business in 2014, compared to 2013, was a decrease in 
revenue primarily driven by the Portfolio Sale and higher marketing expenses, partially offset by lower acquisition-related costs 
and provision for litigation matters, as well as lower operating expenses attributable to the Portfolio Sale in 2013 and operating 
efficiencies.

International Card Business

International Card generated net income from continuing operations of $122 million, $240 million and $234 million in 2015, 2014 
and 2013, respectively. The decrease of net income in 2015, compared to 2014 was primarily due to a build of $147 million in our 
U.K. PPI Reserve in 2015, which resulted in a reduction to net revenue and an increase in non-interest expense, and the impact of 
foreign exchange rates driven by the strengthening of the U.S. dollar in 2015. 

The increase of net income in 2014, compared to 2013, was primarily due to a lower provision for credit losses, attributable to 
lower net charge-offs resulting from credit improvement, partially offset by lower non-interest income due to a decrease in service 
charges and other customer-related fees.

54

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Table 6.2 summarizes the financial results for International Card and displays selected key metrics for the periods indicated.

Table 6.2: International Card Business Results 

(Dollars in millions)

Selected income statement data:

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

Net interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total net revenue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Provision for credit losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-interest expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income from continuing operations before income taxes . . . . . . . . . .
Income tax provision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income from continuing operations, net of tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Selected performance metrics:
Average loans held for investment(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Average yield on loans held for investment(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total net revenue margin(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net charge-offs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net charge-off rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Purchase volume(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

1,014

$

1,069

$

238

1,252

213

875

164

42

122

7,992

15.02%

15.66

200

2.50%

24,427

$

$

$

$

310

1,379

257

799

323

83

240

7,684

16.53%

17.95

283

3.69%

16,034

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

Change

2015 vs.
2014

2014 vs.
2013

(5)%

(1)%

(23)

(9)

(17)

10

(49)

(49)

(49)

(15)

(4)

(20)

1

(1)

(11)

3

1,080

363

1,443

322

794

327

93

234

7,973

4

(4)

16.24% (151)bps

29bps

18.10

(229)

(15)

381

(29)%

(26)%

4.78% (119)bps

(109)bps

14,173

52%

13 %

(Dollars in millions)

Selected period-end data:
Loans held for investment(1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30+ day performing delinquency rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30+ day delinquency rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nonperforming loan rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Allowance for loan and lease losses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Allowance coverage ratio(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31,
2015

December 31,
2014

Change

$

8,186

$

8,172

2.98%

2.94%

3.46

0.65

299

$

3.60

0.86

326

$

—

4bps

(14)

(21)

(8)%

3.66%

3.99%

(33)bps

__________ 
(1) 

Period-end loans held for investment and average loans held for investment include accrued finance charges and fees, net of the estimated uncollectible 
amount.

(2)  Calculated by dividing interest income for the period by average loans held for investment during the period. Interest income excludes various allocations 
including funds transfer pricing that assigns certain balance sheet assets, deposits and other liabilities and their related revenue and expenses attributable to 
each business segment.

(3)  Calculated by dividing total net revenue for the period by average loans held for investment during the period.
(4)  Consists of international card purchase transactions, net of returns for the period. Excludes cash advance and balance transfer transactions.
(5)  Calculated by dividing the allowance for loan and lease losses as of the end of the period by period-end loans held for investment.

55

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
Consumer Banking Business

The primary sources of revenue for our Consumer Banking business are net interest income from loans and deposits and non-
interest income from service charges and customer-related fees. Expenses primarily consist of the provision for credit losses, 
operating costs, such as salaries and associate benefits, occupancy and equipment costs, professional services, communications 
and data processing expenses, as well as marketing expenses.

Our Consumer Banking business generated net income from continuing operations of $1.0 billion, $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion in 
2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Table 7 summarizes the financial results of our Consumer Banking business and displays selected key metrics for the periods 
indicated.

Table 7: Consumer Banking Business Results 

(Dollars in millions)

Selected income statement data:

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

Change

2015 vs.
2014

2014 vs.
2013

Net interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total net revenue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Provision for credit losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-interest expense. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income from continuing operations before income taxes. . . . . . . . . . .
Income tax provision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income from continuing operations, net of tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

5,755

$

5,748

$

5,905

710

6,465

819

4,026

1,620

586

684

6,432

703

3,869

1,860

665

749

6,654

656

3,745

2,253

802

$

1,034

$

1,195

$

1,451

Selected performance metrics:
Average loans held for investment:(1)

Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Home loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Retail banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total consumer banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Average yield on loans held for investment(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Average deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Average deposit interest rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Core deposit intangible amortization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net charge-offs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net charge-off rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net charge-off rate (excluding Acquired Loans)(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Auto loan originations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

39,967

$

34,769

$

29,446

32,589

3,606

39,322

3,699

70,964

$

72,467

6.26%

6.10%

27,601

3,582

$

71,150

6.26%

$

170,757

$

0.56%

79

731

1.03%

1.45

$

$

$

168,623

$ 169,683

1%

0.57%

0.63%

(1)bps

(6)bps

$

108

675

0.95%

1.49

138

616

0.85%

1.51

(27)%

(22)%

8

10

8bps

10bps

(4)

1%

(2)

20%

$

21,185

$

20,903

$

17,388

—

4%

1

17

4

(13)

(12)

(13)

15

(15)

(1)

—

—

(3)%

(9)

(3)

7

3

(17)

(17)

(18)

18

(17)

(3)

(2)

16bps

(1)%

56

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
  
(Dollars in millions)
Selected period-end data:
Loans held for investment:(1)

December 31,
2015

December 31,
2014

Change

Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Home loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Retail banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total consumer banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30+ day performing delinquency rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30+ day performing delinquency rate (excluding Acquired Loans)(3) .
30+ day delinquency rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30+ day delinquency rate (excluding Acquired Loans)(3) . . . . . . . . . . .
Nonperforming loans rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nonperforming loans rate (excluding Acquired Loans)(3) . . . . . . . . . .
Nonperforming asset rate(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nonperforming asset rate (excluding Acquired Loans)(3)(4) . . . . . . . . .
Allowance for loan and lease losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Allowance coverage ratio(5)(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deposits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Loans serviced for others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

$

$

$

41,549
25,227
3,596
70,372

4.05%
5.50
4.67
6.34

0.79

1.08
1.10

1.50

868

1.23%

172,702
7,530

$

$

$

$

37,824
30,035
3,580
71,439

3.60%
5.34
4.23
6.28

0.77
1.14

1.06

1.57

779

1.09%

168,078
6,701

10%
(16)
—
(1)
45bps
16
44
6

2
(6)

4

(7)

11%

14bps

3%
12

__________
(1) 

 The period-end consumer banking loans held for investment includes Acquired Loans with carrying values of $18.6 billion and $23.3 billion as of December 31, 
2015 and 2014, respectively. The average balance of consumer banking loans held for investment includes Acquired Loans of $20.7 billion, $25.6 billion 
and $31.7 billion in 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. See “MD&A—Glossary and Acronyms” for the definition of “Acquired Loans.”

(2)  Calculated by dividing interest income for the period by average loans held for investment during the period. Interest income excludes various allocations 
including funds transfer pricing that assigns certain balance sheet assets, deposits and other liabilities and their related revenue and expenses attributable to 
each business segment.

(3) 

See “MD&A—Credit Risk Profile” and “Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” for additional information on the impact of Acquired Loans 
on our credit quality metrics.

(4)  Nonperforming assets consist of nonperforming loans, real estate owned (“REO”) and other foreclosed assets. The nonperforming asset rate is calculated 
based on nonperforming assets as of the end of the period divided by the sum of period-end loans held for investment, foreclosed properties and other 
foreclosed assets, and is adjusted to exclude the impact of acquired REOs.

(5)  Calculated by dividing the allowance for loan and lease losses as of the end of the period by period-end loans held for investment.
(6) 

Excluding the impact of acquired home loans, the coverage ratios for our home loan portfolio and total consumer banking were 0.50% and 1.60%, respectively, 
as of December 31, 2015, compared to 0.52% and 1.56%, respectively, as of December 31, 2014.

Key factors affecting the results of our Consumer Banking business for 2015, compared to 2014, and changes in financial condition 
and credit performance between December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 include the following:

•  Net Interest Income: Net interest income remained flat at $5.8 billion in 2015, as the higher net interest income generated 
by the growth in our auto loan portfolio was partially offset by lower net interest income from our home loan portfolio 
attributable to the planned run-off of the acquired portfolio and margin compression in auto loans.

Consumer Banking loan yield remained flat at 6.3% in 2015, as the decrease in average loan yield in our auto loan portfolio 
was offset by changes in the product mix in Consumer Banking as a result of growth in our auto loan portfolio and the 
planned run-off of the acquired home loan portfolio. The increase in our auto loan portfolio in relation to our total consumer 
banking loan portfolio drove an increase in the total Consumer Banking yield, even as the average yield on auto loans 
decreased by 65 basis points to 8.0% in 2015. This decrease was primarily attributable to two factors: (i) a shift to a higher 
proportion of prime auto loans; and (ii) continued competition across the auto business. The average yield on the home loan 
portfolio increased by 6 basis points to 3.9% in 2015, as a result of higher yield on our acquired home loan portfolio.

•  Non-Interest Income: Non-interest income increased by $26 million to $710 million in 2015, primarily due to the gain 

recognized on loans originated and sold within our home loan portfolio.

57

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

•  Provision for Credit Losses: The provision for credit losses increased by $116 million to $819 million in 2015, driven by 
an allowance build across our consumer banking loan portfolios, coupled with higher net charge-offs due to continued 
growth in our auto loan portfolio.

•  Non-Interest Expense: Non-interest expense increased by $157 million to $4.0 billion in 2015, largely due to increased 
operating expenses due to continued technology and infrastructure investments in our retail banking business and growth 
in our auto loan portfolio.

• 

Loans Held for Investment: Period-end loans held for investment decreased by $1.1 billion to $70.4 billion as of December 31, 
2015 from December 31, 2014, primarily due to the planned run-off of our acquired home loan portfolio, partially offset 
by growth in our auto loan portfolio. Average loans held for investment were substantially flat, increasing by $186 million, 
or 0.3%, to $71.2 billion in 2015 compared to 2014.

•  Deposits: Period-end deposits increased by $4.6 billion to $172.7 billion as of December 31, 2015 from December 31, 2014, 
primarily driven by our continued focus on deposit relationships with existing customers and attracting new customers.

•  Net Charge-off and Delinquency Statistics: The net charge-off rate increased by 8 basis points to 1.03% in 2015 compared 
to 2014. The 30+ day delinquency rate increased by 44 basis points to 4.67% as of December 31, 2015 from December 31, 
2014. The increase in the net charge-off rate and 30+ day delinquency rate reflected the planned run-off of our acquired 
home loan portfolio, which generally does not have charge-offs or delinquencies since these loans were recorded at fair 
value at acquisition, and a greater portion of auto loans in our portfolio, which have a higher charge-off and delinquency 
rate than other products within the total consumer banking loan portfolio.

Key factors affecting the results of our Consumer Banking business for 2014, compared to 2013, and changes in financial condition 
and credit performance between December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 include the following:

•  Net Interest Income: Net interest income decreased by $157 million to $5.7 billion in 2014. The decrease in net interest 
income  was  primarily  attributable  to  compression  in  deposit  spreads  in  retail  banking  due  to  the  lower  interest  rate 
environment, declining home loan portfolio balances, and margin compression in our auto loan portfolio. The decreases 
were partially offset by higher net interest income generated by growth in our auto loan portfolio.

Consumer Banking loan yields increased by 16 basis points to 6.3% in 2014. The increase in 2014 was driven by changes 
in the product mix in Consumer Banking as a result of growth in our auto loan portfolio and the run-off of the acquired 
home loan portfolio. The increase in our auto loans in relation to our total consumer banking loan portfolio drove an increase 
in the total Consumer Banking yield, even as the average yield on auto loans decreased by 109 basis points to 8.7% in 2014. 
This decrease was primarily attributable to a shift to a higher portion of prime auto loans and increased competition in the 
auto business. The average yield on home loans portfolio increased by 38 basis points to 3.8% in 2014. The higher yield in 
the home loan portfolio was driven by an increase in expected cash flows as a result of credit improvement on the acquired 
home loan portfolio.

•  Non-Interest Income: Non-interest income decreased by $65 million to $684 million in 2014. The decrease in non-interest 

income in 2014 was primarily attributable to the sale of certain MSRs in 2013.

•  Provision for Credit Losses: The provision for credit losses increased by $47 million to $703 million in 2014. The increase 
in 2014, as compared to 2013, was driven by higher net charge-offs due to the growth in our auto loan portfolio and a smaller 
release of the allowance for loan and lease losses in the retail banking and home loan portfolios, offset by a smaller allowance 
build in the auto loan portfolio.

•  Non-Interest Expense: Non-interest expense increased by $124 million to $3.9 billion in 2014. The increase was largely 
due to the growth in our auto loan portfolio and to a smaller degree, the change to include the auto repossession-related 
expenses as a component of operating expenses. Prior to January 1, 2014, these costs were reported as a component of net 
charge-offs.

• 

Loans  Held  for  Investment: Period-end  loans  held  for  investment  increased  by  $677  million  to  $71.4  billion  as  of 
December 31, 2014 from December 31, 2013, primarily due to the growth in the auto loan portfolio, mostly offset by the 
run-off of our acquired home loan portfolio. Average loans held for investment decreased by $1.5 billion to $71.0 billion 
in 2014 compared to 2013 due to the run-off in our acquired home loan portfolio outpacing growth in our auto loan portfolio.

58

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

•  Deposits: Period-end deposits increased by $426 million to $168.1 billion as of December 31, 2014, from December 31, 

2013.

•  Net Charge-off and Delinquency Statistics: The net charge-off rate increased by 10 basis points to 0.95% in 2014 compared 
to 2013. The increase in the net charge-off rate reflected a shift in the mix of the portfolio toward auto loans (which typically 
carry higher net charge-off rates than our home loan portfolio), as the home loan portfolio runs off. The 30+ day delinquency 
rate increased by 34 basis points to 4.23% as of December 31, 2014 from December 31, 2013.

Commercial Banking Business

The primary sources of revenue for our Commercial Banking business are net interest income from loans and deposits and non-
interest income from customer fees and other transactions. Because we have some investments that generate tax-exempt income 
or tax credits, we make certain reclassifications to our Commercial Banking business results to present revenues on a taxable-
equivalent basis. Expenses primarily consist of  the provision for credit losses, operating costs, such as salaries and associate 
benefits,  occupancy,  equipment,  professional  services,  communications  and  data  processing  expenses,  as  well  as  marketing 
expenses.

Our Commercial Banking business generated net income from continuing operations of $570 million, $659 million and $731 
million in 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Table 8 summarizes the financial results of our Commercial Banking business and 
displays selected key metrics for the periods indicated.

Table 8: Commercial Banking Business Results

(Dollars in millions)
Selected income statement data:
Net interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total net revenue(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Provision (benefit) for credit losses(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-interest expense. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income from continuing operations before income taxes. . . . . . . . . . .
Income tax provision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income from continuing operations, net of tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Selected performance metrics:
Average loans held for investment:(3)

Commercial and multifamily real estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial and industrial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total commercial lending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Small-ticket commercial real estate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total commercial banking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Average yield on loans held for investment(1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Average deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Average deposit interest rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Core deposit intangible amortization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net charge-offs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net charge-off rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

$

$

$

$

$

Year Ended December 31,

Change

2015

2014

2013

2015 vs.
2014

2014 vs.
2013

$

$

$

$

$

$

1,865
487
2,352

302
1,156
894
324
570

23,728
28,349
52,077
692
52,769

3.21%

33,058

0.25%
15
47
0.09%

$

$

$

$

$

$

1,751
450
2,201

93
1,083
1,025
366
659

22,003
25,028
47,031
868
47,899

3.42%

31,752

0.24%
21
10
0.02%

1,674
395
2,069

(24)
958
1,135
404
731

18,636
21,062
39,698
1,073
40,771

3.88%

30,702

0.27%
27
14
0.03%

7%
8
7

225
7
(13)
(11)
(14)

8
13
11
(20)
10
(21)bps

4%
1bps
(29)%
370

7bps

5%

14
6

**

13
(10)
(9)
(10)

18
19
18
(19)
17
(46)bps

3%
(3)bps

(22)%
(29)
(1)bps

59

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
(Dollars in millions)
Selected period-end data:
Loans held for investment:(3)

December 31,
2015

December 31,
2014

Change

Commercial and multifamily real estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial and industrial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total commercial lending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Small-ticket commercial real estate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total commercial banking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nonperforming loans rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nonperforming asset rate(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Allowance for loan and lease losses(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Allowance coverage ratio(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deposits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Loans serviced for others(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
__________

$

$

$

$

25,518
37,135
62,653
613
63,266

0.87%
0.87
604
0.95%

34,257
17,643

$

$

$

$

23,137
26,972
50,109
781
50,890

0.34%
0.36
395
0.78%

31,954
14,131

10%
38
25
(22)
24
53bps
51
53%
17bps
7%
25

**  Change is not meaningful.
(1) 

The average yield on loans held for investment is calculated by dividing interest income for the period by average loans held for investment during the period. 
Interest income excludes various allocations including funds transfer pricing that assigns certain balance sheet assets, deposits and other liabilities and their 
related revenue and expenses attributable to each business segment. Some of our tax-related commercial investments generate tax-exempt income or tax 
credits. Accordingly, we make certain reclassifications within our Commercial Banking business results to present revenues and yields on a taxable-equivalent 
basis, calculated assuming an effective tax rate approximately equal to our federal statutory tax rate of 35%.

(2) 

(3) 

The provision for unfunded lending commitments is included in the provision for credit losses in our consolidated statements of income and the related 
reserve for unfunded lending commitments is included in other liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets. We recorded a reserve for unfunded lending 
commitments of $161 million, $106 million and $80 million as of December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

The period-end commercial banking loans held for investment include Acquired Loans with carrying value of $958 million and $191 million as of December 31, 
2015 and 2014, respectively. The average balance of commercial banking loans held for investment includes Acquired Loans of $215 million, $217 million 
and $303 million in 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. See “MD&A—Glossary and Acronyms” for the definition of “Acquired Loans.”

(4)  Nonperforming assets consist of nonperforming loans, real estate owned (“REO”) and other foreclosed assets. The nonperforming asset rate is calculated 
based on nonperforming assets as of the end of the period divided by the sum of period-end loans held for investment, foreclosed properties and other 
foreclosed assets, and is adjusted to exclude the impact of acquired REOs.

(5)  Calculated by dividing the allowance for loan and lease losses as of the end of the period by period-end loans held for investment.
(6)  Represents our portfolio of loans serviced for third parties related to our multifamily finance business.

Key  factors  affecting  the  results  of  our  Commercial  Banking  business  for  2015,  compared  to  2014,  and  changes  in  financial 
condition and credit performance between December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 include the following:

•  Net Interest Income: Net interest income increased by $114 million to $1.9 billion in 2015. The increase was due to growth 
in commercial and industrial and commercial and multifamily real estate average loans, partially offset by lower loan yields 
driven by market and competitive pressures.

•  Non-Interest Income: Non-interest income increased by $37 million to $487 million in 2015 primarily driven by increased 

revenue from products and services provided to our commercial customers.

•  Provision for Credit Losses: The provision for credit losses increased by $209 million to $302 million in 2015. The increase 
was primarily driven by a larger build in both the allowance and the reserve for unfunded lending commitments resulting 
from adverse market conditions impacting our oil and gas portfolio and taxi medallion lending portfolio. See “MD&A—
Table 17—Commercial Loans by Industry” for additional information about the composition of our commercial banking 
loan  portfolio,  and  “Note  5—Loans”  for  additional  information  about  credit  metrics  for  our  commercial  banking  loan 
portfolio.

•  Non-Interest Expense: Non-interest expense increased by $73 million to $1.2 billion in 2015, driven by higher operating 
expenses due to costs associated with the GE Healthcare acquisition and continued growth in our Commercial Banking 
business. 

• 

Loans  Held  for  Investment:  Period-end  loans  held  for  investment  increased  by  $12.4  billion  to  $63.3  billion  as  of 
December 31, 2015 from December 31, 2014 driven by the GE Healthcare acquisition as well as growth in our commercial 

60

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

and multifamily real estate loan portfolios. Average loans held for investment increased by $4.9 billion to $52.8 billion in 
2015 compared to 2014 primarily driven by growth in our commercial and multifamily real estate loan portfolios.

•  Deposits: Period-end deposits increased by $2.3 billion to $34.3 billion as of December 31, 2015 from December 31, 2014, 
driven by our strategy to strengthen existing relationships with and increase liquidity from our commercial customers.

•  Net Charge-off and Nonperforming Statistics: The net charge-off rate increased by 7 basis points to 0.09% in 2015 compared 
to 2014. The nonperforming loans rate increased by 53 basis points to 0.87% as of December 31, 2015 from December 31, 
2014. The increases in these rates reflect losses and credit risk rating downgrades in our oil and gas portfolio and taxi 
medallion lending portfolio.

Key  factors  affecting  the  results  of  our  Commercial  Banking  business  for  2014,  compared  to  2013,  and  changes  in  financial 
condition and credit performance between December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 include the following:

•  Net Interest Income: Net interest income increased by $77 million to $1.8 billion in 2014. The increase was driven by growth 
in commercial and multifamily real estate and commercial and industrial loans, partially offset by lower loan yields driven 
by market and competitive pressures.

•  Non-Interest Income: Non-interest income increased by $55 million to $450 million in 2014, primarily driven by increased 

revenue related to fee-based services and products attributable to multifamily finance business.

•  Provision for Credit Losses: The provision for credit losses increased by $117 million to $93 million in 2014, primarily due 
to the change from an allowance release in 2013 driven by credit improvements, to an allowance build in 2014 attributable 
to loan growth and portfolio specific risks. The above impact was partially offset by a smaller reserve build due to lower 
growth in unfunded lending commitments.

•  Non-Interest Expense: Non-interest expense increased by $125 million to $1.1 billion in 2014, driven by operating expenses 

associated with continued investments in business growth.

• 

Loans Held for Investment: Period-end loans held for investment increased by $5.9 billion to $50.9 billion as of December 31, 
2014 from December 31, 2013, and average loans held for investment increased by $7.1 billion to $47.9 billion in 2014 
compared  to  2013.  The  increases  were  driven  by  loan  growth  in  the  commercial  and  industrial  and  commercial  and 
multifamily real estate businesses.

•  Deposits: Period-end deposits increased by $1.4 billion to $32.0 billion as of December 31, 2014 from December 31, 2013, 

driven by our strategy to deepen and expand relationships with commercial customers.

•  Net Charge-off Statistics: The net charge-off rate decreased by 1 basis point to 0.02% in 2014. The nonperforming loans 
rate increased by 1 basis point to 0.34% as of December 31, 2014 from December 31, 2013. The continued strength in the 
credit metrics in our Commercial Banking business reflects stable credit trends.

Other Category

Other includes unallocated amounts related to our centralized Corporate Treasury group activities, such as management of our 
corporate investment portfolio and asset/liability management, and certain capital management activities. Other also includes 
foreign exchange-rate fluctuations on foreign currency-denominated balances; unallocated corporate expenses that do not directly 
support the operations of the business segments or for which the business segments are not considered financially accountable in 
evaluating their performance, such as certain acquisition and restructuring charges; a portion of the net provision (benefit) for 
representation and warranty losses related to continuing operations; and offsets related to certain line-item reclassifications.

61

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Table 9 summarizes the financial results of our Other category for the periods indicated.

Table 9: Other Category Results

(Dollars in millions)

Selected income statement data:

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

Change

2015 vs.
2014

2014 vs.
2013

Net interest income (expense). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total net revenue (loss)(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Benefit for credit losses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-interest expense. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Loss from continuing operations before income taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income tax benefit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income (loss) from continuing operations, net of tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

53

$

(39)

14

(2)

312

(296)

(350)

$

9

27

36

(5)

165

(124)

(214)

$

54

$

90

$

(440)

(186)

(626)

**

**

(61)%

**

**

**

(3)

(60)

67%

211

(834)

(391)

(443)

89

139

64

(40)

(22)

(85)

(45)

**

__________
**  Change is not meaningful.
(1) 

Some  of  our  tax-related  commercial  investments  generate  tax-exempt  income  or  tax  credits,  accordingly  we  make  certain  reclassifications  within  our 
Commercial Banking business results to present revenues and yields on a taxable-equivalent basis, calculated assuming an effective tax rate approximately 
equal to our federal statutory tax rate of 35%, with offsetting reclassifications within the Other category.

Net income from continuing operations recorded in the Other category was $54 million in 2015, compared to $90 million in 2014. 
The reduction in net income in 2015 was primarily due to charges associated with (i) severance and related benefits pursuant to 
our ongoing benefit program as a result of the realignment of our workforce; and (ii) certain planned site closures, partially offset 
by higher discrete tax benefits and net tax credits.

Net income from continuing operations recorded in the Other category was $90 million in 2014, compared to a net loss from 
continuing operations of $443 million in 2013. The shift to a net profit from a net loss was primarily due to lower funding costs, 
as well as the absence of the one-time charge associated with our redemption of trust preferred securities in January 2013.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS ANALYSIS

Total assets increased by $25.9 billion to $334.0 billion as of December 31, 2015 from December 31, 2014 primarily attributable 
to (i) an increase of $21.5 billion in loans held for investment due to growth in our credit card, auto and commercial portfolios, 
including loans acquired from the GE Healthcare acquisition, partially offset by the planned run-off of our acquired home loan 
portfolio; and (ii) an increase of $1.7 billion in investment securities due to purchases outpacing sales, maturities and paydowns. 
Total liabilities increased by $23.7 billion to $286.8 billion as of December 31, 2015, primarily driven by higher deposit and 
outstanding debt due to new issuances outpacing maturities. Stockholders’ equity increased by $2.2 billion to $47.3 billion as of 
December 31, 2015, primarily due to our net income of $4.1 billion in 2015 and $1.5 billion of proceeds from the issuance of 
preferred stock, partially offset by $2.4 billion of share repurchases under our 2014 and 2015 Stock Repurchase Programs and 
dividend payments.

The following is a discussion of material changes in the major components of our assets and liabilities during 2015. Period-end 
balance sheet amounts may vary from average balance sheet amounts due to liquidity and balance sheet management activities 
that are intended to ensure the adequacy of capital while managing our liquidity requirements for the Company and our customers 
and our market risk exposure in accordance with our risk appetite.

Investment Securities

Our investment portfolio consists primarily of the following: U.S. Treasury securities; corporate debt securities guaranteed by U.S. 
government agencies; U.S. government-sponsored enterprise or agency (“Agency”) and non-agency residential mortgage-backed 
securities (“RMBS”) and commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”); other asset-backed securities (“ABS”); and other 
securities. The carrying value of our investments in U.S. Treasury, Agency securities and other securities guaranteed by the U.S. 

62

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
government  or  agencies  of  the  U.S.  government  represented  90%  and  86%  of  our  total  investment  securities  portfolio  as  of 
December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

The fair value of our securities available for sale portfolio was $39.1 billion as of December 31, 2015, a decrease of $447 million 
from $39.5 billion as of December 31, 2014. The decrease was primarily due to higher interest rates. The fair value of our securities 
held  to  maturity  portfolio  was  $25.3  billion  as  of  December 31,  2015,  an  increase  of  $1.7  billion  from  $23.6  billion  as  of 
December 31, 2014. The increase was primarily due to growth in this portfolio as purchases outpaced maturities and paydowns, 
slightly offset by decreases in fair value due to higher interest rates.

Gross unrealized gains on available for sale investment securities decreased to $578 million as of December 31, 2015 compared 
to $886 million as of December 31, 2014 primarily driven by an increase in interest rates. Gross unrealized losses on available for 
sale investment securities increased to $321 million as of December 31, 2015 compared to $237 million as of December 31, 2014. 
Of the $321 million as of December 31, 2015, $165 million was related to securities that had been in a loss position for 12 months 
or longer. We provide information on OTTI recognized in earnings on our investment securities above in “Consolidated Results 
of Operations—Non-Interest Income.”

Table 10 presents the amortized cost, carrying value and fair value for the major categories of our portfolio of investment securities 
as of December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013.

Table 10: Investment Securities

(Dollars in millions)

Investment securities available for sale

2015

December 31,

2014

2013

Amortized
Cost 

Fair
Value

Amortized
Cost 

Fair
Value

Amortized
Cost 

Fair
Value

U.S. Treasury securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

4,664

$

4,660

$

4,114

$

4,118

$

832

$

834

Corporate debt securities guaranteed by U.S. government
agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

RMBS:

Agency(1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-agency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total RMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CMBS:

Agency(1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-agency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total CMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other ABS(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other securities(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total investment securities available for sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

0

0

819

800

1,282

1,234

24,332

2,680

27,012

3,690

1,723

5,413

1,345

370

24,285

3,026

27,311

3,664

1,715

5,379

1,340

371

21,804

2,938

24,742

3,751

1,780

5,531

2,618

1,035

21,995

3,386

25,381

3,723

1,796

5,519

2,662

1,028

21,572

3,165

24,737

4,262

1,854

6,116

7,123

1,542

21,479

3,600

25,079

4,198

1,808

6,006

7,136

1,511

$ 38,804

$ 39,061

$ 38,859

$ 39,508

$ 41,632

$ 41,800

(Dollars in millions)

Investment securities held to maturity

Carrying
Value

Fair
Value

Carrying
Value

Fair
Value

Carrying
Value

Fair
Value

U.S. Treasury securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

199

$

198

$

0

$

0

$

0

$

0

Agency RMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Agency CMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21,513

2,907

22,133

2,986

20,163

2,337

21,210

2,424

17,443

1,689

17,485

1,700

Total investment securities held to maturity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 24,619

$ 25,317

$ 22,500

$ 23,634

$ 19,132

$ 19,185

__________
(1) 

Includes Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”).

(2)  ABS collateralized by credit card loans constituted approximately 71% and 56% of the other ABS portfolio as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, 
and ABS  collateralized  by  auto  dealer  floor  plan  inventory  loans  and  leases  constituted  approximately  11%  and  16%  of  the  other ABS  portfolio  as  of 
December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

(3) 

Includes foreign government bonds, corporate securities, municipal securities and equity investments.

63

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Credit Ratings

Our portfolio of investment securities continues to be concentrated in securities that generally have high credit ratings and low 
credit risk, such as securities issued and guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and Agencies. Approximately 95% and 93% of our total 
investment securities portfolio was rated AA+ or its equivalent, or better, as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, while 
approximately 5% and 6% was below investment grade as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. We categorize the credit 
ratings of our investment securities based on the lowest credit rating as issued by the following rating agencies: Standard & Poor’s 
Ratings Services, Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) and Fitch Ratings (“Fitch”).

Table 11 provides information on the credit ratings of our non-agency RMBS, non-agency CMBS, other ABS and other securities 
in our portfolio as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Table 11: Non-Agency Investment Securities Credit Ratings

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

(Dollars in millions)

Fair
Value

Non-agency RMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 3,026

Non-agency CMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other ABS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other securities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,715

1,340

371

Other
Investment
Grade

Below
Investment
Grade(1)

Fair
Value

3%

97% $ 3,386

—

1

64

—

—

28

1,796

2,662

1,028

AAA

—

100%

99

8

AAA

—

100%

90

2

Other
Investment
Grade

Below
Investment
Grade(1)

3%

97%

—

5

88

—

5

10

__________
(1)  

Includes a small portion of investment securities that were not rated.

For additional information on our investment securities, see “Note 4—Investment Securities.”

Loans Held for Investment

Total loans held for investment (“HFI”) consists of both unrestricted loans and loans restricted in our consolidated securitization 
trusts. Table 12 summarizes our portfolio of loans held for investment by portfolio segment, net of the allowance for loan and lease 
losses, as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Table 12: Loans Held for Investment 

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

(Dollars in millions)
Credit Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consumer Banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial Banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Loans
$ 96,125
70,372
63,266
88
$ 229,851

Allowance Net Loans
$ 92,471
$
69,504
62,662
84
$ 224,721

3,654
868
604
4
5,130

$

Loans
$ 85,876
71,439
50,890
111
$ 208,316

Allowance Net Loans
$ 82,672
$
70,660
50,495
106
$ 203,933

3,204
779
395
5
4,383

$

Period-end loans held for investment increased by $21.5 billion to $229.9 billion as of December 31, 2015 from December 31, 
2014, primarily driven by continued growth in our credit card, auto and commercial loan portfolios, including loans acquired from 
the GE Healthcare acquisition, partially offset by the planned run-off of our acquired home loan portfolio.

We provide additional information on the composition of our loan portfolio and credit quality below in “Credit Risk Profile,”  
“MD&A—Consolidated Results of Operations” and “Note 5—Loans.”

Loans Held for Sale

Loans held for sale, which are carried at lower of cost or fair value, increased by $278 million to $904 million as of December 31, 
2015 from December 31, 2014. The increase was primarily due to certain loan portfolios acquired as part of the GE Healthcare 
acquisition that we intend to sell, as well as the transfer of certain domestic credit card loans from loans held for investment to 
loans held for sale.

64

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
Deposits

Our deposits represent our largest source of funding for our operations, providing a consistent source of low-cost funds. Total 
deposits increased by $12.2 billion to $217.7 billion as of December 31, 2015 from December 31, 2014. The increase in deposits 
was primarily driven by the issuance of brokered deposits and growth in our Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking businesses 
as a result of our continued focus on deposit relationships with existing customers and our ongoing marketing strategy to attract 
new business from our commercial customers. We provide information on the composition of our deposits, average outstanding 
balances, interest expense and yield below in “Liquidity Risk Profile.”

Securitized Debt Obligations

Securitized debt obligations increased by $4.5 billion to $16.2 billion as of December 31, 2015 from December 31, 2014 primarily 
driven by debt issuances of approximately $5.1 billion, offset by debt maturities of $500 million during 2015. We provide additional 
information on our borrowings below in “Liquidity Risk Profile.”

Other Debt

Other debt, which consists primarily of federal funds purchased and securities loaned or sold under agreements to repurchase, 
senior and subordinated notes, and Federal Home Loan Banks (“FHLB”) advances, totaled $42.9 billion as of December 31, 2015, 
of which $42.0 billion represented long-term debt and the remainder represented short-term borrowings. Other debt totaled $36.8 
billion as of December 31, 2014, of which $17.1 billion represented short-term borrowings and $19.7 billion represented long-
term debt. During 2015, we extended the maturity of our FHLB advances which resulted in a decrease in our short-term borrowings 
and a corresponding increase in our long-term debt.

The increase in other debt of $6.1 billion in 2015 was primarily attributable to a net increase of $2.8 billion in FHLB advances, 
$3.2 billion in unsecured senior notes and $101 million in federal funds purchased and securities loaned or sold under agreements 
to repurchase. We provide additional information on our borrowings below in “Liquidity Risk Profile” and in “Note 10—Deposits 
and Borrowings.”

Mortgage Representation and Warranty Reserve

We acquired three subsidiaries that originated residential mortgage loans and sold these loans to various purchasers, including 
purchasers who created securitization trusts. These subsidiaries are Capital One Home Loans, LLC, which was acquired in February 
2005; GreenPoint, which was acquired in December 2006 as part of the North Fork Bancorporation, Inc. (“North Fork”) acquisition; 
and CCB, which was acquired in February 2009 and subsequently merged into CONA.

We have established representation and warranty reserves for losses associated with the mortgage loans sold by each subsidiary 
that we consider to be both probable and reasonably estimable, including both litigation and non-litigation liabilities. These reserves 
are reported on our consolidated balance sheets as a component of other liabilities. The reserve setting process relies heavily on 
estimates, which are inherently uncertain, and requires judgment. We evaluate these estimates on a quarterly basis. We build our 
representation and warranty reserves through the provision for mortgage representation and warranty losses, which we report in 
our consolidated statements of income as a component of non-interest income for loans originated and sold by CCB and Capital 
One Home Loans, LLC and as a component of discontinued operations for loans originated and sold by GreenPoint. The aggregate 
reserve for all three entities totaled $610 million as of December 31, 2015, compared to $731 million as of December 31, 2014.

65

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

The table below summarizes changes in our representation and warranty reserve in 2015 and 2014.

Table 13: Changes in Representation and Warranty Reserve

(Dollars in millions)
Representation and warranty reserve, beginning of period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2015

2014

$

731

$

1,172

Benefit for mortgage representation and warranty losses:

Recorded in continuing operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recorded in discontinued operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total benefit for mortgage representation and warranty losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net realized losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Representation and warranty reserve, end of period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(16)

(64)

(80)

(41)

$

610

$

(26)

(7)

(33)

(408)
731                   

Year Ended December 31,

As part of our business planning processes, we have considered various outcomes relating to the future representation and warranty 
liabilities of our subsidiaries that are possible but do not rise to the level of being both probable and reasonably estimable outcomes 
justifying an incremental reserve under applicable accounting standards. Our current best estimate of reasonably possible future 
losses from representation and warranty claims beyond what was in our reserve as of December 31, 2015, is approximately $1.6 
billion, a decline from our estimate of $2.1 billion as of December 31, 2014. The decrease in the reasonably possible estimate for 
representation and warranty claims was primarily driven by favorable industry legal developments.

We provide additional information related to the representation and warranty reserve, including factors that may impact the adequacy 
of  the  reserve  and  the  ultimate  amount  of  losses  incurred  by  our  subsidiaries,  in  “Note  21—Commitments,  Contingencies, 
Guarantees and Others.”

Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

Deferred tax assets and liabilities represent decreases or increases in taxes expected to be paid in the future because of future 
reversals  of  temporary  differences  between  the  financial  reporting  and  tax  bases  of  assets  and  liabilities,  as  well  as  from  net 
operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets are recognized subject to management’s judgment that realization 
is more likely than not. We evaluate the recoverability of these future tax deductions by assessing the adequacy of expected taxable 
income  from  all  sources,  including  taxable  income  in  carryback  years,  reversal  of  taxable  temporary  differences,  forecasted 
operating earnings and available tax planning strategies. These sources of income rely heavily on estimates. We use our historical 
experience and our short and long-range business forecasts to provide insight.

As  of  December 31,  2015,  we  have  recorded  deferred  tax  assets,  net  of  deferred  tax  liabilities  and  valuation  allowances,  of 
approximately $3.7 billion, which is an increase of $330 million from December 31, 2014. We have recorded a valuation allowance 
of $166 million and $148 million as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. We expect to fully realize the 2015 net deferred 
tax asset amounts in future periods. If changes in circumstances lead us to change our judgment about our ability to realize deferred 
tax assets in future years, we will adjust our valuation allowances in the period that our change in judgment occurs and record a 
corresponding increase or charge to income.

We provide additional information on income taxes in “Consolidated Results of Operations” and in “Note 18—Income Taxes.”

OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS AND VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES

In the ordinary course of business, we are involved in various types of arrangements with limited liability companies, partnerships 
or trusts that often involve special purpose entities and variable interest entities (“VIEs”). Some of these arrangements are not 
recorded on our consolidated balance sheets or may be recorded in amounts different from the full contract or notional amount of 
the arrangements, depending on the nature or structure of, and the accounting standards required to be applied to, the arrangement. 
These arrangements may expose us to potential losses in excess of the amounts recorded on our consolidated balance sheets. Our 
involvement in these arrangements can take many forms, including securitization and servicing activities, the purchase or sale of 
mortgage-backed or other asset-backed securities in connection with our home loan portfolio and loans to VIEs that hold debt, 
equity, real estate or other assets.

66

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
Our continuing involvement in unconsolidated VIEs primarily consists of certain mortgage loan trusts and community reinvestment 
and development entities. We provide a discussion of our activities related to these VIEs in “Note 7—Variable Interest Entities 
and Securitizations.”

CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

The  level  and  composition  of  our  capital  are  determined  by  multiple  factors,  including  our  consolidated  regulatory  capital 
requirements  and  internal  risk-based  capital  assessments  such  as  internal  stress  testing  and  economic  capital.  The  level  and 
composition  of  our  capital  may  also  be  influenced  by  rating  agency  guidelines,  subsidiary  capital  requirements,  the  business 
environment, conditions in the financial markets and assessments of potential future losses due to adverse changes in our business 
and market environments.

Capital Standards and Prompt Corrective Action

We are subject to capital adequacy standards adopted by the Federal Banking Agencies, including the Final Basel III Capital Rule.  
Moreover, the Banks, as insured depository institutions, are subject to PCA capital regulations.

In July 2013, the Federal Banking Agencies finalized new capital rules that implemented the Basel III capital framework (“Final 
Basel III Capital Rule”) developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and certain Dodd-Frank Act and other capital 
provisions, and that updated the PCA capital framework to reflect the new regulatory capital minimums. The Final Basel III Capital 
Rule amended both the Basel I and Basel II Advanced Approaches frameworks, establishing a new common equity Tier 1 capital 
requirement and setting higher minimum capital ratio requirements. We refer to the amended Basel I framework as the “Basel III 
Standardized Approach,” and the amended Advanced Approaches framework as the “Basel III Advanced Approaches.”

At the end of 2012, we met one of the two independent eligibility criteria set by banking regulators for becoming subject to the 
Advanced Approaches capital rules. As a result, we have undertaken a multi-year process of implementing the Advanced Approaches 
regime for calculating risk-weighted assets and regulatory capital levels. We entered parallel run under Advanced Approaches on 
January 1, 2015, during which we will calculate capital ratios under both the Basel III Standardized Approach and the Basel III 
Advanced Approaches, though we will continue to use the Standardized Approach for purposes of meeting regulatory capital 
requirements. 

In addition, beginning in the first quarter of 2015, as an Advanced Approaches banking organization, we are required to calculate 
and publicly disclose our supplementary leverage ratio.

For additional information about the capital adequacy guidelines we are subject to, see “Part 1—Item 1. Business—Supervision 
and Regulation.”

Separately, we also disclose a non-GAAP TCE ratio in “Part II—Item 6. Summary of Selected Financial Data.” While the TCE 
ratio is a capital measure widely used by investors, analysts, rating agencies, and bank regulatory agencies to assess the capital 
position of financial services companies, it may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. We 
provide information on the calculation of this ratio in “MD&A—Table F—Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures and Calculation 
of Regulatory Capital Measures.”

Table 14 provides a comparison of our regulatory capital ratios under the Basel III Standardized Approach subject to transition 
provisions, the regulatory minimum capital adequacy ratios and the PCA well-capitalized targets as of December 31, 2015 and 
2014. 

67

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Table 14: Capital Ratios Under Basel III(1)

Capital One Financial Corp:
Common equity Tier 1 capital(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tier 1 capital(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total capital(4)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tier 1 leverage(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Supplementary leverage ratio(6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Capital One Bank (USA), N.A.:
Common equity Tier 1 capital(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tier 1 capital(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total capital(4)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tier 1 leverage(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Supplementary leverage ratio(6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Capital One, N.A.:
Common equity Tier 1 capital(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tier 1 capital(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total capital(4)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tier 1 leverage(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Supplementary leverage ratio(6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

Capital
Ratio

Minimum
Capital
Adequacy

Well-
Capitalized

Capital
Ratio

Minimum
Capital
Adequacy

Well-
Capitalized

11.1%

4.5%

12.4

14.6

10.6

9.2

6.0

8.0

4.0

N/A

N/A

6.0%

10.0

N/A

N/A

12.5%

4.0%

13.2

15.1

10.8

N/A

5.5

8.0

4.0

N/A

12.2%

4.5%

6.5%

11.3%

4.0%

12.2

15.2

10.8

9.0

6.0

8.0

4.0

N/A

8.0

10.0

5.0

N/A

11.3

14.6

9.6

N/A

5.5

8.0

4.0

N/A

11.8%

4.5%

6.5%

12.5%

4.0%

11.8

12.9

8.8

7.9

6.0

8.0

4.0

N/A

8.0

10.0

5.0

N/A

12.5

13.6

8.9

N/A

5.5

8.0

4.0

N/A

N/A

6.0%

10.0

N/A

N/A

N/A

6.0%

10.0

5.0

N/A

N/A

6.0%

10.0

5.0

N/A

__________ 
(1)  Capital ratios are calculated based on the Basel III Standardized Approach framework, subject to applicable transition provisions. As we continue to refine 

our classification of exposures under the Basel III Standardized Approach framework, risk-weighted asset classifications are subject to change. 
(2)  Common equity Tier 1 capital ratio is a regulatory capital measure calculated based on common equity Tier 1 capital divided by risk-weighted assets.
(3) 

Tier 1 capital ratio is a regulatory capital measure calculated based on Tier 1 capital divided by risk-weighted assets.

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

Total capital ratio is a regulatory capital measure calculated based on total capital divided by risk-weighted assets.

Tier 1 leverage ratio is a regulatory capital measure calculated based on Tier 1 capital divided by average assets, after certain adjustments.

Supplementary leverage ratio is a regulatory capital measure calculated based on Tier 1 capital under the Basel III Standardized Approach divided by total 
leverage exposure.

Capital One Financial Corporation exceeded Federal Banking Agencies’ minimum capital requirements and each of the Banks 
exceeded minimum regulatory requirements and were “well-capitalized” under PCA requirements as of both December 31, 2015 
and 2014. Our common equity Tier 1 capital ratio, as calculated under the Basel III Standardized Approach, subject to transition 
provisions, was 11.1% and 12.5% as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

The calculation of our Basel III Standardized Approach common equity Tier 1 capital under the Final Basel III Capital Rule includes 
adjustments and deductions which are subject to transition provisions, such as the inclusion of the unrealized gains and losses on 
available for sale investment securities included in AOCI and adjustments related to intangible assets other than goodwill. The 
inclusion of AOCI and the adjustments related to intangible assets are phased-in at 20% for 2014, 40% for 2015, 60% for 2016, 
80% for 2017 and 100% for 2018.

The following table compares our common equity Tier 1 capital and risk-weighted assets as of December 31, 2015, calculated 
based on the Final Basel III Capital Rule, subject to applicable transition provisions, to our estimated common equity Tier 1 capital 
and risk-weighted assets as of December 31, 2015, calculated under the Basel III Standardized Approach, as it applies when fully 
phased-in for Advanced Approaches banks like us that have not yet exited parallel run. Our estimated common equity Tier 1 capital 
ratio under the fully phased-in Basel III Standardized Approach is based on our interpretations, expectations and assumptions of 
relevant regulations, as well as interpretations provided by our regulators, and is subject to change based on changes to future 
regulations and interpretations. As we continue to engage with our regulators during our parallel run, there could be further changes 
to the calculation.

68

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
Table 15: Estimated Common Equity Tier 1 Capital Ratio under Fully Phased-In Basel III Standardized Approach(1) 

(Dollars in millions)
Common equity Tier 1 capital under Basel III Standardized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adjustments related to AOCI(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adjustments related to intangibles(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other adjustments(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Estimated common equity Tier 1 capital under fully phased-in Basel III Standardized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Risk-weighted assets under Basel III Standardized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adjustments for fully phased-in Basel III Standardized(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Estimated risk-weighted assets under fully phased-in Basel III Standardized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Estimated common equity Tier 1 capital ratio under fully phased-in Basel III Standardized(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31, 2015

  $

29,544

(363)

(590)

—

28,591

265,739

(48)

265,691

10.8%

$

$

$

__________
(1) 

Estimated common equity Tier 1 capital ratio under the fully phased-in Basel III Standardized Approach is a non-GAAP financial measure.

(2)  Assumes adjustments are fully phased-in.
(3)  Adjustments include higher risk weights for items that are included in capital based on the threshold deduction approach, such as mortgage servicing assets 

and deferred tax assets. The adjustments also include removal of risk weights for items that are deducted from common equity Tier 1 capital.

(4)  Calculated by dividing estimated common equity Tier 1 capital by estimated risk-weighted assets, which are both calculated under the Basel III Standardized 

Approach, as it applies when fully phased-in for Advanced Approaches banks that have not yet exited parallel run.

Under the Final Basel III Capital Rule, when we complete our parallel run for the Advanced Approaches, our minimum risk-based 
capital requirement will be the greater of the Basel III Standardized Approach and the Basel III Advanced Approaches. See “Part 
I—Item 1. Business—Supervision and Regulation” for additional information. Once we exit parallel run, based on clarification 
of the Final Basel III Capital Rule from our regulators, any difference between the Final Basel III Capital Rule definitions of 
expected credit losses and our eligible credit reserves will be deducted from our Basel III Standardized Approach numerator, 
subject to transition provisions. Inclusive of this impact, based on current rules and our business mix, we estimate that our Basel 
III Advanced Approaches ratios will be lower than our Standardized Approach ratios.

Capital Planning and Regulatory Stress Testing

In compliance with the applicable regulatory capital planning rules, on January 5, 2015 we submitted our capital plan to the Federal 
Reserve as part of the 2015 CCAR cycle. On March 11, 2015, the Federal Reserve publicly disclosed its non-objection to our 
proposed capital distribution plans submitted pursuant to CCAR. As a result of this non-objection to our capital plan, the Board 
of Directors authorized an increase in the quarterly dividend on our common stock from the previous level of $0.30 per share to 
$0.40 per share. In addition, our Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $3.125 billion of shares of our common 
stock beginning in the second quarter of 2015 through the end of the second quarter of 2016, in addition to share repurchases 
related to employee compensation. On February 17, 2016, we announced that our Board of Directors had authorized the repurchase 
of up to an additional $300 million of shares of common stock through the end of the second quarter of 2016 under the 2015 Stock 
Repurchase Program. For the description of the regulatory capital planning rules we are subject to, see “Part I—Item 1. Business
—Supervision and Regulation.” 

Equity Offerings and Transactions

On May 14, 2015, we issued and sold one million shares of Fixed-to-Floating Rate Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, 
Series E, $0.01 par value, with a liquidation preference of $1,000 per share (the “Series E Preferred Stock”). The net proceeds of 
the offering of Series E Preferred Stock were approximately $988 million, after deducting underwriting commissions and offering 
expenses. Dividends are payable semi-annually in arrears in the second quarter and fourth quarter, at a rate of 5.55% per annum 
through May 31, 2020. Subsequent to May 31, 2020, dividends will be calculated as three month LIBOR plus a spread of 3.80%, 
payable quarterly in arrears.

On August 24, 2015, we issued and sold 20,000,000 Depositary Shares, each representing a 1/40th interest in a share of 6.20% 
Fixed Rate Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series F, $0.01 par value, with a liquidation preference of $25 per Depositary 
Share (the “Series F Preferred Stock”). The net proceeds of the offering of Series F Preferred Stock were approximately $484 
million, after deducting underwriting commissions and offering expenses. Dividends on the Series F Preferred Stock  are payable 
quarterly in arrears.

69

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
Dividend Policy and Stock Purchases

On February 3, 2016, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.40 per share, payable on February 
26, 2016 to stockholders of record at the close of the business on February 16, 2016. Our Board of Directors also approved quarterly 
dividends on our 6.00% fixed-rate non-cumulative perpetual preferred stock, Series B (the “Series B Preferred Stock”), our 6.25% 
fixed-rate non-cumulative perpetual preferred stock, Series C (the “Series C Preferred Stock”), our 6.70% fixed-rate non-cumulative 
perpetual preferred stock, Series D (the “Series D Preferred Stock”) and our Series F Preferred Stock, payable on March 1, 2016 
to stockholders of record at the close of business on February 16, 2016. Based on these declarations, we will pay approximately 
$211 million in common equity dividends and approximately $37 million in total preferred dividends in the first quarter of 2016. 
Under the terms of our outstanding preferred stock, our ability to pay dividends on, make distributions with respect to, or to 
repurchase, redeem or acquire its common stock or any preferred stock ranking on parity with or junior to the preferred stock, is 
subject to restrictions in the event that we do not declare and either pay or set aside a sum sufficient for payment of dividends on 
the preferred stock for the immediately preceding dividend period.

We paid common stock dividends of $0.30 per share in the first quarter and $0.40 per share in each subsequent quarter of 2015. 
We paid preferred stock dividends of $15.00 per share on the outstanding shares of our Series B Preferred Stock and $15.625 per 
share on the outstanding shares of our Series C Preferred Stock in each quarter of 2015. We paid preferred stock dividends of 
$22.5194 per share on the outstanding shares of our Series D Preferred Stock in the first quarter and $16.75 per share in each 
subsequent quarter of 2015. We also paid preferred stock dividends of $30.370833 per share on the outstanding shares of our Series 
E Preferred Stock and $16.705556 per share on the outstanding shares of our Series F Preferred Stock during the fourth quarter 
of 2015.

The declaration and payment of dividends to our stockholders, as well as the amount thereof, are subject to the discretion of our 
Board of Directors and depend upon our results of operations, financial condition, capital levels, cash requirements, future prospects 
and other factors deemed relevant by the Board of Directors. As a BHC, our ability to pay dividends is largely dependent upon 
the receipt of dividends or other payments from our subsidiaries. Regulatory restrictions exist that limit the ability of the Banks 
to transfer funds to our BHC. As of December 31, 2015, funds available for dividend payments from COBNA and CONA were 
$2.9 billion and $359 million, respectively. There can be no assurance that we will declare and pay any dividends to stockholders.

In addition, consistent with our 2015 capital plan, our Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $3.125 billion of 
shares of common stock beginning in the second quarter of 2015 through the end of the second quarter of 2016. On February 17, 
2016, we announced that our Board of Directors had authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $300 million of shares of 
common stock through the end of the second quarter of 2016 under the 2015 Stock Repurchase Program. We notified the Federal 
Reserve of our intention to engage in additional share repurchases and the Federal Reserve did not object. Through the end of 
2015, we repurchased approximately $1.875 billion of common stock as part of the 2015 Stock Repurchase Program.

The timing and exact amount of any future common stock repurchases will depend on various factors, including market conditions, 
opportunities for growth, our capital position and amount of retained earnings. Our stock repurchase program does not include 
specific price targets, may be executed through open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions, including utilizing 
Rule 10b5-1 programs, and may be suspended at any time. For additional information on dividends and stock repurchases, see 
“Part I—Item 1. Business—Supervision and Regulation—Dividends, Stock Repurchases and Transfer of Funds.”

RISK MANAGEMENT

Risk Framework

We use a risk framework to provide an overall enterprise-wide approach for effectively managing risk. We execute against our 
risk framework with the “Three Lines of Defense” risk management model to demonstrate and structure the roles, responsibilities 
and accountabilities in the organization for taking and managing risk.

The “First Line of Defense” is comprised of the business areas that through their day-to-day business activities take risk on our 
behalf. As the business owner, the first line is responsible for identifying, assessing, managing and controlling that risk, and for 
mitigating our overall risk exposure. The first line formulates strategy and operates within the risk appetite and framework. The 
“Second Line of Defense,” which includes the risk management organization, provides oversight of first line risk taking and 
management. The  second  line  assists  in  determining  risk  capacity,  risk  appetite,  and  the  strategies,  policies  and  structure  for 
managing risks. The second line owns the risk framework. The second line is both an ‘expert advisor’ to the first line and an  
‘effective challenger’ of first line risk activities. The “Third Line of Defense” is comprised of our Internal Audit and Credit Review 

70

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

functions. The third line provides independent and objective assurance to senior management and to the Board of Directors that 
first and second line risk management and internal control systems and its governance processes are well-designed and working 
as intended.

Our risk framework, which is built around governance, processes and people, consists of the following eight key elements: 

Establish Governance Processes, Accountabilities, and Risk Appetites

The starting point of our risk framework is the establishment of governance processes, accountabilities, and risk appetites. Our 
Board of Directors and senior management establish the tone at the top regarding the importance of internal control, including 
standards of conduct and the integrity and ethical values of the Company. Management reinforces expectations at the various levels 
of the organization. This portion of the framework sets the foundation for the methods for governing risk taking, the interactions 
within and among the lines of defense, and the risk appetites and tolerances.

Identify and Assess Risks and Ownership

Identifying and assessing risks and ownership is the beginning of the more detailed day-to-day process of managing risk. This 
portion of the framework clarifies the importance of strong first-line management and accountability for identifying and assessing 
risk while specifying the role of the second line to identify and assess risk, particularly when taking on new initiatives.

Develop and Operate Controls, Monitoring and Mitigation Plans

We develop, operate, and monitor controls to manage risk within tolerance levels. The first line develops controls to oversee and 
manage identified risks. Controls may prevent risks from occurring (e.g., ensuring compliance with a law or regulation) or measure 
the amount of risk being taken so that the amount may be proactively managed. Whenever possible, plans are implemented to 
mitigate risks or reduce them in order to reduce exposure. The first line leads mitigation, control, and monitoring actions. The 
second line is a consultant on control design when needed.

Test and Detect Control Gaps and Perform Corrective Action

While the first line is principally accountable for taking, controlling, and monitoring risk, the second line oversees and monitors 
first line risk taking, including the effectiveness of first line controls, and the third line independently tests and oversees first and 
second line risk taking. These activities provide the second and third lines of defense with the ability to reduce the likelihood of 
unauthorized or unplanned risk taking within the organization. Control gaps are closed by first line corrective action.

Escalate Key Risks and Gaps to Executive Management and when appropriate, the Board of Directors

Escalation is an important component of our risk framework. Use of escalation is encouraged and does not necessarily indicate a 
failure on the part of first, second, or third line risk management. Through escalation in the first line, decisions requiring judgment 
can be raised to executives who have the broadest possible context and experience to make challenging decisions. Escalation in 
the second and third lines of defense can also demonstrate part of their core responsibilities of effective challenge. If appropriate, 
risks are escalated to the Board of Directors to ensure their alignment with material risk decisions and/or transparency to the largest 
risks facing the organization.

Calculate and Allocate Capital in Alignment with Risk Management and Measurement Processes (including Stress Testing)

Capital is held to protect the company from unforeseen risks or unexpected risk severity. As such, it is important that capital 
planning processes be well linked with risk management practices to ensure the appropriate capital protections are in place for the 
safety and soundness of the company. Stress testing and economic capital measurement, both of which incorporate inputs from 
across the risk spectrum, are key tools for evaluating our capital position and risk adjusted returns.

Support with the Right Culture, Talent, and Skills

The right culture, talent, and skills are critical to effective risk management. Our risk framework is supported with the right culture 
that promotes the foundation and values of the risk management organization. Skills necessary to effectively manage risk are 
reinforced through performance management systems. When needed, risk talent is augmented through recruitment of industry 
experts as well as training and development of internal associates.

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Enabled by the Right Data, Infrastructure, and Programs

Data, infrastructure, and programs are key enablers of our risk management processes and practices. These core requirements 
enable effective risk modeling, efficient first, second, and third line risk activity performance, and cross-line interaction.  In addition, 
effective program design of each risk category is regularly assessed to ensure risk practices continue to evolve with leading industry 
practices, and continue to interact across categories as desired for a strong overall risk management program.

Risk Appetite

Risk appetite refers to the level of risk our business is willing to take in pursuit of our corporate business objectives. The Board 
of Directors approves our risk appetite including specific risk limits where applicable. While first line executives manage risk on 
a day-to-day basis, the Chief Risk Officer provides effective challenge and independent oversight to ensure that risks are within 
the appetite and specific limits established by the Board of Directors. The Chief Risk Officer reports to the Board of Directors 
regularly on the nature and level of risk across all eight risk categories. In addition to his broader management responsibilities, 
our Chief Executive Officer is responsible for developing the strategy and mission of our organization, determining and leading 
our culture, and reviewing and providing input into our risk appetite.

We have a defined risk appetite for each of our eight risk categories that is approved by our Board of Directors. Stated risk appetites 
define the parameters for taking and accepting risks and are used by management and our Board of Directors to make business 
decisions. We communicate risk appetite statements, limits and thresholds to the appropriate levels in the organization and monitor 
adherence.

Risk Categories

We apply our risk framework to protect our company from the eight major categories of risk that we are exposed to through our 
business activities. Our eight major categories of risk are:

•  Compliance Risk: Compliance risk is the risk to current or anticipated earnings or capital arising from violations of laws, 
rules, or regulations. Compliance risk can also arise from nonconformance with prescribed practices, internal policies 
and procedures, contractual obligations, or ethical standards that reinforce those laws, rules, or regulations;

•  Credit Risk: Credit risk is the risk of loss from an obligor’s failure to meet the terms of any contract or otherwise fail to 

perform as agreed;

• 

• 

Legal Risk: Legal risk is the risk of material adverse impact due to: new and changed laws and regulations; interpretations 
of law; drafting, interpretation and enforceability of contracts; adverse decisions/consequences arising from litigation or 
regulatory scrutiny; the establishment, management and governance of our legal entity structure; and the failure to seek/
follow appropriate Legal counsel when needed;

Liquidity Risk: Liquidity risk is the risk that the Company will not be able to meet its future financial obligations as they 
come due, or invest in future asset growth because of an inability to obtain funds at a reasonable price within a reasonable 
time period;

•  Market Risk: Market risk is the risk that an institution’s earnings or the economic value of equity could be adversely 

impacted by changes in interest rates, foreign exchange rates, or other market factors;

•  Operational Risk: Operational risk is the risk of loss, capital impairment, adverse customer experience, or reputational 
impact resulting from failure to comply with policies and procedures, failed internal processes or systems, or from external 
events;

•  Reputation  Risk:  Reputation  risk  is  the  risk  to  market  value,  recruitment  and  retention  of  talented  associates  and 
maintenance of a loyal customer base due to the negative perceptions of our internal and external constituents regarding 
our business strategies and activities; and

• 

Strategic Risk: Strategic risk is the risk of a material impact on current or anticipated earnings, capital, franchise or 
enterprise value arising from: (i) the Company’s competitive and market position and evolving forces in the industry that 
can affect that position; (ii) lack of responsiveness to these conditions; (iii) strategic decisions to change the Company’s 
scale, market position or operating model; or (iv) failure to appropriately consider implementation risks inherent in the 
Company’s strategy.

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Below we provide an overview of how we manage our eight primary risk categories.

Compliance Risk Management

We  recognize  that  compliance  requirements  for  financial  institutions  are  increasingly  complex  and  that  there  are  heightened 
expectations  from  our  regulators  and  our  customers.  In  response,  we  continuously  evaluate  the  regulatory  environment  and 
proactively adjust our compliance risk program to fully address these expectations.

Our Compliance Management Program establishes expectations for determining compliance requirements, assessing the risk of 
new product offerings, creating appropriate controls and training to address requirements, monitoring for control performance, 
and independently testing for adherence to compliance requirements. The program also establishes regular compliance reporting 
to senior business leaders, the executive committee and the Board of Directors.

The Chief Compliance Officer is responsible for establishing and overseeing our Compliance Risk Management Program. Business 
areas incorporate compliance requirements and controls into their business policies, standards, processes and procedures. They 
regularly monitor and report on the efficacy of their compliance controls and Corporate Compliance periodically independently 
tests to validate the effectiveness of business controls.

Credit Risk Management

We recognize that we are exposed to cyclical changes in credit quality. Consequently, we try to ensure our credit portfolio is resilient 
to economic downturns. Our most important tool in this endeavor is sound underwriting. In unsecured consumer loan underwriting, 
we generally assume that loans will be subject to an environment in which losses are higher than those prevailing at the time of 
underwriting. In commercial underwriting, we generally require strong cash flow, collateral and covenants and guarantees. In 
addition to sound underwriting, we continually monitor our portfolio and take steps to collect or work out distressed loans.

The Chief Risk Officer, in conjunction with the Consumer and Commercial Chief Credit Officers, is responsible for establishing 
credit risk policies and procedures, including underwriting and hold guidelines and credit approval authority, and monitoring credit 
exposure and performance of our lending-related transactions. These responsibilities are fulfilled by the Chief Consumer Credit 
Officer and the Chief Commercial Credit Officer who are responsible for evaluating the risk implications of credit strategy and 
for oversight of credit for both the existing portfolio and any new credit investments. The Chief Consumer Credit Officer and the 
Chief Commercial Credit Officer have formal approval authority for various types and levels of credit decisions, including individual 
commercial loan transactions. Division Presidents within each segment are responsible for managing the credit risk within their 
divisions and maintaining processes to control credit risk and comply with credit policies and guidelines. In addition, the Chief 
Risk Officer establishes policies, delegates approval authority and monitors performance for non-loan credit exposure entered into 
with financial counterparties or through the purchase of credit sensitive securities in our investment portfolio.

Our credit policies establish standards in five areas: customer selection, underwriting, monitoring, remediation, and portfolio 
management. The standards in each area provide a framework comprising specific objectives and control processes. These standards 
are supported by detailed policies and procedures for each component of the credit process. Starting with customer selection, our 
goal is to generally provide credit on terms that generate above hurdle returns. We use a number of quantitative and qualitative 
factors to manage credit risk, including setting credit risk limits and guidelines for each of our lines of business. We monitor 
performance relative to these guidelines and report results and any required mitigating actions to appropriate senior management 
committees and our Board of Directors.

Legal Risk Management

The General Counsel provides legal evaluation and guidance to the enterprise and business areas and partners with other risk 
management functions such as Compliance and Internal Audit. This evaluation and guidance is based on an assessment of the type 
and degree of legal risk associated with the internal business area practices and activities and of the controls the business has in 
place to mitigate legal risks.

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Liquidity Risk Management

We seek to mitigate liquidity risk strategically and tactically. From a strategic perspective, we have acquired and built deposit 
gathering businesses and significantly reduced our loan to deposit ratio. From a tactical perspective, we have accumulated a sizable 
liquidity reserve comprised of cash, high-quality, unencumbered securities, and committed collateralized credit lines. We also 
continue to maintain access to the secured and unsecured markets through ongoing issuance. This combination of stable and 
diversified funding sources and our stockpile of liquidity reserves enables us to maintain confidence in our liquidity position.

The Chief Risk Officer, in conjunction with the Chief Market and Liquidity Risk Officer, is responsible for the establishment of 
liquidity risk management policies and standards for governance and monitoring of liquidity risk at a corporate level. The Chief 
Financial Officer is accountable for the management of liquidity risk. We assess liquidity strength by evaluating several different 
balance sheet metrics under severe stress scenarios to ensure we can withstand significant funding degradation in both idiosyncratic, 
and market wide and combined liquidity stress scenarios. Management reports liquidity metrics to appropriate senior management 
committees and our Board of Directors no less than quarterly. We continuously monitor market and economic conditions to evaluate 
emerging stress conditions with assessment and appropriate action plans in accordance with our Contingency Funding Plan.

Market Risk Management

We recognize that interest rate and foreign exchange risk is inherent in the business of banking due to the nature of the assets and 
liabilities of banks. Banks typically manage the trade-off between near-term earnings volatility and market value volatility by 
targeting moderate levels of each. In addition to using industry accepted techniques to analyze and measure interest rate and foreign 
exchange risk, we perform sensitivity analysis to identify our risk exposures under a broad range of scenarios. Investment securities 
and derivatives are the main levers for the management of interest rate and foreign exchange risk.

The Chief Risk Officer, in conjunction with the Chief Market and Liquidity Risk Officer, is responsible for the establishment of 
market risk management policies and standards and for governance and monitoring of market risk at a corporate level. The Chief 
Financial Officer is accountable for the management of market risk. We manage market risk exposure, which is principally driven 
by balance sheet interest rate risk, centrally and establish quantitative limits to control our exposure. Market risk is inherent in the 
financial  instruments  associated  with  our  business  operations  and  activities,  including  loans,  deposits,  securities,  short-term 
borrowings, long-term debt and derivatives.

The market risk positions of our banking entities and our total company are calculated separately and in total and are reported in 
comparison to pre-established limits to the Asset Liability Committee monthly and to the Risk Committee of the Board of Directors 
no less than quarterly. Management is authorized to utilize financial instruments as outlined in our policy to actively manage 
market risk exposure.

Operational Risk Management

We recognize the criticality of managing operational risk on a day-to-day basis and that there are heightened expectations from 
our regulators and our customers. We have implemented appropriate operational risk management policies, standards, processes 
and tools to enable the delivery of high quality and consistent customer experiences.

The Chief Operational Risk Officer is responsible for establishing and overseeing our Operational Risk Management Program. 
The program establishes and enforces requirements and practices for assessing the operational risk profile, executing key control 
processes for select operational risks, and reporting of operational risk results. These activities are executed in accordance with 
Basel II Advanced Approaches requirements.

Reputation Risk Management

We recognize that reputation risk is of particular concern for financial institutions as a result of the aftermath of the financial crisis 
and economic downturn, which has resulted in increased scrutiny and widespread regulatory changes. We manage both strategic 
and tactical reputation issues and build our relationships with the government, media, consumer advocates, and other constituencies 
to help strengthen the reputations of both our company and industry. Our actions include implementing pro-consumer practices 
in our business and taking public positions in support of better consumer practices in our industry. The General Counsel is responsible 
for managing our overall reputation risk program. Day-to-day activities are controlled by the frameworks set forth in our Reputation 
Risk Management Policy and other risk management policies.

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Strategic Risk Management

We monitor external market and industry developments to identify potential areas of strategic opportunity or risk. These items 
provide input for development of the Company’s strategy led by the Chief Executive Officer and other senior executives. Through 
the ongoing development and vetting of the corporate strategy, the Chief Risk Officer identifies and assesses risks associated with 
the strategy across all risk categories and monitors them throughout the year.

CREDIT RISK PROFILE

Our loan portfolio accounts for the substantial majority of our credit risk exposure. Our lending activities are governed under our 
credit policy and are subject to independent review and approval. Below we provide information about the composition of our 
loan portfolio, key concentrations and credit performance metrics.

We also engage in certain non-lending activities that may give rise to credit and counterparty settlement risk, including the purchase 
of securities for our investment securities portfolio, entering into derivative transactions to manage our market risk exposure and 
to  accommodate  customers,  short-term  advances  on  syndication  activity,  certain  operational  cash  balances  in  other  financial 
institutions, foreign exchange transactions, and customer overdrafts. We provide additional information on credit risk related to 
our investment securities portfolio under “Consolidated Balance Sheets Analysis—Investment Securities” and credit risk related 
to derivative transactions in “Note 11—Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities.”

Primary Loan Products

We provide a variety of lending products. Our primary loan products include credit cards, auto, home loans and commercial.

•  Credit cards: We originate both prime and subprime credit cards through a variety of channels. Our credit cards generally 
have variable interest rates. The majority of our credit card accounts are underwritten using an automated underwriting 
system based on predictive models that we have developed. The underwriting criteria, which are customized for individual 
products  and  marketing  programs,  are  established  based  on  an  analysis  of  the  net  present  value  of  expected  revenues, 
expenses and losses, subject to a further analysis using a variety of stress conditions. Underwriting decisions are generally 
based on credit bureau information, including payment history, debt burden and credit scores, such as Fair Isaac Corporation 
(credit rating) (“FICO”), and on other factors, such as applicant income. We also maintain a credit card securitization program 
and selectively sell charged-off credit card loans.

•  Auto: We originate both prime and subprime auto loans. Customers are acquired through a network of auto dealers and 
direct marketing. Our auto loans generally have fixed interest rates. Loan terms are generally 75 months or less and can go 
up to 84 months. Loan sizes are customized by program and are generally less than $75,000. The underwriting criteria are 
customized for individual products and marketing programs and based on analysis of net present value of expected revenues, 
expenses  and  losses,  subject  to  maintaining  resilience  under  a  variety  of  stress  conditions.  Underwriting  decisions  are 
generally based on application information and credit bureau information, along with collateral characteristics such as loan-
to-value (“LTV”) ratio. We generally retain all of our auto loans, though we have securitized and sold auto loans in the past 
and may do so in the future.

•  Home loans: Most of the existing home loans in our loan portfolio were originated by banks we acquired. Currently, we 
originate residential mortgage and home equity loans through our branches, direct marketing, and dedicated home loan 
officers. Our home loan products include conforming and non-conforming fixed rate and adjustable rate mortgage loans, 
as well as first and second lien home equity loans and lines of credit. In general, our underwriting policy limits for these 
loans include: (i) a maximum LTV ratio of 80% for loans without mortgage insurance; (ii) a maximum LTV ratio of 95% 
for loans with mortgage insurance or for home equity products; (iii) a maximum debt-to-income ratio of 50%; and (iv) a 
maximum loan amount of $3 million. Our underwriting procedures are intended to verify the income of applicants and 
obtain appraisals to determine home values. We may, in limited instances, use automated valuation models to determine 
home values. Our underwriting standards for conforming loans are designed to meet the underwriting standards required 
by the agencies at a minimum, and we sell most of our conforming loans to the agencies. We generally retain non-conforming 
mortgages and home equity loans and lines of credit.

•  Commercial: We offer a range of commercial lending products, including loans secured by commercial real estate and loans 
to middle market commercial and industrial companies. Our commercial loans may have a fixed or variable interest rate; 
however, the majority of our commercial loans have variable rates. Our underwriting standards require an analysis of the 

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

borrower’s financial condition and prospects, as well as an assessment of the industry in which the borrower operates. Where 
relevant, we evaluate and appraise underlying collateral and guarantees. We maintain underwriting guidelines and limits 
for major types of borrowers and loan products that specify, where applicable, guidelines for debt service coverage, leverage, 
LTV ratio and standard covenants and conditions. We assign a risk rating and establish a monitoring schedule for loans 
based on the risk profile of the borrower, industry segment, source of repayment, the underlying collateral and guarantees 
(if any) and current market conditions. Although we generally retain commercial loans, we may syndicate positions for risk 
mitigation purposes (including bridge financing transactions we have underwritten). In addition, we originate and service 
multifamily commercial real estate loans which are sold to the GSEs.

Loans Held for Investment Portfolio Composition

Our loan portfolio consists of loans held for investment, including restricted loans underlying our consolidated securitization trusts 
and loans held for sale. Table 16 presents the composition of our portfolio of loans held for investment, including Acquired Loans, 
by portfolio segment, as of December 31, 2015 and 2014. Table 16 and the credit metrics presented in this section exclude loans 
held for sale, which are carried at lower of cost or fair value and totaled $904 million and $626 million as of December 31, 2015 
and 2014, respectively.

Table 16: Loans Held for Investment Portfolio Composition 

(Dollars in millions)

Credit Card:

Domestic credit card(1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
International credit card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Consumer Banking:

Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Home loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Retail banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total consumer banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commercial Banking:

Commercial and multifamily real estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commercial and industrial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total commercial lending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Small-ticket commercial real estate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

Loans

% of
Total

Loans

% of
Total

$ 87,939

38.2% $ 77,704

37.3%

8,186

96,125

41,549

25,227

3,596

70,372

25,518

37,135

62,653

613

3.6

41.8

18.1

11.0

1.5

30.6

11.1

16.2

27.3

0.3

27.6

—

8,172

85,876

37,824

30,035

3,580

71,439

23,137

26,972

50,109

781

50,890

111

3.9

41.2

18.2

14.4

1.7

34.3

11.1

12.9

24.0

0.4

24.4

0.1

Total commercial banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

63,266

Other loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

88

Total loans held for investment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 229,851

100.0% $ 208,316

100.0%

__________        
(1) 

Includes installment loans of $16 million and $144 million as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

We market our credit card products throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Our credit card loan portfolio 
is geographically diversified due to our product and marketing approach, with higher concentrations in California, New York, 
Texas, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Our auto loan portfolio is originated in most regions of the United States with a concentration in Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, 
Louisiana, Illinois and Ohio. Our home loan portfolio is concentrated in California, New York, Maryland, Illinois, Virginia, New 
Jersey and Florida, which reflects the characteristics of the ING Direct portfolio that comprises the majority of our home loans. 
Retail banking includes small business loans and other consumer lending products originated through our branch network with a 
concentration in Louisiana, New York, Texas, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia.

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Our commercial banking loan portfolio is originated in most regions of the United States with a concentration in the tri-state area 
of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, Texas, California and Louisiana. Our small ticket commercial real estate portfolio, 
which was originated on a national basis through a broker network, is in a run-off mode.

We provide additional information on the geographic concentration, by loan category, of our loan portfolio in “Note 5—Loans.”

Commercial Loans

For purposes of portfolio risk management, we aggregate our commercial loan portfolio according to market segmentation primarily 
based on standard industry codes. Table 17 summarizes our commercial loans held for investment portfolio by industry classification 
as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Table 17: Commercial Loans by Industry(1)

(Percentage of portfolio)

Real estate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Healthcare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Finance and insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Oil and gas(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Business services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Public administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Construction and land. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Educational services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Retail trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Transportation(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31,
2015

December 31,
2014

39%

15

12

5

4

4

4

4

3

3

7

41%

5

12

7

5

5

4

4

4

4

9

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

100%

100%

__________  
(1) 

Industry categories are based on our interpretation of the North American Industry Classification System codes as they pertain to each individual loan.

(2) 

(3)  

In addition to loans outstanding, we also have unfunded lending commitments of approximately $3.4 billion to oil and gas companies as of December 31, 
2015, which is included in our total unfunded lending commitments to extend credit disclosed in “Note 5—Loans.”

Includes our taxi medallion lending portfolio among other portfolios.

Acquired Loans

Our portfolio of loans includes certain of our consumer and commercial loans acquired in business acquisitions that were recorded 
at fair value at acquisition and subsequently accounted for using the guidance for accounting for purchased credit-impaired (“PCI”) 
loans and debt securities, which is based upon expected cash flows to be collected. These loans are referred to as “Acquired Loans” 
or “PCI loans,” totaling  $19.5 billion as of December 31, 2015 compared to $23.5 billion as of December 31, 2014. See “MD&A
—Glossary and Acronyms” for the definition of “Acquired Loans.”

The difference between the fair value at acquisition and expected cash flows represents the accretable yield, which is recognized 
in interest income over the life of the loans. The difference between the contractual payments on the loans and expected cash flows 
represents the nonaccretable difference or the amount of principal and interest not considered collectible, which incorporates future 
expected credit losses over the life of the loans. We regularly update our estimate of expected principal and interest to be collected 
from these loans and evaluate the results for each accounting pool that was established at acquisition based on loans with common 
risk characteristics. Probable decreases in expected cash flows would trigger the recognition of an allowance for loan and lease 
losses through our provision for credit losses. Probable and significant increases in expected cash flows would first reverse any 
previously recorded allowance for loan and lease losses established subsequent to acquisition, with any remaining increase in 
expected cash flows recognized prospectively in interest income over the remaining estimated life of the underlying loans. See 
“Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” for additional information on Acquired Loans that are accounted for based 
on expected cash flows.

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Home Loans

The majority of our home loan portfolio was acquired from the ING Direct and CCB acquisitions. These Acquired Loans represented 
73.4% and 77.4% of our total home loan portfolio as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. See “MD&A—Glossary and 
Acronyms” for the definition of ING Direct and CCB acquisitions. The expected cash flows for our Acquired Loans in our home 
loan portfolio are significantly impacted by future expectations of home prices and interest rates. Decreases in expected cash flows 
that result from declining conditions, particularly associated with these variables, could result in an increase in the allowance for 
loan and lease losses and reduction in accretable yield. Charge-offs on these loans are not recorded until the expected credit losses 
within the nonaccretable difference are depleted. In addition, Acquired Loans are not classified as delinquent or nonperforming 
as we expect to collect our net investment in these loans and the nonaccretable difference is expected to absorb the majority of the 
losses associated with these loans.

Table 18 presents our total home loan portfolio, and the break out of the acquired home loans and remaining loans within our home 
loan portfolio, by lien priority.

Table 18: Home Loans - Risk Profile by Lien Priority

(Dollars in millions)

Lien type:

December 31, 2015

Home Loans

Acquired Home Loans

Total Home Loans

Amount

% of
Total

Amount

% of
Total

Amount

% of
Total

1st lien. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

5,705

22.6% $ 18,207

72.2% $ 23,912

94.8%

2nd lien . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

995

4.0

320

1.2

1,315

5.2

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

6,700

26.6% $ 18,527

73.4% $ 25,227

100.0%

(Dollars in millions)

Lien type:

December 31, 2014

Home Loans

Acquired Home Loans

Total Home Loans

Amount

% of
Total

Amount

% of
Total

Amount

% of
Total

1st lien. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

5,756

19.2% $ 22,883

76.2% $ 28,639

95.4%

2nd lien . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,038

3.4

358

1.2

1,396

4.6

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

6,794

22.6% $ 23,241

77.4% $ 30,035

100.0%

See “Note 5—Loans” in this Report for additional credit quality information. See “Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting 
Policies” for information on our accounting policies for Acquired Loans, delinquent loans, nonperforming loans, net charge-offs 
and troubled debt restructurings (“TDRs”) for each of our loan categories.

Table 19 provides a sensitivity analysis of Acquired Loans in our home loan portfolio as of December 31, 2015. The analysis 
reflects a hypothetical decline of 10% in the home price index and its impact on lifetime future cash flow expectations, accretable 
yield and allowance for loan and lease losses. Any significant economic events or variables not considered could impact results 
that are presented below.

Table 19: Sensitivity Analysis - Acquired Home Loans(1)

(Dollars in millions)

December 31,
2015

Estimated Impact
Increase (Decrease)

Expected cash flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

21,795

$

Accretable yield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Allowance for loan and lease losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3,304

36

(88)

63

151

__________
(1)  Changes in the accretable yield would be recognized in interest income in our consolidated statements of income over the life of the loans. Changes in the 

allowance for loan and lease losses would be recognized immediately in the provision for credit losses in the consolidated statements of income.

78

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
 
 
Loan Maturity Profile

Table 20 presents the maturities of loans in our held-for-investment portfolio as of December 31, 2015.

Table 20: Loan Maturity Schedule

(Dollars in millions)
Fixed rate:

Credit card(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consumer banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commercial banking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total fixed-rate loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Variable rate:

Credit card(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consumer banking(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial banking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31, 2015

Due Up to
1 Year

> 1 Year
to 5 Years

> 5 Years

Total

$

5,321

$

14,542

$

— $

19,863

1,112

1,259

—

7,692

76,254

13,419

45,900

54

28,710

6,281

—

18,169

7,304

4

47,991

14,844

4

49,533

25,477

82,702

8

8,213

2,452

6

—

749

70

24

843

76,262

22,381

48,422

84

147,149

Total variable-rate loans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

135,627

10,679

Total loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 143,319

$

60,212

$

26,320

$ 229,851

__________
(1)  Due to the revolving nature of credit card loans, we report the majority of our variable-rate credit card loans as due in one year or less. We report fixed-rate 
credit card loans with introductory rates that expire after a certain period of time as due in one year or less. We assume that the rest of our remaining fixed-
rate credit card loans will mature within one to three years.

(2)  We report the maturity period for the home loans portfolio included in the Consumer Banking business based on the earlier of the next re-pricing or contractual 

maturity date of the loan.

Credit Risk Measurement

We closely monitor economic conditions and loan performance trends to assess and manage our exposure to credit risk. Key metrics 
we track in evaluating the credit quality of our loan portfolio include delinquency and nonperforming asset rates, as well as net 
charge-off rates and our internal risk ratings of larger balance commercial loans. Trends in delinquency rates are a primary indicator 
of credit risk within our consumer loan portfolios, as changes in delinquency rates provide an early warning of changes in credit 
quality. The primary indicator of credit risk in our commercial loan portfolios is our internal risk ratings. Because we generally 
classify loans that have been delinquent for an extended period of time and other loans with significant risk of loss as nonperforming, 
the level of nonperforming assets represents another indicator of the potential for future credit losses. In addition to delinquency 
rates, the geographic distribution of our loans provides insight as to the credit quality of the portfolio based on regional economic 
conditions.

We underwrite most consumer loans using proprietary models, which are typically based on credit bureau data, including borrower 
credit scores, along with application information and, where applicable, collateral and deal structure data. We continuously adjust 
our management of credit lines and collection strategies based on customer behavior and risk profile changes. We also use borrower 
credit scores for subprime classification, for competitive benchmarking and, in some cases, to drive product segmentation decisions. 

The following table provides details on the credit scores of our domestic credit card and auto loan portfolios as of December 31, 
2015 and 2014.

79

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
Table 21: Credit Score Distribution

(Percentage of portfolio)
Domestic credit card - Refreshed FICO scores:(1)

December 31,
2015

December 31,
2014

Greater than 660 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

660 or below . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Auto - At origination FICO scores:(2)

Greater than 660 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

621 - 660 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

620 or below . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

66%

34

100%

51%

17

32

100%

68%

32

100%

47%

17

36

100%

__________ 
(1)  Credit scores generally represent FICO scores. These scores are obtained from one of the major credit bureaus at origination and are refreshed monthly 
thereafter. We approximate non-FICO credit scores to comparable FICO scores for consistency purposes. Balances for which no credit score is available or 
the credit score is invalid are included in the 660 or below category.

(2)  Credit scores represent FICO scores. These scores are obtained from three credit bureaus at the time of application and are not refreshed thereafter. The FICO 
score distribution is based on the average scores. Balances for which no credit score is available or the credit score is invalid are included in the 620 or below 
category.

We present information in the section below on the credit performance of our loan portfolio, including the key metrics we use in 
tracking changes in the credit quality of our loan portfolio.

See  “Note 5—Loans”  in  this  Report  for  additional  credit  quality  information. Also,  see  “Note  1—Summary  of  Significant 
Accounting Policies” for information on our accounting policies for delinquent and nonperforming loans, net charge-offs and 
TDRs for each of our loan categories.

Delinquency Rates

We consider the entire balance of an account to be delinquent if the minimum required payment is not received by the customer’s 
due date, measured at the reporting date. Our 30+ day delinquency metrics include all loans held for investment that are 30 or 
more days past due, whereas our 30+ day performing delinquency metrics include loans that are 30 or more days past due but are 
currently classified as performing and accruing interest. The 30+ day delinquency and 30+ day performing delinquency metrics 
are the same for domestic credit card loans, as we continue to classify the substantial majority of domestic credit card loans as 
performing until the account is charged-off, typically when the account is 180 days past due. See “Note 1—Summary of Significant 
Accounting Policies” for information on our policies for classifying loans as nonperforming for each of our loan categories. We 
provide additional information on our credit quality metrics above under “Business Segment Financial Performance.”

80

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Table 22 presents our 30+ day performing delinquency rates and 30+ day delinquency rates of our portfolio of loans held for 
investment, including Acquired Loans, by portfolio segment, as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Table 22: 30+ Day Delinquencies

(Dollars in millions)
Credit Card:

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

30+ Day Performing
Delinquencies

30+ Day Delinquencies

30+ Day Performing
Delinquencies

30+ Day Delinquencies

Amount

Rate(1)

Amount

Rate(1)

Amount

Rate(1)

Amount

Rate(1)

Domestic credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

2,985

3.39% $

2,985

International credit card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total credit card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consumer Banking:

Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Home loan(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Retail banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total consumer banking(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial Banking:

Commercial and multifamily real estate . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commercial and industrial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total commercial lending. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Small-ticket commercial real estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total commercial banking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

244

3,229

2,781

40

28

2,849

34

66

100

2

102

3

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

6,183

2.98

3.36

6.69

0.16

0.76

4.05

0.13

0.18

0.16

0.37

0.16

3.61

2.69

283

3,268

3,000

235

49

3,284

38

288

326

6

332

11

$

6,895

3.39% $
3.46

2,538

240

2,778

2,486

64

23

2,573

85

15

100

6

106

3

$

5,460

3.40

7.22

0.93

1.36

4.67

0.15

0.78

0.52

1.04

0.52

11.98

3.00

3.27% $

2,538

3.27%

2.94

3.24

6.57

0.21

0.64

3.60

0.37

0.05

0.20

0.72

0.21

2.84

2.62

294

2,832

2,682

302

40

3,024

117

73

190

10

200

14

$

6,070

3.60

3.30

7.09

1.01

1.11

4.23

0.51

0.27

0.38

1.28

0.39

12.23

2.91

__________   
(1)  Calculated by loan category by dividing 30+ day delinquent loans as of the end of the period by period-end loans held for investment for the specified loan 

category, including Acquired Loans as applicable.

(2)   Excluding the impact of Acquired Loans, the 30+ day performing delinquency rate for our home loan and total consumer banking portfolios was 0.60% and 
5.50%, respectively, as of December 31, 2015, and 0.94% and 5.34%, respectively, as of December 31, 2014. Excluding the impact of Acquired Loans, the 
30+ day delinquency rate for our home loan and total consumer banking portfolios was 3.50% and 6.34%, respectively, as of December 31, 2015, and 4.45% 
and 6.28%, respectively, as of December 31, 2014.

Table 23 presents an aging of 30+ day delinquent loans included in the above table.

Table 23: Aging and Geography of 30+ Day Delinquent Loans 

(Dollars in millions)

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

Amount

% of
Total Loans(1)

Amount

% of
Total Loans(1)

Total loans held for investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 229,851

100.00% $ 208,316

100.00%

Delinquency status:

30 – 59 days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

60 – 89 days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

90 + days. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Geographic region:

Domestic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

$

$

3,069

1,668

2,158

6,895

6,612

283

6,895

1.33% $

0.73

0.94

3.00% $

2,841

1,424

1,805

6,070

2.88% $

5,776

0.12

294

3.00% $

6,070

1.36%

0.68

0.87

2.91%

2.77%

0.14

2.91%

__________        
(1)  Calculated by dividing loans in each delinquency status category or geographic region as of the end of the period by the total loans held for investment, 

including Acquired Loans accounted for based on expected cash flows.

81

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
 
Table 24 summarizes loans that were 90+ days delinquent as to interest or principal and still accruing interest as of December 31, 
2015 and 2014. These loans consist primarily of credit card accounts between 90 days and 179 days past due. As permitted by 
regulatory guidance issued by the FFIEC, we continue to accrue interest and fees on domestic credit card loans through the date 
of charge-off, which is typically in the period the account becomes 180 days past due. While domestic credit card loans typically 
remain on accrual status until the loan is charged-off, we reduce the balance of our credit card receivables by the amount of finance 
charges and fees billed but not expected to be collected and exclude this amount from revenue.

Table 24: 90+ Day Delinquent Loans Accruing Interest 

(Dollars in millions)

Loan category:

Credit card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consumer banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Geographic region:

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

Amount

% of
Total Loans(1)

Amount

% of
Total Loans(1)

$ 1,500

1.56% $ 1,254

1.46%

—

5

$ 1,505

0.00

0.01

0.65

1

8

$ 1,263

0.00

0.01

0.61

0.59%

0.90

0.61

Domestic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 1,426

0.64% $ 1,190

79

$ 1,505

0.96

0.65

73

$ 1,263

__________        
(1)  Delinquency rates are calculated for each loan category by dividing 90+ day delinquent loans accruing interest by period-end loans held for investment for 

the specified loan category.

Nonperforming Loans and Nonperforming Assets

Nonperforming assets consist of nonperforming loans, foreclosed property and repossessed assets and the net realizable value of 
auto loans that have been charged-off as a result of a bankruptcy. Nonperforming loans include loans that have been placed on 
nonaccrual status. See “Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” for information on our policies for classifying loans 
as nonperforming for each of our loan categories.

Table 25 presents comparative information on nonperforming loans, by portfolio segment, and other nonperforming assets as of 
December 31, 2015 and 2014. We do not classify loans held for sale as nonperforming, as they are recorded at the lower of cost 
or  fair  value.  We  provide  additional  information  on  our  credit  quality  metrics  above  under  “Business  Segment  Financial 
Performance.”

82

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
Table 25: Nonperforming Loans and Other Nonperforming Assets(1)

(Dollars in millions)

Nonperforming loans held for investment:

Credit Card:

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

Amount

% of Total
Loans HFI

Amount

% of Total
Loans HFI

International credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

Consumer Banking:

Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Home loan(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Retail banking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total consumer banking(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial Banking:

Commercial and multifamily real estate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial and industrial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total commercial lending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Small-ticket commercial real estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total commercial banking(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total nonperforming loans held for investment(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other nonperforming assets:(5)

53

53

219

311

28

558

7

538

545

5

550

9

$ 1,170

Foreclosed property(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other assets(7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total other nonperforming assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total nonperforming assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

126

198

324

$ 1,494

0.65% $

0.06

0.53

1.23

0.77

0.79

0.03

1.45

0.87

0.83

0.87

9.42

0.51

$

0.05% $

0.09

0.14

0.65

70

70

197

330

22

549

62

106

168

7

175

15

809

139

183

322

$ 1,131

0.86%

0.08

0.52

1.10

0.61

0.77

0.27

0.39

0.33

0.96

0.34

13.37

0.39

0.06%

0.09

0.15

0.54

__________        
(1)  We recognized interest income for loans classified as nonperforming of $44 million and $38 million in 2015 and 2014, respectively. Interest income forgone 
related to nonperforming loans was $53 million and $49 million in 2015 and 2014, respectively. Forgone interest income represents the amount of interest 
income that would have been recorded during the period for nonperforming loans as of the end of the period had the loans performed according to their 
contractual terms.

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

Excluding the impact of Acquired Loans, the nonperforming loan rate for our home loan and total consumer banking portfolios was 4.68% and 1.08%, 
respectively, as of December 31, 2015, compared to 4.86% and 1.14%, respectively, as of December 31, 2014.

The Acquired Loans from the GE Healthcare acquisition are classified and presented as performing because we expect to collect all of our recorded investments 
in these loans. Were these loans to be classified based on their risk ratings, our nonperforming loan rate for our total commercial banking portfolio would be 
0.93% as of December 31, 2015.

Excluding the impact of domestic credit card loans, nonperforming loans as a percentage of total loans held for investment was 0.83% and 0.62% as of 
December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

The denominator used in calculating the nonperforming asset ratios consists of total loans held for investment and total other nonperforming assets.

Includes acquired REOs of $101 million as of both December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Includes the net realizable value of auto loans that have been charged-off as a result of a bankruptcy and repossessed assets obtained in satisfaction of auto 
loans.

83

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
Net Charge-Offs

Net charge-offs consist of the unpaid principal balance of loans held for investment that we determine to be uncollectible, net of 
recovered amounts. We charge-off loans as a reduction to the allowance for loan and lease losses when we determine the loan is 
uncollectible and record subsequent recoveries of previously charged off amounts as increases to the allowance for loan and lease 
losses. We exclude accrued and unpaid finance charges and fees and certain fraud losses from charge-offs. Generally costs to 
recover charged-off loans are recorded as collection expenses and included in our consolidated statements of income as a component 
of other non-interest expense as incurred. Our charge-off policy for loans varies based on the loan type. See “Note 1—Summary 
of Significant Accounting Policies” for information on our charge-off policy for each of our loan categories.

Table 26 presents our net charge-off amounts and rates, by portfolio segment, in 2015, 2014 and 2013.

Table 26: Net Charge-Offs

(Dollars in millions)

Credit Card:

Domestic credit card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
International credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Consumer Banking:

Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Home loan(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Retail banking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total consumer banking(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial Banking:

Commercial and multifamily real estate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial and industrial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total commercial lending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Small-ticket commercial real estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total commercial banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total net charge-offs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Average loans held for investment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

Amount

Rate(1)

Amount

Rate(1)

Amount

Rate(1)

$

2,718

3.45% $

2,445

3.43% $

2,904

4.08%

200

2,918

674

9

48

731

2.50

3.36

1.69

0.03

1.33

1.03

283

2,728

619

17

39

675

3.69

3.46

1.78

0.05

1.07

0.95

381

3,285

546

16

54

616

4.78

4.15

1.85

0.04

1.46

0.85

(15)

(0.06)

(5)

(0.02)

(8)

(0.04)

60

45

2

47

0.21

0.09

0.36

0.09

(1)

(1.66)

10

5

5

10

1

$

3,695

1.75

$

3,414

$210,745

$ 197,925

0.04

0.01

0.52

0.02

0.36

1.72

15

7

7

14

19

$

3,934

$ 192,614

0.07

0.02

0.62

0.03

11.34

2.04

__________        
(1)  Calculated for each loan category by dividing net charge-offs for the period by average loans held for investment during the period.
(2) 

Excluding the impact of Acquired Loans, the net charge-off rate for our home loan and total consumer banking portfolios was 0.13% and 1.45%, respectively, 
for the year ended December 31, 2015, compared to 0.24% and 1.49%, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2014; and 0.21% and 1.51% , respectively, 
for the year ended December 31, 2013.

For information regarding management’s expectations of net charge-offs, see “MD&A—Business Segment Expectations.”

84

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
Troubled Debt Restructurings

As part of our loss mitigation efforts, we may provide short-term (three to twelve months) or long-term (greater than twelve months) 
modifications to a borrower experiencing financial difficulty to improve long-term collectability of the loan and to avoid the need 
for foreclosure or repossession of collateral.

Table  27  presents  our  recorded  investment  of  loans  modified  in TDRs  as  of  December 31,  2015  and  2014.  It  excludes  loan 
modifications that do not meet the definition of a TDR and Acquired Loans accounted for based on expected cash flows, which 
we track and report separately.

Table 27: Troubled Debt Restructurings

(Dollars in millions)
Credit card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Amount

$

666

% of Total

Modifications Amount
36.7% $

692

% of Total
Modifications

41.9%

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

Consumer banking:

Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Home loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Retail banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total consumer banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

488

229

42

759

392

$ 1,817

26.8

12.6

2.3

41.7

435

218

35

688

21.6
100.0% $ 1,652

272

Status of TDRs:

Performing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nonperforming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 1,367

450

$ 1,817

75.2% $ 1,203

24.8

449

100.0% $ 1,652

26.3

13.2

2.1

41.6

16.5

100.0%

72.8%

27.2
100.0%  

The majority of our credit card TDRs involve reducing the interest rate on the account and placing the customer on a fixed payment 
plan not exceeding 60 months. The interest rate in effect immediately prior to the loan modification is used as the effective interest 
rate for purposes of measuring impairment using the present value of expected cash flows. In some cases, the interest rate on a 
credit card account is automatically increased due to non-payment, late payment or similar events. In all cases, we cancel the 
customer’s available line of credit on the credit card. If the customer does not comply with the modified payment terms, then the 
credit  card  loan  agreement  may  revert  to  its  original  payment  terms,  likely  resulting  in  any  loan  outstanding  reflected  in  the 
appropriate delinquency category, and charged off in accordance with our standard charge-off policy.

In the Consumer Banking business, the majority of our loans modified in TDRs receive an extension, an interest rate reduction or 
principal reduction, or a combination of both. In addition, TDRs also occur in connection with bankruptcy of the borrower. In 
certain bankruptcy discharges, the loan is written down to the collateral value and the charged off amount is reported as principal 
reduction. Their impairment is determined using the present value of expected cash flows or a collateral evaluation for certain auto 
and home loans where the collateral value is lower than the recorded investment. In the Commercial Banking business, the majority 
of loans modified in TDRs receive an extension, with a portion of these loans receiving an interest rate reduction. The impairment 
on modified commercial loans is generally determined based on the underlying collateral value. We provide additional information 
on modified loans accounted for as TDRs, including the performance of those loans subsequent to modification, in “Note 5—
Loans.”

Impaired Loans

A loan is considered impaired when, based on current information and events, it is probable that we will be unable to collect all 
amounts due from the borrower in accordance with the original contractual terms of the loan. Generally, we report loans as impaired 
based on the method for measuring impairment in accordance with applicable accounting guidance. Loans defined as individually 
impaired include larger balance commercial nonperforming loans and TDRs. Loans held for sale are not reported as impaired, as 
these loans are recorded at lower of cost or fair value. Impaired loans also exclude Acquired Loans accounted for based on expected 
cash flows because this accounting methodology takes into consideration future credit losses expected to be incurred.

85

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
Impaired loans, including TDRs, totaled $2.5 billion and $1.9 billion as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Loans 
modified in TDRs accounted for $1.8 billion and $1.7 billion of impaired loans as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. 
We provide additional information on our impaired loans, including the allowance for loan and lease losses established for these 
loans, in “Note 5—Loans” and “Note 6—Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses.”

Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses

Our allowance for loan and lease losses represents management’s best estimate of incurred loan and lease credit losses inherent 
in our held for investment portfolio as of each balance sheet date. The allowance for loan and lease losses is increased through the 
provision  for  credit  losses  and  reduced  by  net  charge-offs. We  provide  additional  information  on  the  methodologies  and  key 
assumptions used in determining our allowance for loan and lease losses in “Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies.”

Our allowance for loan and lease losses increased by $747 million to $5.1 billion as of December 31, 2015 from December 31, 
2014. The allowance coverage ratio increased by 13 basis points to 2.23% as of December 31, 2015 from December 31, 2014. 
The increase in the allowance for loan and lease losses was primarily driven by continued loan growth, coupled with our expectations 
of rising charge-off rates in our domestic credit card portfolio driven by growth, as well as adverse market conditions impacting 
our oil and gas portfolio and taxi medallion lending portfolio in our Commercial Banking business.

Table 28 presents changes in our allowance for loan and lease losses and unfunded lending commitments for 2015 and 2014, and 
details the provision for credit losses recognized in our consolidated statements of income and charge-offs and recoveries by 
portfolio segment.

86

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Table 28: Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses and Unfunded Lending Commitments Activity

(Dollars in millions)

Allowance for loan and lease losses:

Consumer Banking

Credit
Card

Auto

Home
Loan

Retail
Banking

Total
Consumer
Banking

Commercial
Banking

Other 
Loans(1)

Total

Balance as of December 31, 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 3,214

$

Provision (benefit) for credit losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Charge-offs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Recoveries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net charge-offs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other changes(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Balance as of December 31, 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Unfunded lending commitments reserve:

Balance as of December 31, 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Provision for unfunded lending commitments. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Balance as of December 31, 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2,750

(3,963)

1,235

(2,728)

(32)

3,204

—

—

—

Combined allowance and unfunded reserve as of 
December 31, 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 3,204

Allowance for loan and lease losses:

Balance as of December 31, 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Provision (benefit) for credit losses(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 3,204

3,417

Charge-offs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4,028)

Recoveries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,110

$

$

Net charge-offs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other changes(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Balance as of December 31, 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Unfunded lending commitments reserve:

Balance as of December 31, 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Provision for unfunded lending commitments(3) . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other changes(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Balance as of December 31, 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Combined allowance and unfunded reserve as of 
December 31, 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2,918)

(49)

3,654

$

726

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

606

674

(898)

279

(619)

—

661

—

—

—

661

661

739

(998)

324

(674)

—

$

83

$

$

$

(3)

(32)

15

(17)

(1)

62

—

—

—

62

62

16

(20)

11

(9)

1

70

—

—

—

—

$

$

$

$

$

63

32

(59)

20

(39)

—

56

7

—

7

63

56

64

(64)

16

(48)

—

72

7

—

—

7

752

703

(989)

314

(675)

(1)

779

7

—

7

786

779

819

(1,082)

351

(731)

1

868

7

—

—

7

$

338

$

11

$ 4,315

$

$

67

(34)

24

(10)

0

395

80

26

106

501

395

256

(76)

29

(47)

—

604

106

46

9

161

$

$

(5)

(10)

9

(1)

0

5

—

—

—

5

5

(2)

(7)

8

1

—

4

—

—

—

—

3,515

(4,996)

1,582

(3,414)

(33)

4,383

87

26

113

$ 4,496

$ 4,383

4,490

(5,193)

1,498

(3,695)

(48)

5,130

113

46

9

168

$ 3,654

$

726

$

70

$

79

$

875

$

765

$

4

$ 5,298

__________
(1)   Primarily consists of our discontinued GreenPoint mortgage operations loan portfolio.
(2)  Represents foreign currency translation adjustments and the net impact of loan transfers and sales. At acquisition date we also recognized the fair value of 
the unfunded lending commitments reserve of the GE Healthcare acquisition. See “Note 2—Business Developments” for additional information about the 
GE Healthcare acquisition.

(3) 

Includes a provision for credit losses of $49 million to establish an initial allowance and reserve related to the loans acquired in the GE Healthcare acquisition. 

87

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Table 29 presents the allowance coverage ratios as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Table 29: Allowance Coverage Ratios 

Total allowance coverage ratios:
Allowance for loan and lease losses as a % of loans held for investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Allowance for loan and lease losses as a % of nonperforming loans(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Allowance coverage ratios by loan category:(2)
Credit card (30+ day delinquent loans) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consumer banking (30+ day delinquent loans) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial banking (nonperforming loans) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31,

2015

2014

2.23%

2.10%

438.70

541.86

111.81
26.42
109.76

113.13
25.76
225.86

__________      
(1) 

The allowance for loan and lease losses for both of nonperforming and performing loans as a percentage of nonperforming loans, excluding the allowance 
for loan and lease losses related to our domestic credit card loans, was 151.80% and 186.07% as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.
(2)  Calculated based on the total allowance for loan and lease losses divided by the outstanding balance of loans within the specified loan category.

LIQUIDITY RISK PROFILE

We have established liquidity practices that are intended to ensure that we have sufficient asset-based liquidity to withstand the 
potential impact of deposit attrition or diminished liquidity in the funding markets. Our practices are intended to maintain adequate 
liquidity reserves to cover our funding requirements as well as any potential deposit run-off and maintain access to diversified 
funding sources to avoid over-dependence on volatile, less reliable funding markets. Our liquidity reserves consist of readily-
marketable or pledgable assets which can be used as a source of liquidity, if needed.

Table 30 below presents the composition of our liquidity reserves as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Table 30: Liquidity Reserves

(Dollars in millions)
Cash and cash equivalents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Investment securities available for sale, at fair value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Investment securities held to maturity, at fair value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total investment securities portfolio(1)(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
FHLB borrowing capacity secured by loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Outstanding FHLB advances and letters of credit secured by loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Investment securities encumbered for Public Funds and others. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total liquidity reserves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

$

8,023

$

39,061

25,317

64,378

30,661

(20,514)

(10,602)

$

71,946

$

7,242

39,508

23,634

63,142

29,547

(17,720)

(10,631)

71,580

__________
(1) 

The weighted-average life of our securities was approximately 5.8 years and 5.7 years as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

(2)  As part of our liquidity management strategy, we pledge securities to secure borrowings from counterparties and to secure trust and public deposits and other 
purposes as required or permitted by law. We pledged securities available for sale with a fair value of $1.7 billion and $3.5 billion as of December 31, 2015 
and 2014, respectively. We also pledged securities held to maturity with a carrying value of $8.7 billion and $9.0 billion as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, 
respectively.

Our liquidity reserves increased by $366 million to $71.9 billion as of December 31, 2015 from December 31, 2014. This increase 
was primarily attributable to an increase in the fair value of our investment securities portfolio, partially offset by an increase in 
our FHLB advances. See “MD&A—Risk Management” for additional information on our management of liquidity risk.

We are  subject to the Final LCR Rules as discussed in “Part I—Item 1. Business—Supervision and Regulation.” At December 31, 
2015,  we  exceeded  the  fully  phased-in  LCR  requirement.  The  calculation  and  the  underlying  components  are  based  on  our 
interpretations, expectations and assumptions of relevant regulations, as well as interpretations provided by our regulators, and 
are subject to change based on changes to future regulations and interpretations. 

88

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Borrowing Capacity

We filed a new shelf registration statement with the SEC on March 31, 2015, which expires in March 2018. Under this shelf 
registration,  we  may  periodically  offer  and  sell  an  indeterminate  aggregate  amount  of  senior  or  subordinated  debt  securities, 
preferred  stock,  depositary  shares,  common  stock,  purchase  contracts,  warrants  and  units.  There  is  no  limit  under  this  shelf 
registration to the amount or number of such securities that we may offer and sell, subject to market conditions. We also filed a 
new shelf registration statement with the SEC on July 30, 2015, which does not expire and allows us to periodically offer and sell 
up to $20 billion of securitized debt obligations. 

In addition to our issuance capacity under the shelf registration statements, we also have access to FHLB advances with a maximum 
borrowing capacity of $30.7 billion as of December 31, 2015, of which $10.2 billion was still available to us to borrow as of 
December 31, 2015. We pledged loan collateral with an outstanding balance of $36.9 billion to secure this borrowing capacity. 
The ability to draw down funding is based on membership status and the amount is dependent upon the Banks’ ability to post 
collateral. Our FHLB membership is secured by our investment in FHLB stock of $884 million and $807 million as of December 31, 
2015 and 2014, respectively, which was determined in part based on our outstanding advances. We also have access to the Federal 
Reserve Discount Window through which we had a borrowing capacity of $13.2 billion as of December 31, 2015. On an annual 
basis, we process immaterial overnight test trades to ensure continued system functionality and borrowing capabilities. Although 
available, we do not view this borrowing capacity as a primary source of liquidity and did not utilize it during 2015 or 2014.

Funding

The Company’s primary source of funding comes from deposits, which provide us with a stable and relatively low cost of funds. In 
addition to deposits, the Company raises funding through the issuance of senior and subordinated notes, FHLB advances secured 
by certain portions of our loan and securities portfolios, the issuance of securitized debt obligations, the issuance of brokered 
deposits, the purchase of federal funds and other borrowings. A key objective in our use of these markets is to maintain access to 
a diversified mix of wholesale funding sources.

Deposits

Table 31 provides a comparison of the composition of our deposits, average balances, interest expense and average deposit rates 
for 2015, 2014 and 2013.

Table 31: Deposit Composition and Average Deposit Rates

(Dollars in millions)
Non-interest bearing accounts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Interest-bearing checking accounts(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Saving deposits(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Time deposits less than $100,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total core deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Time deposits of $100,000 or more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Foreign time deposits(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total deposits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31, 2015

Period End
Balance

Average
Balance

Interest
Expense

$

25,847

$ 25,312

44,720

42,785

$

134,075

132,658

10,347

7,213

N/A

208

769

74

214,989

207,968

1,051

1,889

843

2,043

978

36

4

% of
Average
Deposits

Average
Deposit
Rate

12.0%

20.3

62.9

3.4

98.6

1.0

0.4

N/A

0.49%

0.58

1.03

0.51

1.76

0.34

0.52

$ 217,721

$ 210,989

$

1,091

100.0%

89

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
(Dollars in millions)
Non-interest bearing accounts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Interest-bearing checking accounts(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Saving deposits(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Time deposits less than $100,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total core deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Time deposits of $100,000 or more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Foreign time deposits(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total deposits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(Dollars in millions)
Non-interest bearing accounts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Interest-bearing checking accounts(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Saving deposits(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Time deposits less than $100,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total core deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Time deposits of $100,000 or more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Foreign time deposits(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total deposits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

__________
(1) 

Includes Negotiable Order of Withdrawal (“NOW”) accounts.

December 31, 2014

Period End
Balance

Average
Balance

Interest
Expense

$

25,081

$ 24,639

41,022

41,702

$

130,156

129,868

6,051

5,856

N/A

204

752

75

202,310

202,065

1,031

2,261

977

2,560

1,050

53

4

% of
Average
Deposits

12.0%

20.3

63.1

2.8

98.2

1.3

0.5

$ 205,548

$ 205,675

$

1,088

100.0%

December 31, 2013

Period End
Balance

Average
Balance

Interest
Expense

$

22,643

$ 21,345

43,880

43,823

$

127,667

129,373

6,299

8,955

200,489

203,496

2,852

1,182

3,938

1,611

N/A

254

714

161

1,129

108

4

% of
Average
Deposits

10.2%

21.0

61.8

4.3

97.3

1.9

0.8

$ 204,523

$ 209,045

$

1,241

100.0%

Average
Deposit
Rate

N/A

0.49%

0.58

1.29

0.51

2.07

0.34

0.53

Average
Deposit
Rate

N/A

0.58%

0.55

1.80

0.55

2.74

0.25

0.59

(2) 

(3) 

Includes Money Market Deposit Accounts (“MMDA”).

Substantially all of our foreign time deposits were greater than $100,000 as of December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013.

Our deposits include brokered deposits, which we obtained through the use of third-party intermediaries. Those brokered deposits 
are reported as interest-bearing checking, saving deposits and time deposits in the above table and totaled $12.0 billion and $5.1 
billion as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

The FDIC limits the acceptance of brokered deposits by “well-capitalized” insured depository institutions and, with a waiver from 
the FDIC, by “adequately capitalized” institutions. COBNA and CONA were “well-capitalized,” as defined under the federal 
banking  regulatory  guidelines,  as  of  both  December 31,  2015  and  2014.  See  “Part  I—Item  1.  Business—Supervision  and 
Regulation” for additional information.

90

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
Table 32 presents the contractual maturities of large-denomination domestic time deposits of $100,000 or more as of December 31, 
2015 and 2014. Our funding and liquidity management activities factor into the expected maturities of these deposits. Based on 
past activity, we expect to retain a portion of these deposits as they mature. Accordingly, we expect the actual net cash outflows 
will be less than the contractual maturity amounts.

Table 32: Maturities of Large-Denomination Domestic Time Deposits—$100,000 or More

December 31,

2015

2014

(Dollars in millions)

Amount % of Total Amount % of Total

Up to three months. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

> 3 months to 6 months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

> 6 months to 12 months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

271

213

315

> 12 months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,090

14.3% $

11.3

16.7

57.7

492

403

653

713

21.8%

17.8

28.9

31.5

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 1,889

100.0% $ 2,261

100.0%

Short-Term Borrowings and Long-Term Debt

We access the capital markets to meet our funding needs through the issuance of senior and subordinated notes, securitized debt 
obligation transactions, and federal funds purchased and securities loaned or sold under agreements to repurchase. In addition, we 
may utilize short-term and long-term FHLB advances secured by our investment securities, residential home loans, multifamily 
real estate loans, commercial real estate loans and home equity lines of credit. A portion of our long-term FHLBs are structured 
with a three-month call option at our discretion.

Our short-term borrowings include those borrowings with an original contractual maturity of one year or less and do not include 
the current portion of long-term debt. The short-term borrowings, which consist of federal funds purchased and securities loaned 
or  sold  under  agreements  to  repurchase,  and  short-term  FHLB  advances,  decreased  by  $16.1  billion  to  $981  million  as  of 
December 31, 2015 from December 31, 2014 as we extended the maturity of our FHLB advances during 2015. 

Our long-term debt, which primarily consists of securitized debt obligations, senior and subordinated notes, and long-term FHLB 
advances, increased by $26.8 billion to $58.1 billion as of December 31, 2015 from December 31, 2014. The increase was primarily 
attributable to net increases of $19.0 billion in long-term callable FHLB advances, $4.5 billion in securitized debt obligations and 
$3.2 billion in unsecured notes.

91

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Table 33 displays the maturity profile, based on contractual maturities, of our short-term borrowings and long-term debt including 
securitized debt obligations, senior and subordinated notes and other borrowings as of December 31, 2015.

Table 33: Contractual Maturity Profile of Outstanding Debt 

(Dollars in millions)

Short-term borrowings:

Up to
1 Year

> 1 Year
to 2 Years

> 2 Years
to 3 Years

> 3 Years
to 4 Years

> 4 Years
to 5 Years

> 5 Years

Total

December 31, 2015

Federal funds purchased and securities loaned or
sold under agreements to repurchase . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total short-term borrowings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

981

981

Long-term debt:

$ — $ — $ — $ — $ — $

—

—

—

—

—

981

981

Securitized debt obligations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3,519

7,234

2,361

1,136

1,564

352

16,166

Senior and subordinated notes:

Unsecured senior debt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Unsecured subordinated debt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total senior and subordinated notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other long-term borrowings:

FHLB advances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Capital lease obligations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total other long-term borrowings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total long-term debt(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total short-term borrowings and long-term debt.
Percentage of total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,400

1,030

2,430

18

1

19

3,082

—

3,082

18

1

19

4,674

—

4,674

10

1

11

3,514

320

3,834

1

1

2

5,968

10,335

7,046

4,972

—

—

—

5,087

2,730

7,817

17,757

4,080

21,837

1,000

19,051

20,098

1

1,001

2,565

28

19,079

27,248

33

20,131

58,134

$ 6,949

$10,335

$ 7,046

$ 4,972

$ 2,565

$27,248

$59,115

12%

18%

12%

8%

4%

46%

100%

__________
(1) 

Includes unamortized discounts, premiums and other cost basis adjustments, which together resulted in a net reduction of $224 million as of December 31, 
2015.

We provide additional information on our short-term borrowings and long-term debt under “Consolidated Balance Sheets Analysis
—Securitized  Debt  Obligations,”  “Consolidated  Balance  Sheets  Analysis—Other  Debt”  and  in  “Note 10—Deposits  and 
Borrowings.”

Credit Ratings

Our credit ratings impact our ability to access capital markets and our non-deposit borrowing costs. Rating agencies base their 
ratings on numerous factors, including liquidity, capital adequacy, asset quality, quality of earnings and the probability of systemic 
support. Significant changes in these factors could result in different ratings. Such ratings help to support our cost effective unsecured 
funding as part of our overall financing programs. Table 34 provides a summary of the credit ratings for the senior unsecured debt 
of Capital One Financial Corporation, COBNA and CONA as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Table 34: Senior Unsecured Debt Credit Ratings 

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

Capital One
Financial

Corporation   

Capital One
Bank (USA),
N.A.

Capital One,
N.A.

Capital One
Financial

Corporation   

Capital One
Bank (USA),
N.A.

Capital One,
N.A.

Moody’s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S&P . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fitch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Baa1   

BBB   

A-

Baa1   

Baa1   

BBB+   

BBB+   

A-

A-

Baa1   

BBB   

A-

A3   

A3

BBB+   

BBB+

A-

A-

As of February 23, 2016, Moody’s, S&P and Fitch have us on a stable outlook. On March 17, 2015, Moody’s announced that they 
would be adopting a new bank rating methodology that could potentially result in changes in the ratings of the securities of many 
banks, including Capital One. As a result of this adoption, on May 14, 2015, Capital One Financial Corporation’s subordinated 

92

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
  
  
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
debt and preferred stock ratings received upgrades, while on June 19, 2015, COBNA and CONA’s senior unsecured debt ratings 
received a downgrade of one level.

Contractual Obligations

In the normal course of business, we enter into various contractual obligations that may require future cash payments that affect 
our short- and long-term liquidity and capital resource needs. Our future cash outflows primarily relate to deposits, borrowings 
and operating leases. Table 35 summarizes, by remaining contractual maturity, our significant contractual cash obligations based 
on the undiscounted future cash payments as of December 31, 2015. The actual timing and amounts of future cash payments may 
differ from the amounts presented below due to a number of factors, such as discretionary debt repurchases. Table 35 excludes 
certain obligations where the obligation is short-term or subject to valuation based on market factors, such as trade payables and 
trading liabilities. The table also excludes the representation and warranty reserve of $610 million as of December 31, 2015 and 
obligations for pension and post-retirement benefit plans, which are discussed in more detail in “Note 17—Employee Benefit 
Plans.”

Table 35: Contractual Obligations

December 31, 2015

Up to
1 Year

> 1 Years
to 3 Years

> 3 Years
to 5 Years

> 5 Years

Total

$

4,864

$

4,072

$

4,023

$

121

352

$ 13,080

16,166

(Dollars in millions)
Interest-bearing time deposits(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Securitized debt obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3,519

9,595

2,700

Other debt:

Federal funds purchased and securities loaned or sold under agreements
to repurchase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Senior and subordinated notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other borrowings(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total other debt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Operating leases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Purchase obligations(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

981

2,430

19

3,430

292

175

—

7,756

30

7,786

547

241

—

3,834

1,003

4,837

435

66

—

7,817

19,079

26,896

1,027

—

981

21,837

20,131

42,949

2,301

482

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 12,280

$ 22,241

$ 12,061

$ 28,396

$ 74,978

_________
(1) 

Includes only those interest-bearing deposits which have a contractual maturity date.

(2)  Other borrowings include FHLB advances and capital lease obligations.
(3)  Represents substantial agreements to purchase goods or services that are enforceable and legally binding and specify all significant terms. The purchase 
obligations are included through the termination date of the agreements even if the contract is renewable. These include capital expenditures, contractual 
commitments to purchase equipment and services, software acquisition/license commitments, contractual minimum media commitments and any contractually 
required cash payments for acquisitions, and exclude funding commitments entered into in the ordinary course of business. See “Note 21—Commitments, 
Contingencies, Guarantees and Others” for further details.

MARKET RISK PROFILE

Market risk is inherent in the financial instruments associated with our operations and activities, including loans, deposits, securities, 
short-term borrowings, long-term debt and derivatives. Below we provide additional information about our primary sources of 
market risk, our market risk management strategies and the measures we use to evaluate our market risk exposure.

Primary Market Risk Exposures

Our primary source of market risk is interest rate risk. We also have exposure to foreign exchange risk.

Interest Rate Risk

Interest rate risk, which represents exposure to instruments whose yield or price varies with the volatility of interest rates, is our 
most significant source of market risk exposure. Banks are inevitably exposed to interest rate risk due to differences in the timing 
between the maturities or re-pricing of assets and liabilities.

93

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
Foreign Exchange Risk

Foreign exchange risk represents exposure to changes in the values of current holdings and future cash flows denominated in other 
currencies. Our primary exposure is related to the funding of our non-dollar net investments in our International Card business in 
the U.K. and Canada. Changes in foreign exchange rates affect the value of non-dollar denominated equity invested in our foreign 
operations and impact our AOCI and related capital ratios. Our intercompany funding exposes our consolidated statements of 
income to foreign exchange transaction risk, while our equity investments in our foreign operations results in translation risk in 
AOCI. We manage our transaction risk by entering into forward foreign currency derivative contracts to hedge our exposure to 
variability in cash flows related to foreign currency denominated intercompany borrowings. In the third quarter of 2014, we began 
entering into net investment hedges to manage our AOCI exposure. We apply hedge accounting to both intercompany funding 
hedges and net investment hedges.

We measure our total exposure by regularly tracking the equity value of our net equity invested in our U.K. and Canadian operations 
as well as their funding requirements. We apply a 30% U.S. dollar appreciation shock against each of our Great British Pound 
(“GBP”) and Canadian Dollar (“CAD”) net investment exposures, which we believe approximates a significant adverse foreign 
exchange movement over a one-year time horizon. Our gross equity exposures were 1.4 billion GBP and 1.3 billion GBP as of 
December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, and 686 million CAD and 581 million CAD as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, 
respectively. As a result of our derivative management activities, we believe our net exposure to foreign exchange risk is minimal.

Market Risk Management

We employ several techniques to manage our interest rate and foreign exchange risk, which include, but are not limited to, altering 
the duration and re-pricing characteristics of our various assets and liabilities through interest rate derivatives or mitigating the 
foreign exchange exposure of certain non-dollar denominated equity or transactions through derivatives. Derivatives are one of 
the primary tools we use in managing interest rate and foreign exchange risk. Our current market risk management policies include 
the  use  of  derivatives. We  execute  our  derivative  contracts  in  both  over-the-counter  and  exchange-traded  derivative  markets. 
Although the majority of our derivatives are interest rate swaps, we also use a variety of other derivative instruments, including 
caps, floors, options, futures and forward contracts, to manage both our interest rate and foreign currency risk. The outstanding 
notional  amount  of  our  derivative  contracts  totaled  $105.9  billion  as  of  December 31,  2015,  compared  to  $88.6  billion  as  of 
December 31, 2014, driven by an increase in our hedging activities.

Market Risk Measurement

We have risk management policies and limits established by our market risk management policies and approved by the Board of 
Directors. Our objective is to manage our asset and liability risk position and exposure to market risk in accordance with these 
policies and prescribed limits based on prevailing market conditions and long-term expectations. Because no single measure can 
reflect all aspects of market risk, we use various industry standard market risk measurement techniques and analysis to measure, 
assess and manage the impact of changes in interest rates on our net interest income and our economic value of equity and foreign 
exchange  rates  on  our  non-dollar  denominated  earnings  and  non-dollar  equity  investments  in  foreign  operations. We  provide 
additional information below in “Economic Value of Equity.”

We consider the impact on both net interest income and economic value of equity in measuring and managing our interest rate 
risk. Because the federal funds rate was lowered to near zero in December 2008, remained in a target range of 0% to 0.25% until 
December 2015, and then increased to a range of 0.25% to 0.50%, we use a 50 basis points decrease as our declining interest rate 
scenario, since a scenario where interest rates would decline by 200 basis points is unlikely. In scenarios where a 50 basis points 
decline would result in a rate less than 0%, we assume a rate of 0%. Below we discuss the assumptions used in calculating each 
of these measures. 

Net Interest Income Sensitivity

This sensitivity measure estimates the impact on our projected 12-month base-line interest rate sensitive revenue resulting from 
movements in interest rates. Interest rate sensitive revenue consists of net interest income and certain components of other non-
interest income significantly impacted by movements in interest rates, including changes in the fair value of mortgage servicing 
rights and free-standing interest rate swaps. Adjusted net interest income consists of net interest income and changes in the fair 
value of mortgage servicing rights, including related derivative hedging activity, and changes in the fair value of free-standing 
interest rate swaps. In addition to our existing assets and liabilities, we incorporate expected future business growth assumptions, 
such as loan and deposit growth and pricing, and plans for projected changes in our funding mix in our baseline forecast. In 

94

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

measuring the sensitivity of interest rate movements on our projected interest rate sensitive revenue, we assume an instantaneous 
+200 basis points and -50 basis points shock, with the lower rate scenario limited to zero as described above.

Economic Value of Equity

Our economic value of equity sensitivity measure estimates the impact on the net present value of our assets and liabilities, including 
derivative hedging activity, resulting from movements in interest rates. Our economic value of equity sensitivity measures are 
calculated based on our existing assets and liabilities, including derivatives, and do not incorporate business growth assumptions 
or projected plans for funding mix changes. In measuring the sensitivity of interest rate movements on our economic value of 
equity, we assume a hypothetical instantaneous parallel shift in the level of interest rates of +200 basis points and -50 basis points 
to spot rates, with the lower rate scenario limited to zero as described above.

Table 36 shows the estimated percentage impact on our projected base-line net interest income and economic value of equity, 
calculated under the methodology described above, as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Table 36: Interest Rate Sensitivity Analysis

Estimated impact on projected base-line net interest income

+200 basis points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
–50 basis points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Estimated impact on economic value of equity

+200 basis points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
–50 basis points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31,
2015

December 31,
2014

2.6%

(1.6)

(5.2)

(0.6)

4.5%

(2.1)

(3.4)

(1.2)

Our  projected  net  interest  income  and  economic  value  of  equity  sensitivity  measures  were  within  our  policy  limits  as  of 
December 31, 2015 and 2014. In addition to these industry standard measures, we will continue to factor into our internal interest 
rate risk management decisions the potential impact of alternative interest rate scenarios, such as stressed rate shocks as well as 
steepening and flattening yield curve scenarios.

Limitations of Market Risk Measures

The interest rate risk models that we use in deriving these measures incorporate contractual information, internally-developed 
assumptions and proprietary modeling methodologies, which project borrower and depositor behavior patterns in certain interest 
rate environments. Other market inputs, such as interest rates, market prices and interest rate volatility, are also critical components 
of our interest rate risk measures. We regularly evaluate, update and enhance these assumptions, models and analytical tools as 
we believe appropriate to reflect our best assessment of the market environment and the expected behavior patterns of our existing 
assets and liabilities.

There are inherent limitations in any methodology used to estimate the exposure to changes in market interest rates. The sensitivity 
analysis described above contemplates only certain movements in interest rates and is performed at a particular point in time based 
on the existing balance sheet and, in some cases, expected future business growth and funding mix assumptions. The strategic 
actions that management may take to manage our balance sheet may differ significantly from our projections, which could cause 
our actual earnings and economic value of equity sensitivities to differ substantially from the above sensitivity analysis.

95

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

SUPPLEMENTAL TABLES

Table A—Loans Held for Investment Portfolio Composition 

(Dollars in millions)
Credit Card:

December 31,

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

Domestic credit card(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
International credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total credit card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 87,939

$ 77,704

$ 73,255

$ 83,141

$ 56,609

8,186

96,125

8,172

85,876

8,050

81,305

8,614

91,755

8,466

65,075

Consumer Banking:

Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Home loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Retail banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total consumer banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commercial Banking:

Commercial and multifamily real estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commercial and industrial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total commercial lending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Small-ticket commercial real estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

41,549

25,227

3,596

70,372

25,518

37,135

62,653

613

37,824

30,035

3,580

71,439

23,137

26,972

50,109

781

31,857

35,282

3,623

70,762

20,750

23,309

44,059

952

Total commercial banking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

63,266

50,890

45,011

Other loans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

88

111

121

27,123

44,100

3,904

75,127

17,732

19,892

37,624

1,196

38,820

187

21,779

10,433

4,103

36,315

15,736

17,088

32,824

1,503

34,327

175

Total loans held for investment

$229,851

$208,316

$197,199

$205,889

$135,892

__________        
(1) 

Includes installment loans of $16 million, $144 million, $323 million, $813 million and $1.9 billion as of December 31, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011, 
respectively.

96

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
Table B—Performing Delinquencies(1) 

2015

2014

December 31,

2013

2012

2011

(Dollars in millions)

Loans(2)(3)

% of
Total
Loans(4)

Loans(2)(3)

% of
Total
Loans(4)

Loans(2)(3)

% of
Total
Loans(4)

Loans(2)(3)

% of
Total
Loans(4)

Loans(2)(3)

% of
Total
Loans(4)

Loans held for investment .

$ 229,851

100.00% $ 208,316

100.00% $ 197,199

100.00% $ 205,889

100.00% $ 135,892

100.00%

Delinquent loans:

30-59 days . . . . . . . . . .

60-89 days . . . . . . . . . .

90-119 days . . . . . . . . .

120-149 days . . . . . . . .

150 or more days . . . . .

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

By geographic area:

Domestic . . . . . . . . . . .

International. . . . . . . . .

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

$

$

3,042

1,636

603

493

409

1.33%

0.71

0.26

0.21

0.18

2,803

1,394

508

409

346

1.34%

0.67

0.24

0.20

0.17

2,584

1,313

512

418

361

1.31%

0.67

0.26

0.21

0.18

2,629

1,399

628

485

414

1.28%

0.68

0.30

0.24

0.20

2,267

1,043

497

390

355

1.67%

0.77

0.36

0.29

0.26

6,183

2.69% $

5,460

2.62% $

5,188

2.63% $

5,555

2.70% $

4,552

3.35%

5,939

244

6,183

2.58% $

5,220

2.50% $

4,889

2.48% $

5,247

2.55% $

4,114

0.11

240

0.12

299

0.15

308

0.15

438

2.69% $

5,460

2.62% $

5,188

2.63% $

5,555

2.70% $

4,552

3.03%

0.32

3.35%

__________ 
(1)  Acquired Loans are included in loans held for investment, but excluded from delinquent loans as these loans are considered performing in accordance with 
our expectations as of the purchase date, as we recorded these loans at estimated fair value when we acquired them. As of December 31, 2015, 2014, 2013, 
2012 and 2011 the Acquired Loan portfolio’s contractual 30 to 89 day delinquencies total $99 million, $152 million, $223 million, $369 million and $162 
million, respectively. For loans 90+ day past due, see “MD&A—Table C—Nonperforming Loans and Other Nonperforming Assets.”

(2)  Credit card loan balances are reported net of the finance charge and fee reserve, which totaled $262 million, $216 million, $190 million, $307 million and 

$74 million as of December 31, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

(3) 

The performing loan modifications and restructuring totaled $1.4 billion, $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion as of December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively, 
and $1.4 billion as of both December 31, 2012 and 2011.

(4)  Calculated by dividing loans in each delinquency status category and geographic region as of the end of the period by the total loan portfolio.

97

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
Table C—Nonperforming Loans and Other Nonperforming Assets 

(Dollars in millions)
Nonperforming loans held for investment:(1)
Credit Card:

December 31,

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

International credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

Total credit card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Consumer Banking:

Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Home loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Retail banking  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total consumer banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commercial Banking:

Commercial and multifamily real estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commercial and industrial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total commercial lending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Small-ticket commercial real estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total commercial banking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

53

53

219

311

28

558

7

538

545

5

550

9

Total nonperforming loans held for investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 1,170

Other nonperforming assets:

Foreclosed property(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other assets(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total nonperforming assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

126

198

$

$

$

70

70

197

330

22

549

62

106

168

7

175

15

809

139

183

$

$

$

88

88

194

376

41

611

52

93

145

4

149

19

867

113

160

$

100

100

149

422

71

642

137

133

270

12

282

30

$ —

—

106

456

90

652

207

125

332

40

372

35

$ 1,054

$ 1,059

$

204

109

$

169

95

$ 1,494

$ 1,131

$ 1,140

$ 1,367

$ 1,323

Nonperforming loans as a percentage of loans held for investment . . . . . . . . . . .

0.51%

0.39%

0.44%

0.51%

0.78%

Nonperforming assets as a percentage of loans held for investment plus total
other nonperforming assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

0.65

0.54

0.58

0.66

0.97

__________
(1) 

The ratio of nonperforming loans as a percentage of total loans held for investment is calculated based on the nonperforming loans divided by the total 
outstanding unpaid principal balance of loans held for investment. The denominator used in calculating the nonperforming asset ratios consists of total loans 
held for investment and other nonperforming assets.

(2) 

(3) 

Includes acquired REOs of $101 million as of both December 31, 2015 and 2014, $68 million, $167 million and $86 million as of December 31, 2013, 2012 
and 2011, respectively.

In 2013, we began including the net realizable value of auto loans that have been charged-off as a result of bankruptcy and repossessed assets obtained in 
satisfaction of auto loans. Both of these amounts are included in other assets. Prior period amounts have been adjusted to conform to current period presentation. 

98

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
Table D—Net Charge-offs(1)

(Dollars in millions)

Average loans held for investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net charge-offs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net charge-off rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31,

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

$ 210,745

$ 197,925

$ 192,614

$ 187,915

$ 128,424

3,695

1.75%

3,414

1.72%

3,934

2.04%

3,555

1.89%

3,771

2.94%

__________ 
(1)  Calculated for each loan category by dividing net charge-offs for the period divided by average loans held for investment during the period.

99

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
Table E—Summary of Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses and Unfunded Lending Commitments 

(Dollars in millions)

Allowance for loan and lease losses:

Balance at beginning of period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Provision for credit losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Charge-offs:

Credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consumer banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial banking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total charge-offs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Recoveries:

Credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consumer banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial banking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total recoveries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net charge-offs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Balance at end of period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Unfunded lending commitments reserve:

December 31,

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

$ 4,383
4,490

$ 4,315
3,515

$ 5,156
3,401

$ 4,250
4,446

  $ 5,628
   2,401

(4,028)
(1,082)
(76)
(7)

(5,193)

1,110
351
29
8
1,498
(3,695)
(48)
$ 5,130

(3,963)
(989)
(34)
(10)

(4,996)

1,235
314
24
9
1,582
(3,414)
(33)
$ 4,383

(4,542)
(888)
(49)
(26)

(5,505)

1,257
272
35
7
1,571
(3,934)
(308)
$ 4,315

$

35

52

—

87

(4,159)
(797)
(94)
(43)

(5,093)

(4,310)
(732)
(214)
(59)

(5,315)

1,215
266
52
5
1,538
(3,555)
15
$ 5,156

1,254
248
37
5
   1,544
(3,771)
(8)
  $ 4,250

$

66

$

107

(31)

—

35

(41)

—

66

Balance at beginning of period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 113

$

Provision (benefit) for unfunded lending commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Balance at end of period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

46

9

168

87

26

—

113

Combined allowance and unfunded reserve at end of period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Allowance for loan and lease losses as a percentage of loans held for investment . .

$ 5,298

$ 4,496

$ 4,402

$ 5,191

$ 4,316

2.23%

2.10%

2.19%

2.50%

3.13%

Combined allowance and unfunded reserve by geographic distribution:

Domestic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Combined allowance and unfunded reserve by loan category:

Credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consumer banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial banking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 4,999
299
$ 5,298

$ 3,654
875
765
4
$ 5,298

$ 4,170
326
$ 4,496

$ 3,204
786
501
5
$ 4,496

$ 4,024
378
$ 4,402

$ 3,214
759
418
11
$ 4,402

$ 4,738
453
$ 5,191

  $ 3,844
472
  $ 4,316

$ 3,979
719
460
33
$ 5,191

$ 2,847
661
772
36
  $ 4,316

100

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Table F—Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures and Calculation of Regulatory Capital Measures(1)

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

December 31,

$

47,284

$

45,053

$

41,632

$

40,425

$

29,617

(Dollars in millions)
Period End Tangible Common Equity

Period end stockholders’ equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Goodwill and intangible assets(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Noncumulative perpetual preferred stock(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tangible common equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Average Tangible Common Equity

Average stockholders' equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Average goodwill and intangible assets(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Average noncumulative perpetual preferred stock(3) . . . . . . .
Average tangible common equity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Period End Tangible Assets

$

$

(15,701)

(3,294)

28,289

47,713

(15,273)

(2,641)

$

29,799

Period end assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Goodwill and intangible assets(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tangible assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 334,048

(15,701)

$ 318,347

Average Tangible Assets

Average assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Average goodwill and intangible assets(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Average tangible assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 313,474

(15,273)

$ 298,201

(15,383)

(1,822)

27,848

44,268

(15,575)

(1,213)

27,480

308,167

(15,383)

292,784

297,659

(15,575)

282,084

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

(15,784)

(853)

24,995

41,482

(15,938)

(853)

24,691

296,064

(15,784)

280,280

296,200

(15,938)

280,262

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

(16,224)

(853)

23,348

37,265

(15,604)

(331)

21,330

311,682

(16,224)

295,458

285,142

(15,604)

269,538

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

(13,908)

—

15,709

28,538

(13,981)

—

14,557

204,336

(13,908)

190,428

198,323

(13,981)

184,342

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

Non-GAAP TCE ratio
TCE ratio(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Capital Ratios(5)
Common equity Tier 1 capital ratio(6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tier 1 common ratio(7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tier 1 capital ratio(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total capital ratio(9). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tier 1 leverage ratio(10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Supplementary leverage ratio(11). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Risk-weighted assets(12) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Average assets for the leverage ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8.9%

9.5%

8.9%

7.9%

8.2%

11.1%

N/A

12.4

14.6

10.6

9.2

12.5%

N/A

13.2

15.1

10.8

N/A

N/A

12.2%

12.6

14.7

10.1

N/A

N/A

10.9%

11.3

13.5

8.6

N/A

N/A

9.6%

12.0

14.8

10.0

N/A

$ 265,739

$

236,944

$

224,556

$

223,499

$

155,571

309,037

291,243

280,574

292,790

185,349

101

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

(Dollars in millions)
Regulatory Capital Under Basel III Standardized Approach(5)
Common equity excluding AOCI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Adjustments:

AOCI(13)(14) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Goodwill(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Intangible Assets(2)(14) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Common equity Tier 1 capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tier 1 capital instruments(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Additional Tier 1 capital adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tier 1 capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tier 2 capital instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Qualifying allowance for loan and lease losses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Additional Tier 2 capital adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tier 2 capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total capital(15) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31,

2015

2014

$

44,606

$

43,661

(254)

(69)

(14,296)

(13,805)

(393)

(119)

29,544

3,294

—

32,838

2,654

3,346

—

6,000

(243)

(10)

29,534

1,822

(1)

31,355

1,542

2,981

1

4,524

$

38,838

$

35,879

(Dollars in millions)
Regulatory Capital Under Basel I(5)
Total stockholders’ equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adjustments:

December 31,

2013

2012

2011

$

41,632

$

40,425

$

29,617

Net unrealized losses (gains) on investment securities available for sale recorded in AOCI(13) .
Net losses on cash flow hedges recorded in AOCI(13) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Disallowed goodwill and intangible assets(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Disallowed deferred tax assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Noncumulative perpetual preferred stock(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tier 1 common capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Noncumulative perpetual preferred stock(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tier 1 restricted core capital items. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tier 1 capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Long-term debt qualifying as Tier 2 capital. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Qualifying allowance for loan and lease losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other Tier 2 components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tier 2 capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total capital(15) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
_________
(1)  As of January 1, 2015, we changed our accounting principle to move from a gross basis of presentation to a net basis, for presenting qualifying derivative 
assets and liabilities, as well as the related right to reclaim cash collateral or obligation to return cash collateral. See “Note 1—Summary of Significant 
Accounting Policies” for additional information. Prior period results, excluding regulatory ratios, have been recast to conform to this presentation.

(712)
2
(14,428)
—
(853)
(12)
24,422
853
2
25,277
2,119
2,831
13
4,963
30,240

791
136
(14,326)
—
(853)
(5)
27,375
853
2
28,230
1,914
2,833
10
4,757
32,987

(289)
71
(13,855)
(563)
—
(2)
14,979
—
3,635
18,614
2,438
1,978
23
4,439
23,053

$

$

$

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

Includes impact of related deferred taxes.

Includes related surplus.

Tangible common equity ratio is a non-GAAP measure calculated based on TCE divided by tangible assets.

(5)  Beginning on January 1, 2014, we calculate our regulatory capital under the Basel III Standardized Approach subject to transition provisions. Prior to January 

1, 2014, we calculated regulatory capital under Basel I.

(6)  Common equity Tier 1 capital ratio is a regulatory capital measure calculated based on common equity Tier 1 capital divided by risk-weighted assets.
(7) 

Tier 1 common capital ratio is a regulatory capital measure under Basel I calculated based on Tier 1 common capital divided by Basel I risk-weighted assets.  

(8) 

Tier 1 capital ratio is a regulatory capital measure calculated based on Tier 1 capital divided by risk-weighted assets.

102

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

(9) 

Total capital ratio is a regulatory capital measure calculated based on total capital divided by risk-weighted assets.

(10)  Tier 1 leverage ratio is a regulatory capital measure calculated based on Tier 1 capital divided by average assets, after certain adjustments.
(11)  Supplementary leverage ratio is a regulatory capital measure calculated based on Tier 1 capital under the Basel III Standardized Approach divided by total 

leverage exposure. See “MD&A—Capital Management” for additional information.

(12)  As of January 1, 2015, risk-weighted assets are calculated under the Basel III Standardized Approach, subject to transition provisions. Prior to January 1, 

2015 risk-weighted assets were calculated under Basel I.

(13)  Amounts presented are net of tax.
(14)  Amounts based on transition provisions for regulatory capital deductions and adjustments of 20% for 2014 and 40% for 2015.
(15)  Total capital equals the sum of Tier 1 capital and Tier 2 capital.

103

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Glossary and Acronyms

2012 U.S. card acquisition: On May 1, 2012, pursuant to the agreement with HSBC Finance Corporation, HSBC USA Inc. and 
HSBC Technology and Services (USA) Inc. (collectively, “HSBC”), we closed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets and 
assumed liabilities of HSBC’s credit card and private label credit card business in the United States (other than the HSBC Bank 
USA, consumer credit card program and certain other retained assets and liabilities).

2015 Stock Repurchase Program: On March 11, 2015, we announced that our Board of Directors had authorized the repurchase 
of up to $3.125 billion of shares of our common stock beginning in the second quarter of 2015 through the end of the second 
quarter of 2016. On February 17, 2016 we announced that our Board of Directors had authorized the repurchase of up to an 
additional $300 million of shares of common stock through the end of the second quarter of 2016.

Acquired Loans or PCI Loans: Refers to these loans acquired in a business combination that were recorded at fair value at 
acquisition and subsequently accounted for based on expected cash flows to be collected in accordance with Accounting Standard 
Codification  (“ASC”)  310-30, Loans  and  Debt  Securities  Acquired  with  Deteriorated  Credit  Quality (formerly  known  as 
“Statement of Position 03-3, Accounting for Certain Loans or Debt Securities Acquired in a Transfer,” commonly referred to as 
“SOP 03-3”). Our Acquired Loans include a limited portion of commercial loans acquired in the fourth quarter of 2015 in the GE 
Healthcare acquisition, a limited portion of the credit card loans acquired in the 2012 U.S. card acquisitions and the substantial 
majority of consumer and commercial loans acquired in the ING Direct and Chevy Chase acquisitions.

The excess of cash flows expected to be collected over the estimated fair value of purchased loans represents the accretable yield, 
which is recognized into interest income over the life of the loans. The difference between total contractual payments on the loans 
and all expected cash flows represents the nonaccretable difference or the amount of principal and interest not considered collectible, 
which incorporates future expected credit losses over the life of the loans. Decreases in expected cash flows from credit deterioration 
subsequent to acquisition will generally result in an impairment charge recognized in our provision for credit losses and an increase 
in the allowance for loan and lease losses. Charge-offs are not recorded until the expected credit losses within the nonaccretable 
difference are depleted. In addition, Acquired Loans are not classified as delinquent or nonperforming as we expect to collect our 
net investment in these loans and the nonaccretable difference will absorb the majority of the losses associated with these loans.

Annual Report: References to our “2015 Form 10-K” or “2015 Annual Report” or “this Report” are to our Annual Report on 
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015.

Banks: Refers to COBNA and CONA.

Basel Committee: The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

Basel III Advanced Approaches: The Basel III Advanced Approaches is mandatory for those institutions with consolidated total 
assets of $250 billion or more or consolidated total on-balance sheet foreign exposure of $10 million or more. The Final Basel III 
Capital Rule modified the Advanced Approaches version of Basel II to create the Basel III Advanced Approaches.

Basel III Standardized Approach: The Final Basel III Capital Rule modified Basel I to create the Basel III Standardized Approach, 
which requires for Basel III Advanced Approaches banking organizations that have yet to exit parallel run to use the Basel III 
Standardized Approach to calculate regulatory capital, including capital ratios, subject to transition provisions.

Benefit Obligation and Projected Benefit Obligation: Benefit Obligation refers to the total of the projected benefit obligation 
for pension plans and the accumulated postretirement benefit obligations. Projected Benefit Obligation represents the actuarial 
present value of all benefits accrued on employee service rendered prior to the calculation date, including allowance for future 
salary increases if the pension benefit is based on future compensation levels.

BHC Act: The Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (12 U.S.C. § 1842).

Capital One: Capital One Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries.

Carrying value (with respect to loans): The amount at which a loan is recorded on the consolidated balance sheets. For loans 
recorded at amortized cost, carrying value is the unpaid principal balance net of unamortized deferred loan origination fees and 
costs, and unamortized purchase premium or discount. For loans that are or have been on nonaccrual status, the carrying value is 
also reduced by any net charge-offs that have been recorded and the amount of interest payments applied as a reduction of principal 
under the cost recovery method. For credit card loans, the carrying value also includes interest that has been billed to the customer. 
For loans classified as held for sale, carrying value is the lower of carrying value as described in the sentences above, or fair value. 

104

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

For Acquired Loans, the carrying value equals fair value upon acquisition adjusted for subsequent cash collections and yield 
accreted to date.

CCB: Chevy Chase Bank, F.S.B., which was acquired by the Company in 2009.

COBNA: Capital One Bank (USA), National Association, one of our fully owned subsidiaries, which offers credit and debit card 
products, other lending products and deposit products.

Collective trusts: An investment fund formed from the pooling of investments by investors.

Common equity Tier 1 capital: Common equity, related surplus and retained earnings less accumulated other comprehensive 
income net of applicable phase-ins, less goodwill and intangibles net of associated deferred tax liabilities and applicable phase-
ins, less other deductions, as defined by regulators.

Company: Capital One Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries.

CONA: Capital One, National Association, one of our fully owned subsidiaries, which offers a broad spectrum of banking products 
and financial services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients.

Credit risk: The risk of loss from an obligor’s failure to meet the terms of any contract or otherwise fail to perform as agreed.

Derivative: A contract or agreement whose value is derived from changes in interest rates, foreign exchange rates, prices of 
securities or commodities, credit worthiness for credit default swaps or financial or commodity indices.

Discontinued operations: The operating results of a component of an entity, as defined by ASC 205, that are removed from 
continuing operations when that component has been disposed of or it is management’s intention to sell the component.

Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”): Regulatory reform legislation signed 
into law on July 21, 2010. This law broadly affects the financial services industry and contains numerous provisions aimed at 
strengthening the sound operation of the financial services sector.

Exchange Act: The Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

eXtensible Business Reporting Language (“XBRL”): A language for the electronic communication of business and financial 
data.

Federal  Banking Agencies: The  Federal  Reserve,  Office  of  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency  and  Federal  Deposit  Insurance 
Corporation.

Federal Reserve: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

FICO score: A measure of consumer credit risk provided by credit bureaus, typically produced from statistical modeling software 
created by Fair Isaac Corporation utilizing data collected by the credit bureaus.

Final Basel III Capital Rule: The Federal Baking Agencies issued a rule in July 2013 implementing the Basel III capital framework 
developed by the Basel Committee as well as certain Dodd-Frank Act and other capital provisions.

Final LCR Rule: The Federal Banking Agencies issued final rules implementing the Basel III liquidity coverage ratio in the 
United States. 

Foreign currency derivative contracts: An agreement to exchange contractual amounts of one currency for another currency at 
one or more future dates.

Foreign exchange contracts: Contracts that provide for the future receipt or delivery of foreign currency at previously agreed-
upon terms.

GreenPoint: Refers to our wholesale mortgage banking unit, GreenPoint Mortgage Funding, Inc. (“GreenPoint”), which was 
closed in 2007.

GSE or Agency: A government-sponsored enterprise or agency is a financial services corporation created by the United States 
Congress. Examples of U.S. government agencies include Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), Federal Home 
Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) and the Federal Home 
Loan Banks.

Impairment: The condition when the carrying amount of an asset exceeds or is expected to exceed its fair value.

105

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Impaired loans: A loan is considered impaired when, based on current information and events, it is probable that we will not be 
able to collect all amounts due from the borrower in accordance with the original contractual terms of the loan.

Inactive  Insured  Securitizations:  Securitizations  as  to  which  the  monoline  bond  insurers  have  not  made  repurchase-related 
requests or loan file requests to one of our subsidiaries.

ING Direct acquisition: On February 17, 2012, we completed the acquisition of substantially all of the ING Direct business in 
the United States (“ING Direct”) from ING Groep N.V., ING Bank N.V., ING Direct N.V. and ING Direct Bancorp.

Insured securitizations: Securitizations supported by bond insurance.

Interest rate sensitivity: The exposure to interest rate movements.

Interest rate swaps: Contracts in which a series of interest rate flows in a single currency are exchanged over a prescribed period. 
Interest rate swaps are the most common type of derivative contract that we use in our asset/liability management activities.

Investment grade: Represents Moody’s long-term rating of Baa3 or better; and/or a Standard & Poor’s, Fitch or DBRS long-term 
rating of BBB- or better; or if unrated, an equivalent rating using our internal risk ratings. Instruments that fall below these levels 
are considered to be non-investment grade.

Investments  in  Qualified Affordable  Housing  Projects:  Capital  One  invests  in  private  investment  funds  that  make  equity 
investments in multifamily affordable housing properties that provide affordable housing tax credits for these investments. The 
activities of these entities are financed with a combination of invested equity capital and debt.

Investor entities: Entities that invest in community development entities (“CDE”) that provide debt financing to businesses and 
non-profit entities in low-income and rural communities.

Leverage ratio (Basel I guideline): Tier 1 capital divided by average assets after certain adjustments, as defined by the regulators. 

Liquidity risk: The risk that the Company will not be able to meet its future financial obligations as they come due, or invest in 
future asset growth because of an inability to obtain funds at a reasonable price within a reasonable time period.

Loan-to-value (“LTV”) ratio: The relationship expressed as a percentage, between the principal amount of a loan and the appraised 
value of the collateral (i.e., residential real estate, autos, etc.) securing the loan.

Managed presentation: A non-GAAP presentation of financial results that includes reclassifications to present revenue on a fully 
taxable-equivalent basis. Management uses this non-GAAP financial measure at the segment level, because it believes this provides 
information to enable investors to understand the underlying operational performance and trends of the particular business segment 
and facilitates a comparison of the business segment with the performance of competitors.

Market risk: The risk that an institution’s earnings or the economic value of equity could be adversely impacted by changes in 
interest rates, foreign exchange rates or other market factors.

Master netting agreement: An agreement between two counterparties that have multiple contracts with each other that provides 
for the net settlement of all contracts through a single payment in the event of default or termination of any one contract.

Mortgage-backed security (“MBS”): An asset-backed security whose cash flows are backed by the principal and interest payments 
of a set of mortgage loans.

Mortgage  servicing  rights  (“MSR”): The  right  to  service  a  mortgage  loan  when  the  underlying  loan  is  sold  or  securitized. 
Servicing includes collections for principal, interest and escrow payments from borrowers and accounting for and remitting principal 
and interest payments to investors.

Net interest margin: The result of dividing net interest income by average interest-earning assets.

Nonperforming loans and leases: Loans and leases that have been placed on non-accrual status.

North Fork: North Fork Bancorporation, Inc., which was acquired by the Company in 2006.

Operational risk: The risk of loss, capital impairment, adverse customer experience or reputational impact resulting from failure 
to comply with policies and procedures, failed internal processes or systems, or from external events.

Option-ARM loans: The option-ARM real estate loan product is an adjustable-rate mortgage loan that initially provides the 
borrower with the monthly option to make a fully-amortizing, interest-only or minimum fixed payment. After the initial payment 
option period, usually five years, the recalculated minimum payment represents a fully-amortizing principal and interest payment 
that would effectively repay the loan by the end of its contractual term.

106

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Other-than-temporary impairment (“OTTI”): An impairment charge taken on a security whose fair value has fallen below the 
carrying value on the balance sheet and its value is not expected to recover through the holding period of the security.

Patriot Act: The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to 
Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism).

Portfolio Sale: The sale of the Best Buy private label and co-branded credit card portfolio to Citibank, N.A., which was completed 
on September 6, 2013.

Proxy Statement: Capital One’s Proxy Statement for the 2015 Annual Stockholders Meeting.

Public Fund deposits: Deposits that are derived from a variety of political subdivisions such as school districts and municipalities. 

Purchase volume: Dollar amount of customer purchases, net of returns.

Rating agency: An independent agency that assesses the credit quality and likelihood of default of an issue or issuer and assigns 
a rating to that issue or issuer.

Recorded investment: The amount of the investment in a loan which includes any direct write-down of the investment.

Repurchase agreement: An instrument used to raise short-term funds whereby securities are sold with an agreement for the seller 
to buy back the securities at a later date. 

Restructuring charges: Charges typically from the consolidation or relocation of operations, and reductions in work force.

Return on average assets: Calculated based on income from continuing operations, net of tax, for the period divided by average 
total assets for the period.

Return on average common equity: Calculated based on the sum of (i) income from continuing operations, net of tax; (ii) less 
dividends and undistributed earnings allocated to participating securities; (iii) less preferred stock dividends, for the period, divided 
by average common equity. Our calculation of return on average common equity may not be comparable to similarly titled measures 
reported by other companies.

Return on average tangible common equity: Calculated based on the sum of (i) income from continuing operations, net of tax; 
(ii) less dividends and undistributed earnings allocated to participating securities; and (iii) less preferred stock dividends, for the 
period, divided by average tangible common equity. Our calculation of return on average tangible common equity may not be 
comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

Risk-weighted assets: Consist of on- and off-balance sheet assets that are assigned to one of several broad risk categories and 
weighted by factors representing their risk and potential for default. In 2014, the calculation of risk weighted assets is based on 
the general risk-based approach, as defined by regulators.

Securitized debt obligations: A type of asset-backed security and structured credit product constructed from a portfolio of fixed-
income assets.

SOP 03-3: Statement of Position 03-3 (or ASC 310-30), Accounting for Certain Loans or Debt Securities Acquired in a Transfer.

Small-ticket commercial real estate: Our small-ticket commercial real estate portfolio is predominantly low- or no-documentation 
loans with balances generally less than $2 million. This portfolio was originated on a national basis through a broker network and 
is in a run-off mode.

Subprime: For purposes of lending in our Credit Card business we generally consider FICO scores of 660 or below, or other 
equivalent risk scores, to be subprime. For purposes of auto lending in our Consumer Banking business we generally consider 
FICO scores of 620 or below to be subprime.

Tangible  common  equity  (“TCE”):  Common  equity  less  goodwill  and  intangible  assets  adjusted  for  deferred  tax  liabilities 
associated with non-tax deductible intangible assets and tax deductible goodwill.

Tier 1 Common Capital: Tier 1 capital less preferred stock, qualifying trust preferred securities, hybrid securities and qualifying 
noncontrolling interest in subsidiaries under Basel I.

Troubled debt restructuring (“TDR”): A TDR is deemed to occur when the Company modifies the contractual terms of a loan 
agreement by granting a concession to a borrower that is experiencing financial difficulty.

U.K. PPI Reserve: U.K. Payment Protection Insurance customer refund reserve.

107

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

U.S. GAAP: Accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Accounting rules and conventions defining 
acceptable practices in preparing financial statements in the U.S.

Unfunded commitments: Legally binding agreements to provide a defined level of financing until a specified future date.

Variable Interest Entity (“VIE”): An entity that: (i) lacks enough equity investment at risk to permit the entity to finance its 
activities without additional financial support from other parties; (ii) has equity owners that lack the right to make significant 
decisions affecting the entity’s operations; and/or (iii) has equity owners that do not have an obligation to absorb or the right to 
receive the entity’s losses or return.

Volcker Rule: A final rule implementing Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act that contains prohibitions on proprietary trading and 
certain investments in, and relationships with, covered funds (hedge funds, private equity funds and similar funds).

Acronyms

ABS: Asset-backed security
AOCI: Accumulated other comprehensive income

ARM: Adjustable rate mortgage
ASC: Accounting Standard Codification

BHC: Bank holding company

bps: Basis points

CAD: Canadian Dollar

CCAR: Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review

CDE: Community development entities

CFPB: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 

CFTC: Commodity Futures Trading Commission

CMBS: Commercial mortgage-backed securities

COEP: Capital One (Europe) plc

COF: Capital One Financial Corporation

COSO: Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission

CRA: Community Reinvestment Act

DIF: Deposit Insurance Fund

DUS: Delegated Underwriting and Servicing

Fannie Mae: Federal National Mortgage Association

FASB: Financial Accounting Standards Board

FCA: Financial Conduct Authority

FDIC: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

FDICIA: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991

FFIEC: Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council

FHA: Federal Housing Administration

FHLB: Federal Home Loan Banks

FICO: Fair Isaac Corporation (credit rating)

FIRREA: Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act

Fitch: Fitch Ratings

Freddie Mac: Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
FVC: Fair Value Committee

GBP: Great British Pound

GDP: Gross domestic product

108

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Ginnie Mae: Government National Mortgage Association
GLBA: Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act

GSE or Agency: Government-Sponsored Enterprise

HELOCs: Home Equity Lines of Credit
HFI: Held for Investment

HSBC: HSBC Finance Corporation, HSBC USA Inc. and HSBC Technology and Services (USA) Inc.
LCR: Liquidity Coverage Ratio

LIBOR: London Interbank Offered Rate
Moody’s: Moody’s Investors Service

MSR: Mortgage servicing rights

NOW: Negotiable order of withdrawal

NSFR: Net stable funding ratio

OCC: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

OTC: Over-the-counter

PCA: Prompt corrective action
PCCR: Purchased credit card relationship

RMBS: Residential mortgage-backed securities

S&P: Standard & Poor’s
SCRA: Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
SEC: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

SLR: Supplementary leverage ratio

TARP: Troubled Asset Relief Program

TAV: Trade Analytics and Valuation team

TCE: Tangible Common Equity

TDR: Troubled Debt Restructuring

TILA: Truth in Lending Act

U.K.: United Kingdom

U.S.: United States of America

UCL: Unfair Competition Law

VAC: Valuations Advisory Committee

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

For a discussion of the quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risk, see “MD&A—Risk Management—Market Risk 
Management” and “MD&A—Market Risk Profile.”

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting . . . . . . . . . . .

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on the Consolidated Financial Statements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Consolidated Financial Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Consolidated Statements of Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Consolidated Balance Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note  1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note  2—Business Developments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note  3—Discontinued Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note  4—Investment Securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note  5—Loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note  6—Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note  7—Variable Interest Entities and Securitizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note  8—Goodwill and Intangible Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note  9—Premises, Equipment and Lease Commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note  10—Deposits and Borrowings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note  11—Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note 12—Stockholders’ Equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note 13—Regulatory and Capital Adequacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note 14—Earnings Per Common Share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note 15—Other Non-Interest Expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note 16—Stock-Based Compensation Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note 17—Employee Benefit Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note 18—Income Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note 19—Fair Value Measurement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note 20—Business Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note 21—Commitments, Contingencies, Guarantees and Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note 22—Capital One Financial Corporation (Parent Company Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Note 23—Related Party Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Page
111

112

113

113

114

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117

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120

120

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159

162

167

170

171

174

179

182

184

185

186

190

195

198

209

212

220

222

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
MANAGEMENT’S REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

The management of Capital One Financial Corporation (the “Company” or “Capital One”) is responsible for establishing and 
maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting and for the assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over 
financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, the Company’s 
principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, and effected by the Company’s Board 
of Directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and 
the preparation of financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting 
principles.

Capital One’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance 
of  records  that,  in  reasonable  detail,  accurately  and  fairly  reflect  the  transactions  and  dispositions  of  the  Company’s  assets; 
(ii) provide  reasonable  assurance  that  transactions  are  recorded  as  necessary  to  permit  preparation  of  financial  statements  in 
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that the Company’s receipts and expenditures are being made only 
in accordance with authorizations of the Company’s management and directors; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding 
prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material 
effect on its financial statements.

Because  of  its  inherent  limitations,  internal  control  over  financial  reporting  may  not  prevent  or  detect  misstatements. Also, 
projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because 
of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Management  conducted  an  assessment  of  the  effectiveness  of  the  Company’s  internal  control  over  financial  reporting  as  of 
December 31, 2015, based on the framework in “2013 Internal Control—Integrated Framework” issued by the Committee of 
Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), commonly referred to as the “2013 Framework.” As allowed 
for by the SEC under the current year acquisition scope exception, management’s assessment of the effectiveness of the internal 
control over financial reporting excludes the evaluation of the internal controls over financial reporting of the Healthcare Financial 
Services business of General Electric Capital Corporation, which was acquired on December 1, 2015. As part of this acquisition, 
we recorded approximately $9.2 billion in assets, including $8.3 billion of loans.

Based on this assessment, management concluded that, as of December 31, 2015, the Company’s internal control over financial 
reporting was effective based on the criteria established by COSO in the 2013 Framework. Additionally, based upon management’s 
assessment, the Company determined that there were no material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting as of 
December 31, 2015.

The effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2015, has been audited by Ernst & 
Young  LLP,  an  independent  registered  public  accounting  firm,  as  stated  in  their  accompanying  report,  which  expresses  an 
unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2015.

/s/ RICHARD D. FAIRBANK

Richard D. Fairbank

Chair, Chief Executive Officer and President

/s/ STEPHEN S. CRAWFORD

Stephen S. Crawford

Chief Financial Officer

February 25, 2016

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM 
ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

The Board of Directors and Shareholders of Capital One Financial Corporation

We have audited Capital One Financial Corporation’s (the “Company” or “Capital One”) internal control over financial reporting 
as of December 31, 2015, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of 
Sponsoring  Organizations  of  the  Treadway  Commission  (2013  framework)  (the  COSO  criteria).  Capital  One  Financial 
Corporation’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment 
of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the accompanying Management’s Report On Internal 
Control Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial 
reporting based on our audit.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). 
Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control 
over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control 
over  financial  reporting,  assessing  the  risk  that  a  material  weakness  exists,  testing  and  evaluating  the  design  and  operating 
effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in 
the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability 
of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted 
accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain 
to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets 
of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial 
statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are 
being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable 
assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that 
could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because  of  its  inherent  limitations,  internal  control  over  financial  reporting  may  not  prevent  or  detect  misstatements. Also, 
projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because 
of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

As indicated in the accompanying Management’s Report On Internal Control Over Financial Reporting, management’s assessment 
of and conclusion on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting did not include the internal controls of the 
Healthcare  Financial  Services  business  acquired  from  General  Electric  Capital  Corporation,  which  is  included  in  the  2015 
consolidated financial statements of Capital One Financial Corporation and constituted $9.2 billion in assets, including $8.3 billion 
of loans, as of December 1, 2015. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting of Capital One Financial Corporation also 
did not include an evaluation of the internal control over financial reporting of the Healthcare Financial Services business acquired 
from General Electric Capital Corporation.

In our opinion, Capital One Financial Corporation maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial 
reporting as of December 31, 2015, based on the COSO criteria.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the 
consolidated balance sheets of Capital One Financial Corporation as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, and the related consolidated 
statements of income, comprehensive income, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the 
period ended December 31, 2015, and our report dated February 25, 2016 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

McLean, Virginia

February 25, 2016

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM 
ON THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Board of Directors and Shareholders of Capital One Financial Corporation:

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Capital One Financial Corporation (the “Company” or “Capital 
One”) as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, and the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, changes in 
stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2015. These financial statements 
are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements 
based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). 
Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements 
are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures 
in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by 
management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable 
basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position 
of Capital One Financial Corporation at December 31, 2015 and 2014, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash 
flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2015, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting 
principles.

As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, in 2015, the Company elected to change its method of 
accounting to move from a gross basis of presentation to a net basis for presenting qualifying derivative assets and liabilities, as 
well as the related fair value amounts recognized for the right to reclaim cash collateral (a receivable) or the obligation to return 
cash collateral (a payable), for instruments executed with the same counterparty where a right of setoff exists.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), 
Capital One Financial Corporation’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2015, based on criteria established 
in Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission 
(2013 framework) and our report dated February 25, 2016 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

McLean, Virginia

February 25, 2016

113

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

(Dollars in millions, except per share-related data)
Interest income:

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

Loans, including loans held for sale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

18,785

$

17,662

$ 18,222

Investment securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Interest expense:

1,575

99

20,459

1,628

107

1,575

101

19,397

19,898

Deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,091

1,088

1,241

Securitized debt obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Senior and subordinated notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other borrowings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total interest expense. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net interest income. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Provision for credit losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net interest income after provision for credit losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-interest income:

Service charges and other customer-related fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Interchange fees, net. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total other-than-temporary impairment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Less: Portion of other-than-temporary impairment recorded in AOCI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net other-than-temporary impairment recognized in earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total non-interest income. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-interest expense:

Salaries and associate benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Occupancy and equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Professional services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Communications and data processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Amortization of intangibles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total non-interest expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income from continuing operations before income taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income tax provision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income from continuing operations, net of tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net income. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dividends and undistributed earnings allocated to participating securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Preferred stock dividends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net income available to common stockholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Basic earnings per common share:

Net income from continuing operations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income (loss) from discontinued operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net income per basic common share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Diluted earnings per common share:

Net income from continuing operations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income (loss) from discontinued operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net income per diluted common share. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dividends paid per common share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

151

330

53

1,625

18,834

4,536

14,298

1,715

2,235

(39)

9

(30)

659

4,579

4,975

1,829

1,744

1,292

883

430

145

299

47

1,579

17,818

3,541

14,277

1,867

2,021

(23)

(1)

(24)

608

4,472

4,593

1,745

1,561

1,216

798

532

183

315

53

1,792

18,106

3,453

14,653

2,118

1,896

(37)

(4)

(41)

305

4,278

4,480

1,541

1,373

1,347

897

671

1,843

12,996

1,735

12,180

2,044

12,353

5,881

1,869

4,012

38

4,050

(20)

(158)

3,872

7.08

0.07

7.15

7.00

0.07

7.07

1.50

$

$

$

$

$
$

6,569

2,146

4,423

5

4,428

(18)

(67)

4,343

7.70

0.01

7.71

7.58

0.01

7.59
1.20

$

$

$

$

$
$

6,578

2,224

4,354

(233)

4,121

(17)

(53)

4,051

7.39

(0.40)

6.99

7.28

(0.39)

6.89
0.95

$

$

$

$

$

$

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. 

114

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(Dollars in millions)

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

Net income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

4,050

$

4,428

$

4,121

Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax:

Net unrealized (losses) gains on securities available for sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net changes in securities held to maturity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net unrealized gains (losses) on cash flow hedges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Foreign currency translation adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(248)

96

110

(135)

(9)

(186)

304

76

120

(48)

(10)

442

(597)

(897)

(155)

8

30

(1,611)

Comprehensive income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

3,864

$

4,870

$

2,510

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

115

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

December 31,
2015

December 31,
2014

(Dollars in millions, except per share data)

Assets:

Cash and cash equivalents:

Cash and due from banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

3,407

$

Interest-bearing deposits with banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Federal funds sold and securities purchased under agreements to resell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total cash and cash equivalents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Restricted cash for securitization investors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Securities available for sale, at fair value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Securities held to maturity, at carrying value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Loans held for investment:

Unsecuritized loans held for investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Restricted loans for securitization investors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total loans held for investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Allowance for loan and lease losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net loans held for investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Loans held for sale, at lower of cost or fair value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Premises and equipment, net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Interest receivable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Goodwill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4,577

39

8,023

1,017

39,061

24,619

196,068

33,783

229,851

(5,130)

224,721

904

3,584

1,189

14,480

16,450

3,147

4,095

0

7,242

234

39,508

22,500

171,771

36,545

208,316

(4,383)

203,933

626

3,685

1,079

13,978

15,382

Total assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

334,048

$

308,167

Liabilities:

Interest payable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

299

$

254

Deposits:

Non-interest bearing deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Interest-bearing deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total deposits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Securitized debt obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other debt:

Federal funds purchased and securities loaned or sold under agreements to repurchase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Senior and subordinated notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other borrowings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total other debt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25,847

191,874

217,721

16,166

981

21,837

20,131

42,949

9,629

25,081

180,467

205,548

11,624

880

18,684

17,269

36,833

8,855

Total liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

286,764

263,114

Commitments, contingencies and guarantees (see Note 21)

Stockholders’ equity:

Preferred stock (par value $.01 per share; 50,000,000 shares authorized; 3,375,000 and 1,875,000 shares issued and
outstanding as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Common stock (par value $.01 per share; 1,000,000,000 shares authorized; 648,317,395 and 643,557,048 shares issued
as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, and 527,259,920 and 553,391,311 shares outstanding as of December
31, 2015 and 2014, respectively). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Additional paid-in capital, net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Retained earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Accumulated other comprehensive loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Treasury stock at cost (par value $.01 per share; 121,057,475 and 90,165,737 shares as of December 31, 2015 and 2014,
respectively) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total stockholders’ equity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

0

6

29,655

27,045

(616)

(8,806)

47,284

0

6

27,869

23,973

(430)

(6,365)

45,053

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

334,048

$

308,167

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

116

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

(Dollars in millions)

Shares

Amount

Shares

Amount

Preferred Stock

Common Stock

Additional
Paid-In
Capital

Retained
Earnings

Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Income (Loss)

Treasury
Stock

Total
Stockholders’
Equity

Balance as of December 31, 2012

875,000

$

0

631,806,585

$

6

$ 26,188

$

16,779

$

739

$ (3,287) $

40,425

Comprehensive income (loss) . . . .

Dividends—common stock . . . . . .

Dividends—preferred stock . . . . . .

Purchases of treasury stock . . . . . .

Issuances of common stock and
restricted stock, net of forfeitures .

Exercise of stock options, tax
effects of exercises and restricted
stock vesting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Compensation expense for
restricted stock awards and stock
options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(1,611)

4,121

(555)

(53)

(1,033)

2,510

(555)

(53)

(1,033)

81

114

143

3,049,705

2,295,510

0

0

81

114

143

Balance as of December 31, 2013

875,000

$

0

637,151,800

$

6

$ 26,526

$

20,292

$

(872) $ (4,320) $

41,632

Comprehensive income . . . . . . . . .

Dividends—common stock . . . . . .

Dividends—preferred stock . . . . . .

Purchases of treasury stock . . . . . .

Issuances of common stock and
restricted stock, net of forfeitures .

Exercise of stock options and
warrants, tax effects of exercises
and restricted stock vesting . . . . . .

Issuances of preferred stock
(Series C and Series D) . . . . . . . . .

Compensation expense for
restricted stock awards and stock
options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,373,725

5,031,523

0

0

1,000,000

0

100

146

969

128

442

4,428

(680)

(67)

(2,045)

4,870

(680)

(67)

(2,045)

100

146

969

128

Balance as of December 31, 2014

1,875,000

$

0

643,557,048

$

6

$ 27,869

$

23,973

$

(430) $ (6,365) $

45,053

Comprehensive income (loss) . . . .

Dividends—common stock . . . . . .

Dividends—preferred stock . . . . . .

Purchases of treasury stock . . . . . .

Issuances of common stock and
restricted stock, net of forfeitures .

Exercise of stock options and
warrants, tax effects of exercises
and restricted stock vesting . . . . . .

Issuances of preferred stock 
(Series E and Series F). . . . . . . . . .

Compensation expense for
restricted stock awards and stock
options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

46,846

2,603,953

2,109,548

0

0

0

4

111

71

1,472

128

1,500,000

0

(186)

4,050

(820)

(158)

(2,441)

3,864

(816)

(158)

(2,441)

111

71

1,472

128

Balance as of December 31, 2015

3,375,000

$

0

648,317,395

$

6

$ 29,655

$

27,045

$

(616) $ (8,806) $

47,284

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

117

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Dollars in millions)

Operating activities:

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

Income from continuing operations, net of tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

4,012

$

4,423

$

4,354

Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash provided by operating activities:

Provision for credit losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Depreciation and amortization, net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net loss (gain) on sales of securities available for sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Impairment losses on securities available for sale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Gain on sales of loans held for sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Stock plan compensation expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

38

4,050

4,536

2,100

2

30

(86)

161

5

4,428

3,541

2,002

(21)

24

(48)

205

(233)

4,121

3,453

2,065

(7)

41

(32)

240

Loans held for sale:

Originations and purchases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Proceeds from sales and paydowns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(6,942)

6,805

(5,619)

5,365

(2,276)

2,469

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

(Increase) decrease in interest receivable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Increase in other assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Increase (decrease) in interest payable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Increase in other liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net cash used by discontinued operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(72)

(998)

45

575

(79)

Net cash provided by operating activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10,127

(29)

(478)

22

99

(187)

9,304

356

(576)

(165)

550

(255)

9,984

Investing activities:

Securities available for sale:

Purchases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(12,200)

(12,650)

(14,951)

Proceeds from paydowns and maturities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Proceeds from sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Securities held to maturity:

Purchases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Proceeds from paydowns and maturities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7,742

4,379

(4,277)

2,163

7,968

7,417

13,664

2,539

(4,827)

1,471

(1,111)

266

Loans:

Net (increase) decrease in loans held for investment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(18,575)

(16,563)

Principal recoveries of loans previously charged off. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Purchases of premises and equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net cash paid for acquisitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net cash (used) provided by other investing activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,498

(532)

(9,314)

(610)

1,582

(502)

(24)

137

2,291

1,589

(818)

(204)

456

Net cash (used) provided by investing activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(29,726)

(15,991)

3,721

Financing activities:

Deposits and borrowings:

(Increase) decrease in restricted cash for securitization investors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net increase (decrease) in deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Issuance of securitized debt obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Maturities and paydowns of securitized debt obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Issuance of senior and subordinated notes and long-term FHLB advances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Maturities and paydowns of senior and subordinated notes and long-term FHLB advances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Redemption of junior subordinated debentures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(783)

12,163

5,062

(500)

31,830

(9,579)

0

Net (decrease) increase in other short-term borrowings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(16,066)

640

1,017

4,291

(2,992)

7,714

(2,375)

0

919

(446)

(7,972)

2,200

(3,309)

2,063

(777)

(3,641)

(5,144)

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

118

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Dollars in millions)

Common stock:

Net proceeds from issuances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Dividends paid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Preferred stock:

Net proceeds from issuances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Dividends paid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Purchases of treasury stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Proceeds from share-based payment activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net cash provided (used) by financing activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

111

(816)

1,472

(158)

(2,441)

85

20,380

781

7,242

100

(679)

969

(67)

81

(555)

0

(53)

(2,045)

(1,033)

146

7,638

951

6,291

114

(18,472)

(4,767)

11,058

Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

8,023

$

7,242

$

6,291

Supplemental cash flow information:

Non-cash items:

Net transfers from loans held for investment to loans held for sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

268

$

182

$

6,846

Transfer from securities available for sale to securities held to maturity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net debt exchange of senior and subordinated notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Interest paid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income tax paid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

0

0

1,643

1,732

0

0

1,569

1,603

18,275

1,968

1,936

1,721

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

119

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 1—SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The Company

Capital One Financial Corporation, a Delaware Corporation established in 1994 and headquartered in McLean, Virginia, is a 
diversified financial services holding company with banking and non-banking subsidiaries. Capital One Financial Corporation 
and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) offer a broad array of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and 
commercial  clients  through  branches,  the  internet  and  other  distribution  channels. As  of  December 31,  2015,  our  principal 
subsidiaries included:

•  Capital One Bank (USA), National Association (“COBNA”), which 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.” COBNA and CONA are collectively 
referred to as the “Banks.”

We also offer products outside of the United States of America (“U.S.”) 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 loans. Our branch of COBNA in Canada also has the 
authority to provide credit card loans.

Our principal operations are currently organized for management reporting purposes into three major business segments, which 
are defined based on the products and services provided or the type of customer served: Credit Card, Consumer Banking and 
Commercial Banking. We provide details on our business segments, the integration of recent acquisitions into our business segments, 
and the allocation methodologies and accounting policies used to derive our business segment results in “Note 20—Business 
Segments.”

Basis of Presentation and Use of Estimates

The  accompanying  consolidated  financial  statements  have  been  prepared  in  accordance  with  generally  accepted  accounting 
principles in the U.S. (“U.S. GAAP”). The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management 
to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and in the related 
disclosures. These estimates are based on information available as of the date of the consolidated financial statements. While 
management makes its best judgment, actual amounts or results could differ from these estimates. Certain prior period amounts 
have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation.

Principles of Consolidation 

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Capital One Financial Corporation and all other entities in which 
we have a controlling financial interest. We determine whether we have a controlling financial interest in an entity by first evaluating 
whether the entity is a voting interest entity or a variable interest entity (“VIE”). All significant intercompany account balances 
and transactions have been eliminated.

Voting Interest Entities 

Voting interest entities are entities that have sufficient equity and provide the equity investors voting rights that give them the 
power to make significant decisions relating to the entity’s operations. Since a controlling financial interest in an entity is typically 
obtained through ownership of a majority voting interest, we consolidate our majority-owned subsidiaries and other voting interest 
entities in which we hold, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of the voting rights or where we exercise control through other 
contractual rights. 

120

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Investments in entities where we do not have a controlling financial interest but we have significant influence over the entity’s 
financial and operating decisions (generally defined as owning a voting interest of 20% to 50%) are accounted for under the equity 
method. If we own less than 20% of a voting interest entity, we generally carry the investment at cost, except marketable equity 
securities, which we carry at fair value with changes in fair value included in accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”). 
We report investments accounted for under the equity or cost method in other assets on our consolidated balance sheets, and include 
our share of income or loss on equity method investments and dividends on cost method investments in other non-interest income 
in our consolidated statements of income. 

Variable Interest Entities

VIEs are entities that, by design, either (i) lack sufficient equity to permit the entity to finance its activities without additional 
subordinated financial support from other parties; or (ii) have equity investors that do not have the ability to make significant 
decisions relating to the entity’s operations through voting rights, do not have the obligation to absorb the expected losses, or do 
not have the right to receive the residual returns of the entity. The entity that has a controlling financial interest in a VIE is referred 
to as the primary beneficiary and is required to consolidate the VIE. An entity is deemed to be primary beneficiary if a VIE has 
both (i) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance; and (ii) the 
obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits that could potentially be significant to the VIE. 

In determining whether we are the primary beneficiary of a VIE, we consider both qualitative and quantitative factors regarding 
the nature, size and form of our involvement with the VIE, such as our role in establishing the VIE and our ongoing rights and 
responsibilities; our economic interests, including debt and equity investments, servicing fees, and other arrangements deemed to 
be variable interests in the VIE; the design of the VIE, including the capitalization structure, subordination of interests, payment 
priority, relative share of interests held across various classes within the VIE’s capital structure and the reasons why the interests 
are held by us. 

We perform on-going reassessments to evaluate whether changes in an entity’s capital structure or changes in the nature of our 
involvement with the entity result in a change to the VIE designation or a change to our consolidation conclusion. See “Note 7—
Variable Interest Entities and Securitizations” for further details.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash and amounts due from banks, federal funds sold and securities purchased under agreements 
to resell, and interest-bearing deposits with banks, all of which, if applicable, have stated maturities of three months or less when 
acquired. 

Securities Resale and Repurchase Agreements 

Securities  purchased  under  resale  agreements  and  securities  loaned  or  sold  under  agreements  to  repurchase,  principally  U.S. 
government and agency obligations, are not accounted for as sales but as collateralized financing transactions and recorded at the 
amounts at which the securities were acquired or sold, plus accrued interest. We continually monitor the market value of these 
securities and deliver additional collateral to or obtain additional collateral from counterparties, as appropriate. 

Investment Securities 

Our investment securities primarily consist of U.S. Treasury securities; corporate debt securities guaranteed by U.S. government 
agencies; U.S. government-sponsored enterprise or agency and non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities  and commercial 
mortgage-backed securities; other asset-backed securities and other securities. The accounting and measurement framework for 
our investment securities differs depending on the security classification. We classify securities as available for sale or held to 
maturity based on our investment strategy and management’s assessment of our intent and ability to hold the securities until 
maturity. Securities that we intend to hold for an indefinite period of time and may sell prior to maturity in response to changes in 
our investment strategy, liquidity needs, interest rate risk profile or for other reasons are classified as available for sale. Securities 
that we have the intent and ability to hold until maturity are classified as held to maturity. 

We report securities available for sale on our consolidated balance sheets at fair value with unrealized gains and losses recorded, 
net  of  tax,  as  a  component  of AOCI. We  report  securities  held  to  maturity  on  our  consolidated  balance  sheets  at  carrying 

121

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

value. Carrying value generally is equal to amortized cost. Investment securities transferred into the held to maturity category from 
the available for sale category are recorded at fair value at the date of transfer. Any unrealized gains and losses at the transfer date 
are thereafter included in AOCI. Such unrealized gains or losses are accreted over the remaining life of the security and are expected 
to offset the amortization of the related premium or discount created upon the investment securities transfer into the held to maturity 
category, with no expected impact on future net income.

Unamortized premiums, discounts and other basis adjustments are recognized in interest income over the contractual lives of the 
securities using the effective interest method. We record purchases and sales of investment securities on a trade date basis. Realized 
gains and losses from the sale of debt securities are computed using the first in first out method of identification, and are included 
in non-interest income in our consolidated statements of income. If we intend to sell an available for sale security in an unrealized 
loss position or it is more likely than not that we will be required to sell the security prior to recovery of its amortized cost basis, 
the entire difference between the amortized cost basis of the security and its fair value is recognized in our consolidated statements 
of income.

We regularly evaluate our securities whose values have declined below amortized cost to assess whether the decline in fair value 
represents  an  other-than-temporary  impairment  (“OTTI”). Amortized  cost  reflects  historical  cost  adjusted  for  amortization  of 
premiums, accretion of discounts and any previously recorded impairments. We discuss our assessment of and accounting for 
OTTI in “Note 4—Investment Securities.” We discuss the techniques we use in determining the fair value of our investment 
securities in “Note 19—Fair Value Measurement.” 

Our investment portfolio also includes certain acquired debt securities that were deemed to be credit impaired at the acquisition 
date, and therefore are accounted for in accordance with accounting guidance for purchased credit-impaired (“PCI”) loans and 
debt securities. These securities are recorded at fair value at the acquisition date using the estimated cash flows we expect to collect 
discounted  by  the  prevailing  market  interest  rate.  The  difference  between  the  contractually  required  payments  due  and  the 
undiscounted  cash  flows  we  expect  to  collect  at  acquisition,  considering  the  impact  of  prepayments,  is  referred  to  as  the 
nonaccretable difference. The nonaccretable difference reflects estimated future credit losses expected to be incurred over the life 
of the security, and is neither accreted into income nor recorded on our consolidated balance sheet. The excess of the undiscounted 
cash flows expected to be collected over the estimated fair value of credit-impaired debt securities at acquisition is referred to as 
the accretable yield, which is accreted into interest income using an effective yield method over the remaining life of the security. 
Decreases in expected cash flows attributable to credit result in the recognition of OTTI. Significant increases in expected cash 
flows are recognized prospectively over the remaining life of the security as an adjustment to the accretable yield. See “Loans 
Acquired” in this Note for further discussion of accounting guidance for purchased credit-impaired loans and debt securities. 

Loans 

Our loan portfolio consists of loans held for investment, including restricted loans underlying our consolidated securitization trusts, 
and loans held for sale, and is divided into three portfolio segments: credit card, consumer banking and commercial banking loans. 
Credit card loans consist of domestic and international credit card loans as well as installment loans. Consumer banking loans 
consist of auto, home and retail banking loans. Commercial banking loans consist of commercial and multifamily real estate, 
commercial and industrial, and small-ticket commercial real estate loans. 

Loan Classification 

Upon origination or purchase, we classify loans as held for investment or held for sale based on our investment strategy and 
management’s intent and ability with regard to the loans which may change over time. The accounting and measurement framework 
for loans differs depending on the loan classification, whether the loans are originated or purchased and whether purchased loans 
are considered credit-impaired at the date of acquisition. The presentation within the consolidated statements of cash flows is based 
on management’s intent at acquisition or origination. Cash flows related to unrestricted loans held for investment are included in 
cash  flows  from  investing  activities  on  our  consolidated  statements  of  cash  flows  while  cash  flows  from  restricted  loans  for 
securitization investors are included in cash flows from financing activities. The difference is due to the treatment of securitization 
transactions as secured borrowings. Cash flows related to unrestricted loans held for sale are included in cash flows from operating 
activities on our consolidated statements of cash flows.

122

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Loans Held for Investment 

Loans that we have the ability and intent to hold for the foreseeable future and loans associated with on-balance sheet securitization 
transactions accounted for as secured borrowings are classified as held for investment. Loans classified as held for investment, 
except Acquired Loans accounted for based upon expected cash flows described below, are reported at their amortized cost, which 
is the outstanding principal balance, net of any unearned income, unamortized deferred fees and costs, unamortized premiums and 
discounts and charge-offs. Credit card loans also include billed finance charges and fees, net of the estimated uncollectible amount. 

Interest income is recognized on loans held for investment on an accrual basis. We generally defer certain loan origination fees 
and direct loan origination costs on originated loans, premiums and discounts on purchased loans and loan commitment fees. We 
recognize these amounts in interest income as yield adjustments over the life of the loan and/or commitment period using the 
effective interest method. Where appropriate, prepayment estimates are factored into the calculation of the constant effective yield 
necessary to apply the interest method. Prepayment estimates are based on historical prepayment data and existing and forecasted 
interest rates and economic data. For credit card loans, loan origination fees and direct loan origination costs are amortized on a 
straight-line basis over a 12-month period. We establish an allowance for loan losses for probable losses inherent in our held for 
investment loan portfolio as of each balance sheet date. Loans held for investment are subject to our allowance for loan and lease 
losses methodology described below under “Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses.”

Loans Held for Sale 

Loans purchased or originated with the intent to sell or for which we do not have the ability and intent to hold for the foreseeable 
future are classified as held for sale. Interest on these loans is recognized on an accrual basis. These loans are recorded at the lower 
of amortized cost or fair value. Loan origination fees and direct loan origination costs are deferred until the loan is sold and are 
then recognized as part of the total gain or loss on sale.

If a loan is transferred from held for investment to held for sale, declines in fair value related to credit are recorded as a charge-
off and amortization of deferred loan origination fees and costs ceases. Subsequent to transfer, we report write-downs or recoveries 
in fair value up to the carrying value at the date of transfer and realized gains or losses on loans held for sale in our consolidated 
statements of income as a component of other non-interest income. We calculate the gain or loss on loan sales as the difference 
between the proceeds received and the carrying value of the loans sold, net of the fair value of any retained servicing rights.

Loans Acquired

All purchased loans, including loans transferred in a business combination, acquired on or after January 1, 2009, are initially 
recorded at fair value, which includes consideration of expected future losses, as of the date of the acquisition. We account for 
purchased loans using the guidance for accounting for purchased credit-impaired loans and debt securities, which is based upon 
expected cash flows, if the purchased loans have a discount attributable, at least in part, to credit deterioration and they are not 
specifically scoped out of the guidance. We refer to these purchased loans that are subsequently accounted for based on expected 
cash flows to be collected in accordance with Accounting Standard Codification (“ASC”) 310-30, Loans and Debt Securities 
Acquired with Deteriorated Credit Quality (formerly known as “Statement of Position 03-3, Accounting for Certain Loans or Debt 
Securities Acquired in a Transfer,” commonly referred to as “SOP 03-3”) as “Acquired Loans” or “PCI loans.” Other purchased 
loans that don’t meet our criteria described above are accounted for based on contractual cash flows.

Loans Acquired and Accounted for Based on Expected Cash Flows

In accounting for purchased loans based on expected cash flows, we first determine the contractually required payments due, which 
represent the total undiscounted amount of all uncollected principal and interest payments, adjusted for the effect of estimated 
prepayments. We then estimate the undiscounted cash flows we expect to collect, incorporating several key assumptions including 
expected default rates, loss severities and the amount and timing of prepayments. We estimate the fair value by discounting the 
estimated cash flows we expect to collect using an observable market rate of interest, when available, adjusted for factors that a 
market participant would consider in determining fair value. We may aggregate loans acquired in the same fiscal quarter into one 
or more pools if the loans have common risk characteristics. A pool is then accounted for as a single asset, with a single composite 
interest rate and an aggregate fair value and expected cash flows.

The excess of cash flows expected to be collected over the estimated fair value of purchased loans is referred to as the accretable 
yield. This amount is not recorded on our consolidated balance sheets, but is accreted into interest income over the life of the loan, 

123

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

or pool of loans, using the effective interest method. The difference between total contractual payments on the loans and all expected 
cash flows represents the nonaccretable difference or the amount of principal and interest not considered collectible.  

Subsequent to acquisition, we evaluate our estimate of cash flows expected to be collected on a quarterly basis. These evaluations 
require the use of key assumptions and estimates similar to those used in estimating the initial fair value at acquisition. Subsequent 
changes in the estimated cash flows expected to be collected may result in changes in the accretable yield and nonaccretable 
difference or reclassifications from the nonaccretable difference to the accretable yield. Decreases in expected cash flows resulting 
from credit deterioration subsequent to acquisition will generally result in an impairment charge recognized in our provision for 
credit losses and an increase in the allowance for loan and lease losses. Charge-offs are not recorded until the expected credit losses 
within the nonaccretable difference are depleted. In addition, Acquired Loans are not classified as delinquent or nonperforming 
as we expect to collect our net investment in these loans. Increases in the cash flows expected to be collected would first reduce 
any previously recorded allowance for loan and lease losses established subsequent to acquisition. The excess over the recorded 
allowance for loan and lease losses would result in a reclassification to the accretable yield from the nonaccretable difference and 
an increase in interest income recognized over the remaining life of the loan or pool of loans. Disposals of loans in the form of 
sales to third parties, receipt of payment in full or in part by the borrower, and foreclosure of the collateral, result in removal of 
the loan from the Acquired Loans portfolio. See “Note 5—Loans” for additional information. 

Loans Acquired and Accounted for Based on Contractual Cash Flows 

To determine the fair value of loans at acquisition in a business combination, we estimate discounted contractual cash flows due 
using  an  observable  market  rate  of  interest,  when  available,  adjusted  for  factors  that  a  market  participant  would  consider  in 
determining fair value. In determining fair value, contractual cash flows are adjusted to include prepayment estimates based upon 
trends in default rates and loss severities. The difference between the fair value and the contractual cash flows is recorded as a 
loan discount or premium at acquisition. Subsequent to acquisition, the loans are classified and accounted for as either held for 
investment or held for sale based on management’s ability and intent. Loans held for investment are subject to our allowance for 
loan and lease losses methodology described below under “Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses.”  

We are permitted to aggregate loans acquired in the same fiscal quarter into one or more pools if the loans have common risk 
characteristics. If we elect to pool loans, a pool is then accounted for as a single asset with a single composite interest rate and an 
aggregate fair value and expected cash flows. 

Loan Modifications and Restructurings 

As part of our loss mitigation efforts, we may provide modifications to a borrower experiencing financial difficulty to improve 
long-term collectability of the loan and to avoid the need for foreclosure or repossession of collateral. A loan modification in which 
a concession is granted to a borrower experiencing financial difficulty is accounted for and reported as a troubled debt restructuring 
(“TDR”). Our loan modifications typically include an extension of the loan term, a reduction in the interest rate, or a combination 
of both. We describe our accounting for and measurement of impairment on restructured loans below under “Impaired Loans.” 
See “Note 5—Loans” for additional information on our loan modifications and restructurings. 

Delinquent and Nonperforming Loans 

The entire balance of a loan is considered contractually delinquent if the minimum required payment is not received by the first 
statement cycle date equal to or following the due date specified on the customer’s billing statement. Delinquency is reported on 
loans that are 30 or more days past due. Interest and fees continue to accrue on past due loans until the date the loan is placed on 
nonaccrual status, if applicable. We generally place loans on nonaccrual status when we believe the collectability of interest and 
principal is not reasonably assured. 

Nonperforming loans generally include loans that have been placed on nonaccrual status. As described above, we do not report 
loans classified as held for sale as nonperforming.

Our policies for classifying loans as nonperforming, by loan category, are as follows: 

•  Credit card loans: As permitted by regulatory guidance issued by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council 
(“FFIEC”), our policy is generally to exempt credit card loans from being classified as nonperforming as these loans are 
generally charged off in the period the account becomes 180 days past due. Consistent with industry conventions, we 
generally continue to accrue interest and fees on delinquent credit card loans until the loans are charged-off. We classify 

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credit card loans issued in the U.K. as nonperforming when the account becomes either 90 or 120 days past due depending 
on the specific facts and circumstances.

•  Consumer banking loans: We classify consumer banking loans as nonperforming when we determine that the collectability 
of all interest and principal on the loan is not reasonably assured, generally when the loan becomes 90 days past due. We 
accrue interest on consumer installment loans until charge off. 

•  Commercial banking loans: We classify commercial banking loans as nonperforming as of the date we determine that 

the collectability of all interest and principal on the loan is not reasonably assured. 

•  Modified loans and troubled debt restructurings: Modified loans, including TDRs, that are current at the time of the 
restructuring  remain  on  accrual  status  if  there  is  demonstrated  performance  prior  to  the  restructuring  and  continued 
performance under the modified terms is expected. Otherwise, the modified loan is classified as nonperforming and placed 
on nonaccrual status until the borrower demonstrates a sustained period of performance over several payment cycles, 
generally six months of consecutive payments, under the modified terms of the loan. 

•  Acquired Loans: Acquired Loans are not classified as delinquent or nonperforming.

Interest and fees accrued but not collected at the date a loan is placed on nonaccrual status are reversed against interest and fee 
income. In addition, the amortization of net deferred loan fees is suspended. Interest and fee income is subsequently recognized 
only upon the receipt of cash payments. If there is doubt regarding the ultimate collectability of loan principal, all cash received 
is generally applied against the principal balance of the loan. Nonaccrual loans are generally returned to accrual status when all 
principal and interest is current and repayment of the remaining contractual principal and interest is reasonably assured, or when 
the loan is both well-secured and in the process of collection and collectability is no longer doubtful.

Impaired Loans 

A loan is considered impaired when, based on current information and events, it is probable that we will be unable to collect all 
amounts due from the borrower in accordance with the original contractual terms of the loan. Generally, we report loans as impaired 
based on the method for measuring impairment in accordance with applicable accounting guidance. Loans held for sale are not 
reported as  impaired, as  these loans are recorded at  lower of cost  or fair value. Impaired loans  also exclude Acquired  Loans 
accounted for based on expected cash flows at acquisition because this accounting methodology takes into consideration expected 
future credit losses. 

Loans defined as individually impaired, based on applicable accounting guidance, include larger balance nonperforming loans and 
TDR loans. Our policies for identifying loans as individually impaired, by loan category, are as follows: 

•  Credit card loans: Credit card loans that have been modified in a troubled debt restructuring are identified and accounted 

for as individually impaired. 

•  Consumer  banking  loans:  Consumer  loans  that  have  been  modified  in  a  troubled  debt  restructuring  are  identified  and 

accounted for as individually impaired. 

•  Commercial banking loans: Commercial loans classified as nonperforming and commercial loans that have been modified 

in a troubled debt restructuring are reported as individually impaired. 

•  Acquired Loans: Acquired Loans are tracked and reported separately from other impaired loans. 

The majority of individually impaired loans are evaluated for an asset-specific allowance. Although a loan modified in a TDR may 
be returned to accrual status if the criteria described above under “Delinquent and Nonperforming Loans” are met, we continue 
to report the loan as impaired until maturity. 

We generally measure impairment and the related asset-specific allowance for individually impaired loans based on the difference 
between the recorded investment of the loan and the present value of the expected future cash flows, discounted at the original 
effective interest rate of the loan at the time of modification. If the loan is collateral dependent, we measure impairment based 
upon the fair value of the underlying collateral, which we determine based on the current fair value of the collateral less estimated 
selling costs, instead of discounted cash flows. Loans are identified as collateral dependent if we believe that collateral is the sole 
source of repayment. 

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Charge-Offs 

We charge-off loans as a reduction to the allowance for loan and lease losses when we determine the loan is uncollectible and 
record subsequent recoveries of previously charged off amounts as an increase to the allowance for loan and lease losses. We 
exclude accrued and unpaid finance charges and fees and fraud losses from charge-offs. Costs to recover charged-off loans are 
recorded as collection expense and included in our consolidated statements of income as a component of other non-interest expense 
as incurred. Our charge-off time frames for loans by loan type are presented below.

•  Credit card loans: We generally charge-off credit card loans in the period the account becomes 180 days past due. We charge 
off delinquent credit card loans for which revolving privileges have been revoked as part of loan workout when the account 
becomes 120 days past due. Credit card loans in bankruptcy are generally charged-off by the end of the month following 
30 days after the receipt of a complete bankruptcy notification from the bankruptcy court. Credit card loans of deceased 
account holders are charged-off by the end of the month following 60 days of receipt of notification.

•  Consumer banking loans: We generally charge-off consumer banking loans at the earlier of the date when the account is a 
specified number of days past due or upon repossession of the underlying collateral. Our charge-off time frame is 180 days 
for home loans and 120 days for auto and other consumer installment loans. Small business banking loans generally charge 
off at 90 or 120 days past due based on when unpaid principal loan amounts are deemed uncollectible. We calculate the 
initial charge-off amount for home loans based on the excess of our recorded investment in the loan over the fair value of 
the underlying property less estimated selling costs as of the date of the charge-off. We update our home value estimates 
on a regular basis and may recognize additional charge-offs for subsequent declines in home values. Consumer loans in 
bankruptcy, except for auto and home loans, generally are charged-off within 40 days of receipt of notification from the 
bankruptcy court. Auto and home loans where the borrower has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy are generally charged-off 
in the period that the loan is both 60 days or more past due and 60 days or more past the bankruptcy notification date. Auto 
and home loans where the borrower has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy are charged off by the end of the month in which 
the bankruptcy notification is received. Consumer loans of deceased account holders are charged-off by the end of the month 
following 60 days of receipt of notification.

•  Commercial banking loans: We charge-off commercial loans in the period we determine that the unpaid principal loan 

amounts are uncollectible. 

•  Acquired Loans: We do not record charge-offs on Acquired Loans that are performing in accordance with or better than our 
expectations as of the date of acquisition, as the fair values of these loans already reflect a discount for expected future 
credit losses. We record charge-offs on Acquired Loans only if actual losses exceed estimated credit losses incorporated 
into the fair value recorded at acquisition.

Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses 

We maintain an allowance for loan and lease losses (“allowance”) that represents management’s best estimate of incurred loan 
and lease losses inherent in our held for investment portfolio as of each balance sheet date. The provision for credit losses, which 
is charged to income, reflects credit losses we believe have been incurred and will eventually be reflected over time in our charge-
offs. Charge-offs of uncollectible amounts are deducted from the allowance and subsequent recoveries are added back. 

Management performs a quarterly analysis of our loan portfolio to determine if impairment has occurred and to assess the adequacy 
of the allowance based on historical and current trends as well as other factors affecting credit losses. We apply documented 
systematic methodologies to separately calculate the allowance for our consumer loan and commercial loan portfolios and for 
loans within each of these portfolios that we identify as individually impaired. Our allowance for loan and lease losses consists of 
three components that are allocated to cover the estimated probable losses in each loan portfolio based on the results of our detailed 
review and loan impairment assessment process: (i) a component for loans collectively evaluated for impairment; (ii) an asset-
specific  component  for  individually  impaired  loans;  and  (iii)  a  component  related  to Acquired  Loans  that  have  experienced 
significant decreases in expected cash flows subsequent to acquisition. Each of our allowance components is supplemented by an 
amount that represents management’s qualitative judgment of the imprecision and risks inherent in the processes and assumptions 
used in establishing the allowance. Management’s judgment involves an assessment of subjective factors, such as process risk, 
modeling assumption and adjustment risks and probable internal and external events that will likely impact losses. 

Our consumer loan portfolio consists of smaller-balance, homogeneous loans, divided into four primary portfolio segments: credit 
card loans, auto loans, residential home loans and retail banking loans. Each of these portfolios is further divided by our business 

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units into pools based on common risk characteristics, such as origination year, contract type, interest rate and geography, which 
are  collectively  evaluated  for  impairment.  The  commercial  loan  portfolio  is  primarily  composed  of  larger-balance,  non-
homogeneous loans. These loans are subject to individual reviews that result in internal risk ratings. In assessing the risk rating 
of a particular loan, among the factors we consider are the financial condition of the borrower, geography, collateral performance, 
historical loss experience, and industry-specific information that management believes is relevant in determining the occurrence 
of a loss event and measuring impairment. These factors are based on an evaluation of historical and current information, and 
involve subjective assessment and interpretation. Emphasizing one factor over another or considering additional factors could 
impact the risk rating assigned to that loan. 

The component of the allowance related to credit card and other consumer loans that we collectively evaluate for impairment is 
based on a statistical calculation, which is supplemented by management judgment as described above. Because of the homogeneous 
nature of our consumer loan portfolios, the allowance is based on the aggregated portfolio segment evaluations. The allowance is 
established through a process that begins with estimates of incurred losses in each pool based upon various statistical analyses. 
Loss forecast models are utilized to estimate probable losses incurred and consider several portfolio indicators including, but not 
limited to, historical loss experience, account seasoning, the value of collateral underlying secured loans, estimated foreclosures 
or defaults based on observable trends, delinquencies, bankruptcy filings, unemployment, credit bureau scores and general economic 
and business trends. Management believes these factors are relevant in estimating probable losses incurred and also considers an 
evaluation of overall portfolio credit quality based on indicators such as changes in our credit evaluation, underwriting and collection 
management  policies,  the  effect  of  other  external  factors  such  as  competition  and  legal  and  regulatory  requirements,  general 
economic conditions and business trends, and uncertainties in forecasting and modeling techniques used in estimating our allowance. 
We update our consumer loss forecast models and portfolio indicators on a quarterly basis to incorporate information reflective 
of the current economic environment.

The component of the allowance for commercial loans that we collectively evaluate for impairment is based on our historical loss 
experience for loans with similar risk characteristics and consideration of the current credit quality of the portfolio, which is 
supplemented by management judgment as described above. We apply internal risk ratings to commercial loans, which we use to 
assess credit quality and derive a total loss estimate based on an estimated probability of default (default rate) and loss given default 
(loss severity). Management may also apply judgment to adjust the loss factors derived, taking into consideration both quantitative 
and qualitative factors, including general economic conditions, specific industry and geographic trends, portfolio concentrations, 
trends in internal credit quality indicators, and current and past underwriting standards that have occurred but are not yet reflected 
in the historical data underlying our loss estimates. 

The asset-specific component of the allowance covers smaller-balance homogeneous consumer loans whose terms have been 
modified in a TDR and larger balance nonperforming, non-homogeneous commercial loans. As discussed above under “Impaired 
Loans,”  we  generally  measure  the  asset-specific  component  of  the  allowance  based  on  the  difference  between  the  recorded 
investment of individually impaired loans and the present value of expected future cash flows. When the present value of expected 
future cash flows is lower than the carrying value of the loan, impairment is recognized through the provision for credit losses. If 
the loan is collateral dependent, we measure impairment based on the current fair value of the collateral less estimated selling 
costs, instead of discounted cash flows. The asset-specific component of the allowance for smaller-balance impaired loans is 
calculated on a pool basis using historical loss experience for the respective class of assets. The asset-specific component of the 
allowance for larger-balance commercial loans is individually calculated for each loan. Key considerations in determining the 
allowance include the borrower’s overall financial condition, resources and payment history, prospects for support from financially 
responsible guarantors, and when applicable, the estimated realizable value of any collateral. 

We record all purchased loans at fair value at acquisition. Applicable accounting guidance prohibits the carry over or creation of 
valuation allowances in the initial accounting for impaired loans acquired in a transfer. Subsequent to acquisition, decreases in 
expected principal cash flows of Acquired Loans would trigger the recognition of impairment through our provision for credit 
losses. Subsequent increases in expected cash flows would first result in a recovery of any previously recorded allowance, to the 
extent applicable, and then increase the accretable yield. Write-downs on purchased impaired loans in excess of the nonaccretable 
difference are charged against the allowance for loan and lease losses. See “Note 5—Loans” for information on loan portfolios 
associated with acquisitions. 

In addition to the allowance, we also estimate probable losses related to contractually binding unfunded lending commitments, 
such as letters of credit and financial guarantees, and binding unfunded loan commitments. The provision for unfunded lending 
commitments is included in the provision for credit losses in our consolidated statements of income and the related reserve for 
unfunded lending commitments is included in other liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets. Unfunded lending commitments 
are subject to individual reviews and are analyzed and segregated by risk according to our internal risk rating scale, which we use 

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to assess credit quality and derive a total loss estimate. We assess these risk classifications, taking into consideration both quantitative 
and qualitative factors, including historical loss experience, utilization assumptions, current economic conditions, performance 
trends within specific portfolio segments and other pertinent information to estimate the reserve for unfunded lending commitments. 

Determining the appropriateness of the allowance is complex and requires judgment by management about the effect of matters 
that are inherently uncertain. Subsequent evaluations of the loan portfolio, in light of the factors then prevailing, may result in 
significant changes in the allowance and the reserve for unfunded lending commitments in future periods. 

Securitization of Loans 

Our loan securitization activities primarily involve the securitization of credit card loans, which have provided a source of funding 
for us. See “Note 7—Variable Interest Entities and Securitizations” for additional details. Loan securitization involves the transfer 
of a pool of loan receivables from our portfolio to a trust. The trust then sells an undivided interest in the pool of loan receivables 
to third-party investors through the issuance of debt securities and transfers the proceeds from the debt issuance to us as consideration 
for the loan receivables transferred. The debt securities are collateralized by the transferred receivables from our portfolio. We 
remove loans from our consolidated balance sheets when securitizations qualify as sales to non-consolidated VIEs, recognize 
assets retained and liabilities assumed at fair value and record a gain or loss on the transferred loans. Alternatively, when the 
transfer does not qualify as a sale but instead is considered a secured borrowing or when the sale is to a consolidated VIE, the asset 
will remain on our consolidated balance sheets with an offsetting liability recognized for the amount of proceeds received. 

Premises and Equipment 

Premises and equipment, including leasehold improvements, are carried at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. 
Land is carried at cost. We capitalize direct costs incurred during the application development stage of internally developed software 
projects. Depreciation and amortization expenses are generally calculated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful 
lives of the assets. Useful lives for premises and equipment are estimated as follows:

Premises & Equipment

Buildings and improvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Furniture and equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Computer software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Leasehold improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Useful Lives

5-39 years

3-10 years

3-7 years
Lesser of useful life or the remaining
fixed non-cancelable lease term

Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are expensed in non-interest expense as incurred. Gains or losses upon disposition are 
reflected in income as realized.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets 

Goodwill is not amortized but is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level annually or more frequently if adverse circumstances 
indicate that it is more likely than not that the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value. A reporting unit is defined 
as an operating segment or one level below an operating segment. Goodwill is assigned to one or more reporting units at the date 
of acquisition. Our reporting units are Domestic Card, International Card, Auto, Other Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking. 
The annual goodwill impairment test, performed as of October 1 of each year, is a two-step test. The first step identifies whether 
there is potential impairment by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit to its carrying amount, including goodwill. If fair 
value is less than the carrying amount, the second step of the impairment test is required to measure the amount of any potential 
impairment loss. Intangible assets with finite useful lives are amortized on either an accelerated or straight-line basis over their 
estimated useful lives and are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount 
of the assets may not be recoverable. See “Note 8—Goodwill and Intangible Assets” for additional detail.

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Mortgage Servicing Rights 

Mortgage servicing rights (“MSRs”) are initially recorded at fair value when mortgage loans are sold or securitized in the secondary 
market and the right to service these loans is retained for a fee. Subsequently, our consumer MSRs are carried at fair value on our 
consolidated balance sheets with changes in fair value recognized in non-interest income. Our commercial MSRs are subsequently 
accounted for under the amortization method and are periodically evaluated for impairment, which is recognized as a reduction 
in non-interest income. See “Note 8—Goodwill and Intangible Assets” and “Note 19—Fair Value Measurement” for additional 
information. 

Foreclosed Property and Repossessed Assets 

Foreclosed property and repossessed assets obtained through our lending activities typically include commercial and residential 
real estate or personal property, such as automobiles, and are recorded at net realizable value. For home loans collateralized by 
residential real estate, we reclassify loans to foreclosed property at the earlier of when we obtain legal title to the residential real 
estate property or when the borrower conveys all interest in the property to us. For all other foreclosed property and repossessed 
assets, we reclassify the loan to repossessed assets upon repossession of the property in satisfaction of the loan. Net realizable 
value is the estimated fair value of the underlying collateral less estimated selling costs and is based on appraisals, when available. 
We routinely monitor and update the net realizable value of acquired property, adjusting our accounting to be equal to the lower 
of cost or net realizable value. Any changes in net realizable value and gains or losses realized from disposition of the property 
are recorded in non-interest expense. See “Note 19—Fair Value Measurement” for details.

Restricted Equity Investments 

We have investments in Federal Home Loan Banks (“FHLB”) stock and in the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 
(the “Federal Reserve”) stock. These investments, which are included in other assets on our consolidated balance sheets, are not 
marketable and are carried at cost. We assess these investments for OTTI in accordance with applicable accounting guidance for 
evaluating impairment. See “Note 10—Deposits and Borrowings” for details.

Representation and Warranty Reserve 

In connection with the sales of mortgage loans, certain of our subsidiaries entered into agreements containing varying representations 
and warranties about, among other things, the ownership of the loan, the validity of the lien securing the loan, the loan’s compliance 
with any applicable loan criteria established by the purchaser, including underwriting guidelines and the ongoing existence of 
mortgage insurance, and the loan’s compliance with applicable federal, state and local laws. We may be required to repurchase 
the mortgage loan, indemnify the investor or insurer, or reimburse the investor for loan losses incurred on the loan in the event of 
a material breach of contractual representations or warranties.

We have established representation and warranty reserves for losses that we consider to be both probable and reasonably estimable 
associated with the mortgage loans sold by each subsidiary, including both litigation and non-litigation liabilities. The reserve-
setting process relies heavily on estimates, which are inherently uncertain, and requires the application of judgment. We evaluate 
these estimates on a quarterly basis. 

Losses incurred on loans that we are required to either repurchase or make payments to the investor under indemnification provisions 
are charged against the representation and warranty reserve. The representation and warranty reserve is included in other liabilities 
on our consolidated balance sheets. Changes to the representation and warranty reserve related to GreenPoint Mortgage Funding, 
Inc. (“GreenPoint”) are reported as discontinued operations for all periods presented. See “Note 21—Commitments, Contingencies, 
Guarantees and Others” for additional information related to our representation and warranty reserve. 

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Customer Rewards Reserve 

We offer products, primarily credit cards, which include programs that allow members to earn rewards, in the form of points, that 
can be redeemed for cash (primarily in the form of statement credits), gift cards, airline tickets or merchandise, based on account 
activity. The amount of reward that a customer earns varies based on the terms and conditions of the rewards program and product.
Customer rewards costs are generally recorded as an offset to interchange income, with a corresponding increase to the customer 
rewards reserve, when the rewards are earned by the customer. The customer rewards reserve is computed based on the estimated 
future cost of earned points that are expected to be redeemed and the average cost per point redeemed. The customer rewards 
reserve is reduced as points are redeemed. In estimating the customer rewards reserve, we consider historical rewards redemption 
behavior, the terms and conditions of the current rewards programs and card purchase activity. The customer rewards reserve is 
sensitive to changes in the reward redemption type and redemption rate, which is based on the expectation that the vast majority 
of all points earned will eventually be redeemed. The customer rewards reserve, which is included in other liabilities on our 
consolidated balance sheets, totaled $3.2 billion and $2.7 billion as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. 

Revenue Recognition 

Interest Income and Fees 

We recognize interest income, including finance charges, and fees on loans in interest and non-interest income in our consolidated 
statements of income in accordance with the contractual provisions of the credit arrangements. Loan origination fees and costs 
and premiums and discounts are generally deferred and amortized over the average life of the related loans using the effective 
interest method, except for those related to credit cards, which are amortized over 12 months on a straight-line basis. Direct loan 
origination costs consist of both internal and external costs associated with the origination of a loan.  

Finance charges and fees on credit card loans, net of amounts that we consider uncollectible, are included in loan receivables and 
revenue when the fees are earned. Annual membership fees are deferred and amortized into income over one year on a straight-
line basis. We continue to accrue finance charges and fees on credit card loans until the account is charged-off. Our methodology 
for estimating the uncollectible portion of billed finance charges and fees is consistent with the methodology we use to estimate 
the allowance for incurred principal losses on our credit card loan receivables. 

Interchange Income 

Interchange income represents merchant fees for credit card transactions processed through the MasterCard® (“MasterCard”) and 
Visa®  (“Visa”)  interchange  networks,  net  of  the  fee  retained  by  the  merchant’s  processing  bank. The  levels  and  structure  of 
interchange rates are set by MasterCard and Visa and are based on cardholder purchase volumes. We recognize interchange income 
as earned at the time of purchase.

Card Partnership Agreements 

Our partnership agreements relate to alliances with retailers and other partners to provide lending and other services to mutual 
customers. We primarily issue private-label and co-branded credit card loans to these customers over the term of the partnership 
agreements, which typically range from two to ten years. 

Certain partners assist in or perform marketing activities on our behalf and promote our products and services to their customers. 
As compensation for providing these services, we often pay royalties, bounties, or other special bonuses to these partners. Depending 
upon the nature of the payments, they are recorded as a reduction of revenue, marketing expenses or other operating expenses. We 
have certain credit card partnership arrangements in which our partner agrees to share in a portion of the credit losses associated 
with the partnership.

If a partnership agreement provides for profit, revenue or loss sharing payments, we must determine whether to report those 
payments on a gross or net basis in our consolidated financial statements. We evaluate the contractual provisions of each transaction 
and  applicable  accounting  guidance  to  determine  the  manner  in  which  to  report  the  impact  of  sharing  arrangements  in  our 
consolidated  financial  statements.  Our  consolidated  net  income  is  the  same  regardless  of  whether  revenue  and  loss  sharing 
arrangements are reported on a gross or net basis. 

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When presented on a net basis, the loss sharing amounts due from partners are recorded as a reduction to our provision for credit 
losses on our consolidated statements of income and reduce the charge-off amounts that we report. The allowance for loan and 
lease losses attributable to these portfolios are also reduced by the loss sharing amount due from the partners. See “Note 6—
Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses” for additional information related to our loss sharing arrangements.

Collaborative Arrangements 

A collaborative arrangement is a contractual arrangement that involves a joint operating activity between two or more parties that 
are active participants in the activity. These parties are exposed to significant risks and rewards based upon the economic success 
of the joint operating activity. We assess each of our partnership agreements with profit, revenue or loss sharing payments to 
determine if a collaborative arrangement exists and, if so, how revenue generated from third parties, costs incurred and transactions 
between participants in the collaborative arrangement should be accounted for and reported on our consolidated financial statements.  
We currently have one partnership agreement that meets the definition of a collaborative agreement. 

We share a fixed percentage of revenues, consisting of finance charges and late fees, with the partner, and the partner is required 
to reimburse us for a fixed percentage of credit losses incurred. Revenues and losses related to the partner’s credit card program 
and partnership agreement are reported on a net basis in our consolidated financial statements. Revenue sharing amounts attributable 
to the partner are recorded as an offset against total net revenue in our consolidated statements of income. Interest income was 
reduced by $1.1 billion, $1.0 billion and $965 million in 2015, 2014, and 2013, respectively, for amounts earned by the partner, 
as part of the revenue sharing agreement. The financial statement impact of all of our loss sharing arrangements that qualify for 
net accounting treatment is disclosed in “Note 6—Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses.”

Stock-Based Compensation 

We reserve common shares for issuance to employees, directors and third-party service providers, in various forms, including 
stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock awards and units and performance share awards and units. In addition, 
we also issue cash equity units and cash-settled restricted stock units which are not counted against the common shares reserved 
for  issuance  or  available  for  issuance  because  they  are  settled  in  cash. For  awards  settled  in  shares,  we  generally  recognize 
compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the award’s service period. If an award settled in shares contains a performance 
condition with graded vesting, we recognize compensation expense using the accelerated attribution method. Equity units and 
restricted stock units that are cash-settled are accounted for as liability awards which results in quarterly expense fluctuations based 
on changes in our stock price through the date that the awards are settled. Awards that continue to vest after retirement are expensed 
over the shorter of the period of time between the grant date and the final vesting period or between the grant date and when the 
participant becomes retirement eligible; awards to participants who are retirement eligible at the grant date are subject to immediate 
expense recognition upon grant. Stock-based compensation expense is included in salaries and associate benefits in the consolidated 
statements of income. 

Stock-based compensation expense for equity classified stock options is based on the grant date fair value, which is estimated 
using a Black-Scholes option pricing model. Significant judgment is required when determining the inputs into the fair value model 
and the expected forfeiture rate of stock options. For awards other than stock options, the fair value of stock-based compensation 
used  in  determining  compensation  expense  will  generally  equal  the  fair  market  value  of  our  common  stock  on  the  date  of 
grant. Certain share-settled awards have discretionary vesting conditions which result in a requirement to remeasure at fair value 
each reporting period and potential for compensation expense to fluctuate with changes in our stock price.

Marketing Expenses 

We expense marketing costs as incurred. Television advertising costs are expensed during the period in which the advertisements 
are aired.

Income Taxes 

We recognize the current and deferred tax consequences of all transactions that have been recognized in the financial statements 
using the provisions of the enacted tax laws. Current income tax expense represents our estimated taxes to be paid or refunded for 
the current period and includes income tax expense related to our uncertain tax positions, as well as tax-related interest and penalties. 
Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on differences between the financial reporting and tax basis of assets and 
liabilities and are measured using the enacted tax rates and laws that will be in effect when the differences are expected to reverse. 

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We record valuation allowances to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized. See “Note 18
—Income Taxes” for additional detail. 

Earnings Per Share 

Earnings per share is calculated and reported under the “two-class” method. The “two-class” method is an earnings allocation 
method under which earnings per share is calculated for each class of common stock and participating security considering both 
dividends declared or accumulated and participation rights in undistributed earnings as if all such earnings had been distributed 
during the period. We have unvested share-based payment awards which have a right to receive nonforfeitable dividends. These 
share-based payment awards are deemed to be participating securities.

Earnings per common share is calculated by dividing net income, after deducting dividends on preferred stock and undistributed 
earnings allocated to participating securities, by the average number of common shares outstanding during the period, net of any 
treasury shares. We calculate diluted earnings per share by dividing net income, after deducting dividends on preferred stock and 
undistributed earnings allocated to participating securities, by the average number of common shares outstanding during the period, 
net  of  any  treasury  shares,  after  consideration  of  the  potential  dilutive  effect  of  common  stock  equivalents.  Common  stock 
equivalents include warrants, stock options, restricted stock awards and units and performance share awards and units. Common 
stock equivalents are calculated based upon the treasury stock method using an average market price of common shares sold during 
the period. Dilution is not considered when the Company is in a net loss position. Common stock equivalents that have an antidilutive 
effect are excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share.

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities 

All  derivative  financial  instruments,  whether  designated  for  hedge  accounting  or  not,  are  reported  at  their  fair  value  on  our 
consolidated balance sheets as either assets or liabilities, with consideration of legally enforceable master netting arrangements 
that allow us to net settle positive and negative positions and offset cash collateral with the same counterparty. We report net 
derivatives in a gain position, or derivative assets, on our consolidated balance sheets as a component of other assets. We report 
net derivatives in a loss position, or derivative liabilities, on our consolidated balance sheets as a component of other liabilities. 
See “Note 11—Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities” for additional detail on the accounting for derivative instruments, 
including those designated as qualifying for hedge accounting. 

Fair Value 

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between 
market participants on the measurement date (also referred to as an exit price). The fair value accounting guidance provides a 
three-level fair value hierarchy for classifying financial instruments. This hierarchy is based on whether the inputs to the valuation 
techniques used to measure fair value are observable or unobservable. Fair value measurement of a financial asset or liability is 
assigned to a level based on the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. The three 
levels of the fair value hierarchy are described below: 

Level 1:      Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities 

Level 2:      Observable market-based inputs, other than quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities 

Level 3:      Unobservable inputs

The accounting guidance for fair value requires that we maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable 
inputs in determining fair value. The accounting guidance also provides for the irrevocable option to elect, on a contract-by-contract 
basis, to measure certain financial assets and liabilities at fair value at inception of the contract and record any subsequent changes 
in fair value into income. We have not made any material fair value option elections as of and for the years ended December 31, 
2015, 2014 and 2013. See “Note 19—Fair Value Measurement” for additional information. 

Accounting for Acquisitions 

We account for business combinations under the acquisition method of accounting. Under the acquisition method, tangible and 
intangible identifiable assets acquired, liabilities assumed and any noncontrolling interest in the acquiree are recorded at fair value 

132

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CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

as of the acquisition date, with limited exceptions. Transaction costs and costs to restructure the acquired company are expensed 
as incurred. Goodwill is recognized as the excess of the acquisition price over the estimated fair value of the net assets acquired. 
Likewise, if the fair value of the net assets acquired is greater than the acquisition price, a bargain purchase gain is recognized and 
recorded in non-interest income. 

If the acquired set of activities and assets does not meet the accounting definition of a business, the transaction is accounted for 
as an asset acquisition. In an asset acquisition, the assets acquired are recorded at the purchase price plus any transaction costs 
incurred and no goodwill is recognized.

Change in Accounting Principle 

Accounting for Derivative Assets and Liabilities

As of January 1, 2015, we changed our accounting principle to move from a gross basis of presentation to a net basis for presenting 
qualifying derivative assets and liabilities, as well as the related fair value amounts recognized for the right to reclaim cash collateral 
(a receivable) or the obligation to return cash collateral (a payable), for instruments executed with the same counterparty where a 
right of setoff exists. This newly adopted policy is preferable as it more accurately reflects the Company’s counterparty credit risk 
as well as our contractual rights and obligations under these arrangements. Further, this change aligned our presentation with that 
of the majority of our peer institutions. 

We retrospectively adopted this change in accounting principle and our consolidated balance sheet has been recast for all prior 
periods presented. As a result, our interest receivable, other assets and total assets as of December 31, 2014 were reduced by $356 
million,  $331  million  and  $687  million,  respectively.  Interest  payable,  other  liabilities  and  total  liabilities  decreased  as  of 
December 31, 2014 by $63 million, $624 million and $687 million, respectively. There was no impact to operating activities in 
the consolidated statement of cash flows or any line item within the consolidated statements of income. See “Note 11—Derivative 
Instruments and Hedging Activities” for additional detail on the accounting for derivative instruments.

New Accounting Standards Adopted

Business Combinations: Simplifying the Accounting for Measurement-Period Adjustments

In September 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued guidance on the recognition and presentation of 
changes to the provisional amounts recognized in a business combination. An acquirer should recognize adjustments to provisional 
amounts with a corresponding adjustment of goodwill, as well as the effect on income of changes in depreciation, amortization or 
other income effects, in the reporting period in which the adjustments are identified as if the accounting had been completed at 
the acquisition date. Disclosure is required, by line item, of the amount recorded in current period income that would have been 
recorded in previous reporting periods. We early adopted the guidance in the fourth quarter of 2015 on a prospective basis with 
no impact to our consolidated financial statements in the period of adoption. The accounting for business combinations after 
adoption will be subject to this new guidance if the initial accounting is incomplete by the end of the reporting period in which 
the combination occurs.

Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs

In April 2015, the FASB issued guidance simplifying the presentation of debt issuance costs. Under the new guidance, the debt 
issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability will be presented on the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying 
amount of that debt liability, consistent with debt discounts. We early adopted the guidance in the fourth quarter of 2015. Our 
adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated balance sheets.

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CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Accounting for Repurchase Transactions

In June 2014, the FASB issued guidance that requires repurchase-to-maturity transactions to be accounted for as secured borrowings 
rather than sales. New disclosures are also required for certain transactions accounted for as secured borrowings and transfers 
accounted for as sales when the transferor retains substantially all of the exposure to the economic return on the transferred financial 
assets. Our adoption of the accounting guidance in the first quarter of 2015 did not have a significant impact on our financial 
condition, results of operations or liquidity as the guidance is consistent with our current practice. As required by the new guidance, 
the new disclosures were effective and have been provided beginning in the second quarter of 2015. 

Accounting for Share-Based Payments When the Terms of an Award Provide That a Performance Target Could Be Achieved 
after the Requisite Service Period

In June 2014, the FASB issued guidance clarifying that a performance target contained within a share-based payment award that 
affects vesting and can be achieved after the requisite service period has been completed is to be accounted for as a performance 
condition. Accordingly, the grantor of such awards should recognize compensation cost in the period in which it becomes probable 
that the performance target will be achieved. The amount of the compensation cost recognized should represent the cost attributable 
to the requisite service period fulfilled. Our early adoption of this guidance in the first quarter of 2015 did not have a significant 
impact on our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity as the guidance is consistent with our current practice.

Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of Components of an Entity

In April 2014, the FASB issued guidance raising the threshold for a disposal to qualify as a discontinued operation. Under the new 
guidance, a component of an entity or group of components that has been disposed by sale, disposed of other than by sale or is 
classified as held for sale and that represents a strategic shift that has, or will have, a major effect on an entity’s operations and 
financial results should be reported as discontinued operations. Our adoption of this guidance in the first quarter of 2015 did not 
have any effect on our consolidated financial statements due to the prospective transition provisions. 

Reclassification of Residential Real Estate Collateralized Consumer Mortgage Loans Upon Foreclosure 

In January 2014, the FASB issued guidance clarifying when an entity should reclassify a consumer mortgage loan collateralized 
by residential real estate to foreclosed property. Reclassification should occur when the creditor obtains legal title to the residential 
real estate property or when the borrower conveys all interest in the residential real estate property to the creditor to satisfy that 
loan through completion of a deed in lieu of foreclosure or through a similar legal agreement. An entity should not wait until a 
redemption period, if any, has expired to reclassify a consumer mortgage loan to foreclosed property. Our adoption of this guidance 
in the first quarter of 2015 did not have a significant impact on our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity as the 
guidance is materially consistent with our current practice. 

Recently Issued but Not Yet Adopted Accounting Standards 

Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities

In January 2016, the FASB issued revised guidance for the recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure of financial 
instruments. The main provisions of the guidance include, (i) most equity investments are to be measured at fair value and recorded 
through  net  income,  except  those  accounted  for  under  the  equity  method  of  accounting,  or  those  that  do  not  have  a  readily 
determinable fair value (for which a practical expedient can be elected); (ii) the use of the exit price notion is required when valuing 
financial instruments for disclosure purposes; (iii) an entity shall present separately in other comprehensive income the portion of 
the total change in the fair value of a liability under fair value option resulting from a change in the instrument-specific credit risk; 
(iv) the determination of the need for a valuation allowance on a deferred tax asset related to an available-for-sale securities must 
be made in combination with other deferred tax assets. The guidance eliminates the current classifications of equity securities as 
trading or available-for-sale and will require separate presentation of financial assets and liabilities by category and form of the 
financial assets on the face of the consolidated balance sheets or within the accompanying notes. The guidance also eliminates the 
requirement to disclose the methods and significant assumptions used to estimate fair value of financial instruments measured at 
amortized cost on the balance sheet. The guidance will be effective January 1, 2018. Early adoption is only permitted for the 
requirement to present the portion of the total change in fair value attributable to a change in the instrument-specific credit risk in 
other comprehensive income. We are currently assessing the potential impact of this new guidance on our consolidated financial 
statements.

134

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Revenue from Contracts with Customers

In August 2015, the FASB deferred by one year the effective date for revenue recognition guidance to January 1, 2018, with early 
adoption permitted effective January 1, 2017. In May 2014, the FASB issued revised guidance for the recognition, measurement, 
and disclosure of revenue from contracts with customers. The guidance is applicable to all entities and, once effective, will replace 
significant portions of existing industry and transaction-specific revenue recognition rules with a more principles-based recognition 
model. Most revenue associated with financial instruments, including interest and loan origination fees, is outside the scope of the 
guidance. Gains and losses on investment securities, derivatives and sales of financial instruments are similarly excluded from the 
scope. Entities can elect to adopt the guidance either on a full or modified retrospective basis. Full retrospective adoption will 
require  a  cumulative  effect  adjustment  to  retained  earnings  as  of  the  beginning  of  the  earliest  comparative  period  presented. 
Modified retrospective adoption will require a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the reporting 
period in which the entity first applies the new guidance. We do not plan to early adopt the guidance. We are currently assessing 
the potential impact of this new guidance on our consolidated financial statements and which transition method we plan to elect.

Consolidation: Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis

In February 2015, the FASB issued revised guidance intended to improve upon and simplify the consolidation assessment required 
to evaluate whether organizations should consolidate certain legal entities such as limited partnerships, limited liability corporations, 
and securitization structures. The guidance also removed the indefinite deferral of specialized guidance for certain investment 
funds.  We adopted the guidance effective in the first quarter of 2016 on a modified retrospective basis. The amendments did not 
have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

135

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 2—BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTS

On December 1, 2015, we acquired the Healthcare Financial Services business of General Electric Capital Corporation (“GE 
Healthcare acquisition”), which provides financing to companies in various healthcare sectors, including hospitals, senior housing, 
medical offices, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and healthcare technology. The GE Healthcare acquisition expands our healthcare 
lending business within our Commercial Banking segment. We paid $8.9 billion net of cash acquired, with a customary post-
closing adjustment expected in 2016. The transaction was funded through liquidity resources available to us at that time. 

The GE Healthcare acquisition was accounted for under the acquisition method of accounting, which requires, among other things, 
that we allocate the purchase price to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on our best estimates of fair value as of the 
acquisition date. As of the acquisition date, we recorded $9.2 billion in assets, including $177 million of cash, $8.3 billion of loans, 
$136 million of intangible assets and $500 million of goodwill. We expect to finalize the accounting for assets acquired and 
liabilities assumed in the GE Healthcare acquisition by June 30, 2016. Results for the acquired GE healthcare business are included 
within our Commercial Banking segment from December 1, 2015 forward. See “Note 5—Loans” for additional information about 
the  loans  acquired  and  “Note 8—Goodwill  and  Intangible Assets”  for  additional  information  about  intangibles  acquired  and 
goodwill recognized resulting from the GE Healthcare acquisition. 

On November 1, 2013, we acquired Beech Street Capital, a privately-held, national originator and servicer of Federal National 
Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”) and Federal Housing 
Administration (“FHA”) multifamily commercial real estate loans. The acquisition expanded and enhanced our existing multifamily 
capabilities and product offerings. At closing, we acquired a commercial mortgage servicing portfolio of approximately $10 billion.

On September 6, 2013, we completed the sale of the Best Buy private label and co-branded credit card portfolio to Citibank, N.A.  
(“Portfolio Sale”). Pursuant to the agreement with Citibank, N.A., we received $6.4 billion for the net portfolio assets.

136

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 3—DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS

Shutdown of Mortgage Origination Operations of our Wholesale Mortgage Banking Unit

In the third quarter of 2007, we closed the mortgage origination operations of our wholesale mortgage banking unit, GreenPoint 
Mortgage Funding Inc. (“GreenPoint”), which we acquired in December 2006 as part of the North Fork Bancorporation, Inc. 
(“North Fork”) acquisition. The results of the wholesale banking unit have been accounted for as a discontinued operation and are 
therefore not included in our results from continuing operations for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013. We have 
no significant continuing involvement in these operations.

The  following  table  summarizes  the  results  from  discontinued  operations  related  to  the  closure  of  the  mortgage  origination 
operations of our wholesale mortgage banking unit: 

Table 3.1: Results of Discontinued Operations 

(Dollars in millions)
Non-interest income (expense), net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income (loss) from discontinued operations before income taxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income tax provision (benefit). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

$

$

60

60

22

38

$

$

8

8

3

5

$

$

(371)

(371)

(138)

(233)

The discontinued mortgage origination operations of our wholesale mortgage banking unit had remaining assets which primarily 
consisted of a deferred tax asset related to the reserve for representations and warranties on loans previously sold to third parties. 
See “Note 21—Commitments, Contingencies, Guarantees and Others” for information related to reserves we have established for 
our mortgage representation and warranty exposure.

137

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 4—INVESTMENT SECURITIES

Our investment portfolio consists primarily of the following: U.S. Treasury securities; corporate debt securities guaranteed by U.S. 
government agencies; U.S. government-sponsored enterprise or agency (“Agency”) and non-agency residential mortgage-backed 
securities (“RMBS”) and commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”); other asset-backed securities (“ABS”); and other 
securities. The carrying value of our investments in U.S. Treasury securities, Agency securities and other securities guaranteed by 
the U.S. government or U.S. government agencies represented 90% and 86% of our total investment securities as of December 
31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

Our investment portfolio includes securities available for sale and securities held to maturity. We classify securities as available 
for sale or held to maturity based on our investment strategy and management’s assessment of our intent and ability to hold the 
securities until maturity. 

The table below presents the overview of our investment securities portfolio as of December 31, 2015 and 2014. 

Table 4.1: Overview of Investment Securities Portfolio

(Dollars in millions)

Securities available for sale, at fair value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Securities held to maturity, at carrying value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total investments securities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

$

$

39,061

24,619

63,680

$

$

39,508

22,500

62,008

The table below presents the amortized cost, gross unrealized gains and losses, and fair value of securities available for sale as of 
December 31, 2015 and 2014. 

Table 4.2: Investment Securities Available for Sale 

(Dollars in millions)

Investment securities available for sale:

December 31, 2015

Amortized
Cost

Gross
Unrealized
Gains

Gross
Unrealized
Losses(1)

Fair
Value

U.S. Treasury securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

4,664

$

5

$

(9) $

4,660

RMBS:

Agency(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total RMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CMBS:

Agency(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total CMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other ABS(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other securities(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total investment securities available for sale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

24,332

2,680

27,012

3,690

1,723

5,413

1,345

370

165

368

533

21

16

37

1

2

(212)

(22)

(234)

(47)

(24)

(71)

(6)

(1)

24,285

3,026

27,311

3,664

1,715

5,379

1,340

371

$

38,804

$

578

$

(321) $

39,061

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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Dollars in millions)

Investment securities available for sale:

December 31, 2014

Amortized
Cost

Gross
Unrealized
Gains

Gross
Unrealized
Losses(1)

Fair
Value

U.S. Treasury securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

4,114

$

Corporate debt securities guaranteed by U.S. government agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

819

RMBS:

Agency(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total RMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CMBS:

Agency(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total CMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other ABS(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other securities(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total investment securities available for sale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21,804

2,938

24,742

3,751

1,780

5,531

2,618

1,035

5

1

296

461

757

32

31

63

54

6

$

(1) $

4,118

(20)

800

(105)

(13)

(118)

(60)

(15)

(75)

(10)

(13)

21,995

3,386

25,381

3,723

1,796

5,519

2,662

1,028

$

38,859

$

886

$

(237) $

39,508

__________
(1) 

Includes non-credit-related OTTI that is recorded in AOCI of $22 million and $8 million as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. All of this amount 
is related to non-agency RMBS.

(2) 

Includes Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”).

(3)  ABS collateralized by credit card loans constituted approximately 71% and 56% of the other ABS portfolio as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, 
and ABS  collateralized  by  auto  dealer  floor  plan  inventory  loans  and  leases  constituted  approximately  11%  and  16%  of  the  other ABS  portfolio  as  of 
December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. 

(4) 

Includes foreign government bonds, corporate securities, municipal securities and equity investments.

The table below presents the amortized cost, carrying value, gross unrealized gains and losses, and fair value of securities held to 
maturity as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Table 4.3: Investment Securities Held to Maturity 

(Dollars in millions)

December 31, 2015

Amortized
Cost

Unrealized 
Losses Recorded 
in AOCI(1)

Carrying
Value

Gross
Unrealized
Gains

Gross
Unrealized
Losses

Fair
Value

U.S. Treasury securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

199

$

0

$

199

$

0

$

(1) $

198

Agency RMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Agency CMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

22,561

3,012

(1,048)

(105)

21,513

2,907

692

87

(72)

(8)

22,133

2,986

Total investment securities held to maturity. . . . . . . . . . .

$ 25,772

$

(1,153) $ 24,619

$

779

$

(81) $ 25,317

(Dollars in millions)

December 31, 2014

Amortized
Cost

Unrealized
Losses Recorded 
in AOCI(1)

Carrying
Value

Gross
Unrealized
Gains

Gross
Unrealized
Losses

Fair
Value

Agency RMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 21,347

Agency CMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2,457

Total investment securities held to maturity. . . . . . . . . . .

$ 23,804

$

$

(1,184) $ 20,163

(120)

2,337

(1,304) $ 22,500

$

$

1,047

93

1,140

$

$

0

$ 21,210

(6)

2,424

(6) $ 23,634

__________
(1)  Represents the unrealized holding gain or loss at the date of transfer from available for sale to held to maturity, net of any subsequent accretion. Any bonds 

purchased into the securities held for maturity portfolio rather than transferred, will not have unrealized losses recognized in AOCI.

139

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Investment Securities in a Gross Unrealized Loss Position

The table below provides, by major security type, information about our securities available for sale in a gross unrealized loss 
position and the length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position as of December 31, 
2015 and 2014. 

Table 4.4: Securities in an Unrealized Loss Position

(Dollars in millions)

Investment securities available for sale:

December 31, 2015

Less than 12 Months

12 Months or Longer

Total

Fair Value

Gross
Unrealized
Losses

Fair Value

Gross
Unrealized
Losses

Fair Value

Gross
Unrealized
Losses

U.S. Treasury securities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

3,096

$

(9) $

1

$

0

$

3,097

$

(9)

RMBS:

Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

12,025

Non-agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

355

Total RMBS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

12,380

CMBS:

Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Non-agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total CMBS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other ABS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total investment securities available for sale in a gross
unrealized loss position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(Dollars in millions)

Investment securities available for sale:

(110)

(10)

(120)

(9)

(13)

(22)

(5)

0

4,420

155

4,575

1,148

330

1,478

255

19

(102)

(12)

(114)

(38)

(11)

(49)

(1)

(1)

16,445

510

16,955

2,500

1,069

3,569

1,080

269

(212)

(22)

(234)

(47)

(24)

(71)

(6)

(1)

1,352

739

2,091

825

250

$ 18,642

$

(156) $

6,328

$

(165) $ 24,970

$

(321)

December 31, 2014

Less than 12 Months

12 Months or Longer

Total

Fair Value

Gross
Unrealized
Losses

Fair Value

Gross
Unrealized
Losses

Fair Value

Gross
Unrealized
Losses

U.S. Treasury securities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

1,499

$

(1) $

0

$

0

$

1,499

$

(1)

Corporate debt securities guaranteed by U.S. government
agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

RMBS:

Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Non-agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total RMBS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CMBS:

Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Non-agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total CMBS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other ABS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total investment securities available for sale in a gross
unrealized loss position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

113

(2)

557

(18)

670

(20)

3,917

412

4,329

294

258

552

783

106

(15)

(9)

(24)

(2)

(1)

(3)

(1)

0

4,413

90

4,503

1,993

681

2,674

586

551

(90)

(4)

(94)

(58)

(14)

(72)

(9)

(13)

8,330

502

8,832

2,287

939

3,226

1,369

657

(105)

(13)

(118)

(60)

(15)

(75)

(10)

(13)

$

7,382

$

(31) $

8,871

$

(206) $ 16,253

$

(237)

As of December 31, 2015, the amortized cost of approximately 700 securities available for sale exceeded their fair value by $321 
million, of which $165 million related to securities that had been in a loss position for 12 months or longer. As of December 31, 

140

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

2015, our investments in non-agency RMBS and CMBS, other ABS, and other securities accounted for $53 million, or 17%, of 
total gross unrealized losses on securities available for sale. As of December 31, 2015, the carrying value of approximately 100 
securities classified as held to maturity exceeded their fair value by $81 million. 

Gross unrealized losses on our investment securities have increased since December 31, 2014. The unrealized losses related to 
investment securities for which we have not recognized credit impairment were primarily attributable to changes in market interest 
rates. As discussed in more detail below, we conduct periodic reviews of all investment securities with unrealized losses to assess 
whether impairment is other-than-temporary. 

Maturities and Yields of Investment Securities

The following tables summarize the remaining scheduled contractual maturities, assuming no prepayments, of our investment 
securities as of December 31, 2015.

Table 4.5: Contractual Maturities of Securities Available for Sale

 (Dollars in millions)

December 31, 2015

Amortized Cost

Fair Value

Due in 1 year or less . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

1,116

$

Due after 1 year through 5 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Due after 5 years through 10 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Due after 10 years(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5,592

1,574

30,522

$

38,804

$

1,116

5,589

1,593

30,763

39,061

__________
(1) 

Investments with no stated maturities, which consist of equity securities, are included with contractual maturities due after 10 years.

Table 4.6: Contractual Maturities of Securities Held to Maturity

 (Dollars in millions)

December 31, 2015

Carrying Value

Fair Value

Due after 1 year through 5 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

199

$

Due after 5 years through 10 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Due after 10 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,183

23,237

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

24,619

$

198

1,248

23,871

25,317

Because borrowers may have the right to call or prepay certain obligations, the expected maturities of our securities are likely to 
differ from the scheduled contractual maturities presented above. The table below summarizes, by major security type, the expected 
maturities and weighted-average yields of our investment securities as of December 31, 2015. 

141

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Table 4.7: Expected Maturities and Weighted-Average Yields of Securities

(Dollars in millions)

Fair value of securities available for sale:

December 31, 2015

Due in 
1 Year or 
Less

Due > 1 Year
through
5 Years

Due > 5 Years
through
10 Years

Due > 10
Years

Total

U.S. Treasury securities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

701

$

3,958

$

1

$

RMBS:

Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Non-agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total RMBS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CMBS:

Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Non-agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total CMBS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other ABS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total securities available for sale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Amortized cost of securities available for sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Weighted-average yield for securities available for sale(1) . . . . . . .
Carrying value of securities held to maturity:

214

42

256

48

164

212

215

263

$

$

1,647

1,651

0.80%

U.S. Treasury securities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

Agency RMBS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Agency CMBS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total securities held to maturity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fair value of securities held to maturity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Weighted-average yield for securities held to maturity(1) . . . . . . .

$

$

0

10

0

10

10

$

$

$

$

$

13,813

928

14,741

2,042

456

2,498

1,044

5

10,258

1,582

11,840

1,555

1,095

2,650

81

0

22,246

22,169

$

$

14,572

14,444

$

$

0

0

474

474

19

0

19

0

103

596

540

$ 4,660

24,285

3,026

27,311

3,664

1,715

5,379

1,340

371

$ 39,061

$ 38,804

1.92%

3.01%

8.82%

2.37%

199

$

0

$

0

$

199

1,336

134

1,669

1,689

16,697

2,387

19,084

19,707

3,470

386

21,513

2,907

$ 3,856

$ 24,619

$ 3,911

$ 25,317

$

$

5.73%

2.77%

2.48%

3.29%

2.62%

__________
(1) 

The weighted-average yield represents the effective yield for the investment securities and is calculated based on the amortized cost of each security.

Other-Than-Temporary Impairment

We evaluate all securities in an unrealized loss position at least on a quarterly basis, and more often as market conditions require, 
to assess whether the impairment is other-than-temporary. Our OTTI assessment is based on a discounted cash flow analysis which 
requires careful use of judgments and assumptions. A number of qualitative and quantitative criteria may be considered in our 
assessment as applicable, including the size and the nature of the portfolio; historical and projected performance such as prepayment, 
default and loss severity for the RMBS portfolio; recent credit events specific to the issuer and/or industry to which the issuer 
belongs; the payment structure of the security; external credit ratings of the issuer and any failure or delay of the issuer to make 
scheduled interest or principal payments; the value of underlying collateral; our intent and ability to hold the security; and current 
and projected market and macro-economic conditions.

If we intend to sell a security in an unrealized loss position or it is more likely than not that we will be required to sell the security 
prior to recovery of its amortized cost basis, the entire difference between the amortized cost basis of the security and its fair value 
is recognized in earnings. As of December 31, 2015, for any securities with unrealized losses recorded in AOCI, we do not intend 
to sell nor believe that we will be required to sell these securities prior to recovery of their amortized cost.

For those securities that we do not intend to sell nor expect to be required to sell, an analysis is performed to determine if any of 
the impairment is due to credit-related factors or whether it is due to other factors, such as interest rates. Credit-related impairment 
is recognized in earnings, with the remaining unrealized non-credit-related impairment recorded in AOCI. We determine the credit 

142

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

component based on the difference between the security’s amortized cost basis and the present value of its expected cash flows, 
discounted based on the effective yield.

The table below presents a rollforward of the credit-related OTTI recognized in earnings for the years ended December 31, 2015, 
2014 and 2013 on investment securities for which we had no intent to sell.

Table 4.8: Credit Impairment Rollforward

(Dollars in millions)

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

Credit loss component, beginning of period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

175

$

160

$

120

Additions:

Initial credit impairment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Subsequent credit impairment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total additions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Reductions due to payoffs, disposals, transfers and other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7

18

25

(1)

5

12

17

(2)

14

27

41

(1)

Credit loss component, end of period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

199

$

175

$

160

Realized Gains and Losses on Securities and OTTI Recognized in Earnings

The following table presents the gross realized gains and losses on the sale and redemption of securities available for sale, and the 
OTTI losses recognized in earnings for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013. We also present the proceeds from 
the sale of securities available for sale for the periods presented. We did not sell any investment securities that are classified as 
held to maturity.

Table 4.9: Realized Gains and Losses and OTTI Recognized in Earnings 

(Dollars in millions)

Realized gains (losses):

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

Gross realized gains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

23

$

55

$

Gross realized losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net realized (losses) gains. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

OTTI recognized in earnings:

Credit-related OTTI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Intent-to-sell OTTI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total OTTI recognized in earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net securities losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total proceeds from sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

$

Securities Pledged and Received

(25)

(2)

(25)

(5)

(30)

(34)

21

(17)

(7)

(24)

(32) $

(3) $

8

(1)

7

(41)

0

(41)

(34)

4,379

$

7,417

$

2,539

As part of our liquidity management strategy, we pledge securities to secure borrowings from counterparties including the FHLB 
and the Federal Reserve. We also pledge securities to secure trust and public deposits and for other purposes as required or permitted 
by law. We pledged securities available for sale with a fair value of $1.7 billion and $3.5 billion as of December 31, 2015 and 
2014,  respectively.  We  also  pledged  securities  held  to  maturity  with  a  carrying  value  of  $8.7  billion  and  $9.0  billion  as  of 
December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Of the total securities pledged as collateral, we have encumbered $10.6 billion as of 
both December 31, 2015 and 2014, primarily related to Public Fund deposits. We accepted pledges of securities with a fair value 
of $172 million and $91 million as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, primarily related to our derivative transactions.

143

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Acquired Securities

The  table  below  presents  the  outstanding  balance  and  carrying  value  of  the  acquired  credit-impaired  debt  securities  as  of 
December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Table 4.10: Outstanding Balance and Carrying Value of Acquired Securities

(Dollars in millions)

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

Outstanding balance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

Carrying value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3,285

$

2,480

3,768

2,839

Changes in Accretable Yield of Acquired Securities

The following table presents changes in the accretable yield related to the acquired credit-impaired debt securities for the years 
ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013. 

Table 4.11: Changes in the Accretable Yield of Acquired Credit-Impaired Debt Securities

(Dollars in millions)

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

Accretable yield, beginning of period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

1,250

$

1,423

$

1,512

Additions from new acquisitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Accretion recognized in earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Reduction due to payoffs, disposals, transfers and other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net reclassifications from nonaccretable difference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

0

(240)

(1)

228

34

(243)

(3)

39

88

(247)

(2)

72

Accretable yield, end of period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

1,237

$

1,250

$

1,423

144

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 5—LOANS

Loan Portfolio Composition

Our loan portfolio consists of loans held for investment, including restricted loans underlying our consolidated securitization trusts, 
and loans held for sale, and is divided into three portfolio segments: credit card, consumer banking and commercial banking loans. 
Credit card loans consist of domestic and international credit card loans. Consumer banking loans consist of auto, home and retail 
banking loans. Commercial banking loans consist of commercial and multifamily real estate, commercial and industrial, and small-
ticket commercial real estate loans.

Our portfolio of loans held for investment also includes certain of our consumer and commercial loans acquired through business 
acquisitions that were recorded at fair value at acquisition and subsequently accounted for based on expected cash flows to be 
collected, which were referred to as “Acquired Loans.” See “Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” for additional 
information on accounting guidance for these loans.

Credit Quality

We closely monitor economic conditions and loan performance trends to manage and evaluate our exposure to credit risk. Trends 
in delinquency ratios are an indicator, among other considerations, of credit risk within our loan portfolio. The level of nonperforming 
loans represents another indicator of the potential for future credit losses. Accordingly, key metrics we track and use in evaluating 
the credit quality of our loan portfolio include delinquency and nonperforming loan rates, as well as net charge-off rates and our 
internal risk ratings of larger balance commercial loans. The table below presents the composition and an aging analysis of our 
loans held for investment portfolio, which includes restricted loans for securitization investors, as of December 31, 2015 and 2014. 
The delinquency aging includes all past due loans, both performing and nonperforming.

Table 5.1: Loan Portfolio Composition and Aging Analysis

(Dollars in millions)

Credit Card:

December 31, 2015

Current

30-59
Days

60-89
Days

> 90
Days

Total
Delinquent
Loans

Acquired
Loans

Total
Loans

$ 658

$ 1,421

$ 2,985

$

Domestic credit card(1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
International credit card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 84,954

$

7,903

92,857

906

110

1,016

Consumer Banking:

Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

38,549

1,901

Home loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Retail banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total consumer banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial Banking(2):

6,465

3,514

41

21

48,528

1,963

Commercial and multifamily real estate . . . . . .

Commercial and industrial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total commercial lending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Small-ticket commercial real estate. . . . . . . . . .

25,449

35,920

61,369

607

Total commercial banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

61,976

Other loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total loans(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
% of Total loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

77

34

51

85

3

88

2

67

725

880

18

8

906

0

34

34

1

35

2

106

1,527

219

176

20

415

4

203

207

2

209

7

283

3,268

3,000

235

49

0

0

0

0

18,527

33

3,284

18,560

38

288

326

6

332

11

31

927

958

0

958

0

$ 87,939

8,186

96,125

41,549

25,227

3,596

70,372

25,518

37,135

62,653

613

63,266

88

$ 203,438

$ 3,069

$1,668

$ 2,158

$ 6,895

$ 19,518

$ 229,851

88.51%

1.33% 0.73% 0.94%

3.00%

8.49%

100.00%  

145

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
  
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Dollars in millions)

Credit Card:

December 31, 2014

Current

30-59
Days

60-89
Days

> 90
Days

Total
Delinquent
Loans

Acquired
Loans

Total
Loans

$ 567

$ 1,181

$

2,538

$

Domestic credit card(1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
International credit card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 75,143

$

7,878

83,021

790

114

904

Consumer Banking:

Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

35,142

1,751

Home loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Retail banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6,492

3,496

57

17

Total consumer banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

45,130

1,825

Commercial Banking:

Commercial and multifamily real estate . . . . . .

Commercial and industrial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total commercial lending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Small-ticket commercial real estate. . . . . . . . . .

22,974

26,753

49,727

771

Total commercial banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

50,498

Other loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total loans(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
% of Total loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

97

74

29

103

6

109

3

69

636

734

27

7

768

7

10

17

1

18

2

111

1,292

197

218

16

431

36

34

70

3

73

9

294

2,832

2,682

302

40

23

0

23

0

23,241

44

3,024

23,285

117

73

190

10

200

14

46

146

192

0

192

0

$ 77,704

8,172

85,876

37,824

30,035

3,580

71,439

23,137

26,972

50,109

781

50,890

111

$ 178,746

$ 2,841

$ 1,424

$ 1,805

$

6,070

$ 23,500

$ 208,316

85.81%

1.36%

0.68%

0.87%

2.91%

11.28%

100.00%

__________
(1) 

Includes installment loans of $16 million and $144 million as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

(2) 

(3) 

Includes loans acquired in the GE Healthcare acquisition. At acquisition date of December 1, 2015, we recorded $8.2 billion of loans held for investment, 
of which $7.4 billion accounted for based on amortized cost and $847 million accounted for based on expected cash flows to be collected. See “Note 2—
Business Developments” for additional information about the GE Healthcare acquisition. 

Loans, as presented, are net of unearned income, unamortized premiums and discounts, and unamortized deferred fees and costs totaling $989 million and 
$1.1 billion as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

Table 5.2 presents the outstanding balance of loans 90 days or more past due that continue to accrue interest and loans classified 
as nonperforming as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Table 5.2: 90+ Day Delinquent Loans Accruing Interest and Nonperforming Loans(1)

(Dollars in millions)

Credit Card:

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

> 90 Days 
and Accruing

Nonperforming 
Loans

> 90 Days 
and Accruing

Nonperforming 
Loans

Domestic credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

1,421

$

International credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Consumer Banking:

Auto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Home loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Retail banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total consumer banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

79

1,500

0

0

0

0

0

53

53

219

311

28

558

$

1,181

$

73

1,254

0

0

1

1

0

70

70

197

330

22

549

146

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Dollars in millions)
Commercial Banking:

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

> 90 Days 
and Accruing

Nonperforming 
Loans

> 90 Days 
and Accruing

Nonperforming 
Loans

Commercial and multifamily real estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial and industrial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total commercial lending. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Small-ticket commercial real estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total commercial banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

0
5
5

0

5

0

7
538
545

5

550

9

7
1
8

0

8

0

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

1,505

$

1,170

$

1,263

$

62
106
168

7

175

15

809

% of Total loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

0.65%

0.51%

0.61%

0.39%

__________
(1)  Nonperforming loans generally include loans that have been placed on nonaccrual status. Acquired Loans are excluded from loans reported as 90 days and 
accruing interest as well as nonperforming loans. See “Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” for additional information on our policies for 
non-performing loans classification.

Credit Card

Our credit card loan portfolio is highly diversified across millions of accounts and numerous geographies without significant 
individual exposure. We therefore generally manage credit risk on a portfolio basis. The risk in our credit card portfolio correlates 
to broad economic trends, such as unemployment rates, gross domestic product (“GDP”), home values, as well as customer liquidity, 
all of which can have a material effect on credit performance. The primary factors we assess in monitoring the credit quality and 
risk of our credit card portfolio are delinquency and charge-off trends, including an analysis of the migration of loans between 
delinquency categories over time.

The table below displays the geographic profile of our credit card loan portfolio as of December 31, 2015 and 2014. We also 
present net charge-offs for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Table 5.3: Credit Card: Risk Profile by Geographic Region

(Dollars in millions)
Domestic credit card:

December 31, 2015
% of
Total(1)

Amount

December 31, 2014
% of
Total(1)

Amount

California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ohio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total domestic credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
International credit card:

Canada. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total international credit card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 10,029
6,446
6,344
5,712
4,121
3,764
3,371
3,210
2,922
42,020
87,939

4,889
3,297
8,186
$ 96,125

10.5% $ 8,574
6.7
5,610
6.6
5,382
5.9
4,794
4.3
3,747
3.9
3,581
3.5
3,075
3.3
2,868
3.0
2,681
43.8
37,392
91.5
77,704

10.0%
6.5
6.3
5.6
4.4
4.2
3.6
3.3
3.1
43.5
90.5

5.1
3.4
8.5

4,747
3,425
8,172
100.0% $ 85,876

5.5
4.0
9.5
100.0%

__________
(1) 

Percentages by geographic region within the domestic and international credit card portfolios are calculated based on the total held for investment credit card 
loans as of the end of the reported period.

147

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Table 5.4: Credit Card: Net Charge-offs

(Dollars in millions)
Net charge-offs:(1)

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

Amount

Rate

Amount

Rate

Domestic credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 2,718

3.45% $ 2,445

3.43%

International credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

200

Total credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 2,918

2.50

3.36

283

$ 2,728

3.69

3.46

__________
(1)  Net charge-offs consist of the unpaid principal balance of loans held for investment that we determine to be uncollectible, net of recovered amounts. The net 
charge-off rate is calculated for each loan category by dividing net charge-offs for the period by average loans held for investment during the period. Net 
charge-offs and the net charge-off rate are impacted periodically by fluctuations in recoveries, including impacts of debt sales.

Consumer Banking

Our consumer banking loan portfolio consists of auto, home loan and retail banking loans. Similar to our credit card loan portfolio, 
the risk in our consumer banking loan portfolio correlates to broad economic trends, such as unemployment rates, GDP, and home 
values, as well as customer liquidity, all of which can have a material effect on credit performance. Delinquency, nonperforming 
loans and charge-off trends are key factors we assess in monitoring the credit quality and risk of our consumer banking loan 
portfolio. 

The table below displays the geographic profile of our consumer banking loan portfolio, including Acquired Loans. We also present 
the delinquency and nonperforming loan rates of our consumer banking loan portfolio as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, and net 
charge-offs for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Table 5.5: Consumer Banking: Risk Profile by Geographic Region 

(Dollars in millions)

Auto:

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

Amount

% of 
Total(1)

Amount

% of
Total(1)

Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 5,463

7.8% $ 5,248

7.4%

California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Louisiana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ohio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Home loan:

California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total home loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4,611

3,315

2,245

1,882

1,859

1,738

20,436

41,549

5,884

2,171

1,539

1,490

1,354

1,293

1,146

6.5

4.7

3.2

2.7

2.6

2.5

29.0

59.0

8.4

3.1

2.2

2.1

1.9

1.8

1.6

4,081

2,737

2,066

1,773

1,676

1,566

18,677

37,824

6,943

2,452

1,720

1,873

1,538

1,529

1,375

5.7

3.8

2.9

2.5

2.4

2.2

26.1

53.0

9.7

3.4

2.4

2.6

2.2

2.1

1.9

10,350

25,227

14.8

35.9

12,605

30,035

17.7

42.0

148

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Dollars in millions)

Retail banking:

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

Amount

% of 
Total(1)

Amount

% of
Total(1)

Louisiana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,071

New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

921

757

259

180

151

257

Total retail banking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3,596

1.5

1.3

1.1

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.3

5.1

1,120

881

756

265

167

132

259

3,580

1.5

1.2

1.1

0.4

0.2

0.2

0.4

5.0

Total consumer banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 70,372

100.0% $ 71,439

100.0%

__________
(1) 

Percentages by geographic region are calculated based on the total held for investment consumer banking loans as of the end of the reported period.

Table 5.6: Consumer Banking: Net Charge-offs and Nonperforming Loans

(Dollars in millions)
Net charge-offs:(1)

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

Amount

Rate

Amount

Rate

Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Home loan(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Retail banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total consumer banking(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

$

674

9

48

731

1.69% $

619

1.78%

0.03

1.33

1.03

17

39

$

675

0.05

1.07

0.95

(Dollars in millions)
Nonperforming Loans:(3)

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

Amount

Rate

Amount

Rate

Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Home loan(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Retail banking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total consumer banking(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

$

219   

0.53% $

197   

0.52%

311

28

558

1.23

0.77

0.79

$

330

22

549

1.10

0.61

0.77

__________
(1)  Calculated for each loan category by dividing net charge-offs for the period by average loans held for investment during the period. 
(2) 

Excluding the impact of Acquired Loans, the net charge-off rate for our home loan and total consumer banking portfolios were 0.13% and 1.45%, respectively, 
for the year ended December 31, 2015, compared to 0.24% and 1.49%, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2014. 

(3)  Calculated for each loan category by dividing nonperforming loans for the period by period end loans held for investment during the period. 
(4) 

Excluding the impact of Acquired Loans, the nonperforming loan rates for our home loan and total consumer banking portfolios were 4.68% and 1.08%, 
respectively, as of December 31, 2015, compared to 4.86% and 1.14%, respectively, as of December 31, 2014. 

149

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Home Loan

Our home loan portfolio consists of both first-lien and second-lien residential mortgage loans. In evaluating the credit quality and 
risk of our home loan portfolio, we continually monitor a variety of mortgage loan characteristics that may affect the default 
experience on our overall home loan portfolio, such as vintage, geographic concentrations, lien priority and product type. Certain 
loan concentrations have experienced higher delinquency rates as a result of the significant decline in home prices after the peak 
in 2006 and subsequent rise in unemployment. These loan concentrations include loans originated between 2006 and 2008 in an 
environment of decreasing home sales, broadly declining home prices and more relaxed underwriting standards. 

The following table presents the distribution of our home loan portfolio as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, based on selected key 
risk characteristics.

Table 5.7: Home Loan: Risk Profile by Vintage, Geography, Lien Priority and Interest Rate Type

(Dollars in millions)
Origination year:(2)

December 31, 2015

Loans

Acquired Loans

Total Home Loans

Amount

% of
Total(1)

Amount

% of
Total(1)

Amount

% of
Total(1)

< = 2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Geographic concentration:(3)

California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
New York. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Arizona. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lien type:

1st lien. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2nd lien . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Interest rate type:

$ 2,290
269
157
97
97
176
1,276
557
680
1,101
$ 6,700

$

871
1,295
511
89
428
353
157
1,069
81
113
1,733
$ 6,700

$ 5,705
995
$ 6,700

9.0% $ 4,783
4,173
1.1
2,866
0.6
1,498
0.4
2,208
0.4
2,476
0.7
389
5.1
71
2.2
31
2.7
32
4.4
26.6% $ 18,527

3.5% $ 5,013
876
5.1
1,028
2.0
1,401
0.4
926
1.7
940
1.4
989
0.6
27
4.2
995
0.4
806
0.4
5,526
6.9
26.6% $ 18,527

19.0% $ 7,073
4,442
16.5
3,023
11.4
1,595
5.9
2,305
8.8
2,652
9.8
1,665
1.5
628
0.3
0.1
711
0.1
1,133
73.4% $ 25,227

19.9% $ 5,884
2,171
3.5
1,539
4.1
1,490
5.5
1,354
3.7
1,293
3.7
1,146
3.9
1,096
0.1
1,076
3.9
919
3.2
21.9
7,259
73.4% $ 25,227

22.6% $ 18,207
320
4.0
26.6% $ 18,527

72.2% $ 23,912
1.2
1,315
73.4% $ 25,227

Fixed rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adjustable rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 2,751
3,949
$ 6,700

10.9% $ 2,264
15.7
16,263
26.6% $ 18,527

9.0% $ 5,015
64.4
20,212
73.4% $ 25,227

28.0%
17.6
12.0
6.3
9.2
10.5
6.6
2.5
2.8
4.5
100.0%

23.4%
8.6
6.1
5.9
5.4
5.1
4.5
4.3
4.3
3.6
28.8
100.0%

94.8%
5.2
100.0%

19.9%
80.1
100.0%

150

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

December 31, 2014

Loans

Acquired Loans

Total Home Loans

Amount

% of
Total(1)

Amount

% of
Total(1)

Amount

% of
Total(1)

(Dollars in millions)
Origination year:(2)

< = 2006. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 2,827

9.4% $

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

320

187

107

120

221

2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,620

2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

661

731

1.1

0.6

0.4

0.4

0.7

5.4

2.2

2.4

5,715

4,766

3,494

1,999

3,108

3,507

533

85

34

19.1% $ 8,542

28.5%

15.8

11.7

6.6

10.3

11.7

1.8

0.3

0.1

5,086

3,681

2,106

3,228

3,728

2,153

746

765

16.9

12.3

7.0

10.7

12.4

7.2

2.5

2.5

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Geographic concentration:(3)

$ 6,794

22.6% $ 23,241

77.4% $ 30,035

100.0%

California. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

924

3.1% $

New York. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,379

Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

New Jersey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

86

457

385

341

161

89

1,205

109

1,658

4.6

0.3

1.5

1.3

1.1

0.5

0.3

4.0

0.4

5.5

6,019

1,073

1,787

1,263

1,153

1,188

1,214

1,215

38

1,038

7,253

20.0% $ 6,943

23.1%

3.6

5.9

4.2

3.8

4.0

4.1

4.1

0.1

3.4

24.2

2,452

1,873

1,720

1,538

1,529

1,375

1,304

1,243

1,147

8,911

8.2

6.2

5.7

5.1

5.1

4.6

4.4

4.1

3.8

29.7

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 6,794

22.6% $ 23,241

77.4% $ 30,035

100.0%

Lien type:

1st lien . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2nd lien . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 5,756

19.2% $ 22,883

76.2% $ 28,639

95.4%

1,038

3.4

358

1.2

1,396

4.6

$ 6,794

22.6% $ 23,241

77.4% $ 30,035

100.0%

Interest rate type:

Fixed rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 2,446

8.1% $

2,840

9.5% $ 5,286

Adjustable rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4,348

14.5

20,401

67.9

24,749

17.6%

82.4

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 6,794

22.6% $ 23,241

77.4% $ 30,035

100.0%

__________
(1) 

Percentages within each risk category are calculated based on total home loans held for investment.

(2) 

(3) 

The Acquired Loans balances with an origination date in the years subsequent to 2012 are related to refinancing of previously acquired home loans.

States listed represents the ten states in which we have the highest concentration of home loans.

Our recorded investment in home loans for properties that are in process of foreclosure was $474 million as of December 31, 2015. 
We commence the foreclosure process on home loans when a borrower becomes at least 120 days delinquent in accordance with 
Consumer  Financial  Protection  Bureau  regulations.  Foreclosure  procedures  and  time  lines  vary  according  to  state  law. As  of 
December 31, 2015 and 2014, the carrying value of the foreclosed residential real estate properties which we hold and report as 
other assets on our consolidated balance sheet totaled $123 million and $131 million, respectively. 

151

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Commercial Banking

We evaluate the credit risk of commercial loans individually and use a risk-rating system to determine the credit quality of our 
commercial loans. We assign internal risk ratings to loans based on relevant information about the ability of borrowers to service 
their debt. In determining the risk rating of a particular loan, some of the factors considered are the borrower’s current financial 
condition, historical credit performance, projected future credit performance, prospects for support from financially responsible 
guarantors, the estimated realizable value of any collateral and current economic trends. The ratings scale based on our internal 
risk-rating system is as follows:

•  Noncriticized: Loans that have not been designated as criticized, frequently referred to as “pass” loans.

•  Criticized performing: Loans in which the financial condition of the obligor is stressed, affecting earnings, cash flows or 
collateral values. The borrower currently has adequate capacity to meet near-term obligations; however, the stress, left 
unabated, may result in deterioration of the repayment prospects at some future date.

•  Criticized nonperforming: Loans that are not adequately protected by the current net worth and paying capacity of the 
obligor or the collateral pledged, if any. Loans classified as criticized nonperforming have a well-defined weakness, or 
weaknesses, which jeopardize the full repayment of the debt. These loans are characterized by the distinct possibility that 
we will sustain a credit loss if the deficiencies are not corrected and are generally placed on nonaccrual status.

We use our internal risk-rating system for regulatory reporting, determining the frequency of credit exposure reviews, and evaluating 
and determining the allowance for loan and lease losses for commercial loans. Loans of $1 million or more designated as criticized 
performing  and  criticized  nonperforming  are  reviewed  quarterly  by  management  for  further  deterioration  or  improvement  to 
determine if they are appropriately classified/rated and whether impairment exists. Noncriticized loans greater than $1 million are 
specifically reviewed, at least annually, to determine the appropriate loan rating. In addition, we evaluate the risk rating during the 
renewal process of any loan or if a loan becomes past due.

The following table presents the geographic distribution and internal risk ratings of our commercial loan portfolio as of December 31, 
2015 and 2014.

Table 5.8: Commercial Banking: Risk Profile by Geographic Region and Internal Risk Rating

(Dollars in millions)
Geographic concentration:(2)

December 31, 2015

Commercial
and
Multifamily
Real Estate

% of
Total(1)

Commercial
and
Industrial

% of
Total(1)

Small-ticket
Commercial
Real Estate

% of
Total(1) 

Total
Commercial 
Banking

% of
Total(1) 

Northeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 15,949

62.5% $

Mid-Atlantic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2,797

4,070

2,702

11.0

15.9

10.6

8,074

3,010

15,240

10,811

8.1

41.0

29.1

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Internal risk rating:(3)

$ 25,518

100.0% $ 37,135

100.0% $

21.8% $

376

61.3% $ 24,399

38.6%

25

40

172

613

4.1

6.5

28.1

5,832

19,350

13,685

9.2

30.6

21.6

100.0% $ 63,266

100.0%

Noncriticized. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 25,130

98.5% $ 34,008

91.6% $

605

98.7% $ 59,743

94.4%

Criticized performing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Criticized nonperforming . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acquired Loans(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

350

7

31

1.4

0.0

0.1

1,662

538

927

4.5

1.4

2.5

3

5

0

0.5

0.8

0.0

2,015

550

958

3.2

0.9

1.5

$ 25,518

100.0% $ 37,135

100.0% $

613

100.0% $ 63,266

100.0%

152

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

December 31, 2014

% of
Total(1)

Commercial
and
Industrial

% of
Total(1)

Small-ticket
Commercial
Real Estate

% of
Total(1) 

Total
Commercial 
Banking

% of
Total(1) 

(Dollars in millions)
Geographic concentration:(2)

Northeast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mid-Atlantic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
South. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Internal risk rating:(3)

Commercial
and
Multifamily
Real Estate

$ 15,135
2,491
3,070
2,441
$ 23,137

65.4% $
10.8
13.3
10.5

6,384
2,121
12,310
6,157
100.0% $ 26,972

Noncriticized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Criticized performing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Criticized nonperforming . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acquired Loans(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 22,489
540
62
46
$ 23,137

97.2% $ 25,836
884
2.3
106
0.3
146
0.2
100.0% $ 26,972

23.7% $
7.9
45.6
22.8

100.0% $

95.8% $
3.3
0.4
0.5

100.0% $

478
30
48
225
781

767
7
7
0
781

61.2% $ 21,997
3.8
4,642
15,428
6.2
8,823
28.8
100.0% $ 50,890

98.2% $ 49,092
1,431
0.9
175
0.9
192
0.0
100.0% $ 50,890

43.2%
9.1
30.3
17.4
100.0%

96.5%
2.8
0.3
0.4
100.0%

__________
(1) 

Percentages calculated based on total held for investment commercial loans in each respective loan category as of the end of the reported period.

(2)  Northeast consists of CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA and VT. Mid-Atlantic consists of DC, DE, MD, VA and WV. South consists of AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, 

LA, MS, MO, NC, SC, TN and TX.

(3)  Criticized exposures correspond to the “Special Mention,” “Substandard” and “Doubtful” asset categories defined by banking regulatory authorities.
(4)  Acquired Loans that are being accounted for under ASC310-30 (formerly “SOP 03-3”) are classified as noncriticized. From a managed perspective, we 
evaluate loans based on their actual risk ratings. Were these Acquired Loans to be classified based on their risk ratings, $128 million and $171 million would 
be classified as Noncriticized, $793 million and $18 million as Criticized performing, and $37 million and $3 million as Criticized nonperforming as of 
December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively. 

Impaired Loans

The following table presents information about our impaired loans, excluding the impact of Acquired Loans, which is reported 
separately as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, and for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014:
Table 5.9: Impaired Loans(1)

(Dollars in millions)

Credit Card:

With an
Allowance

Without
an
Allowance

December 31, 2015
Total
Recorded
Investment

Related
Allowance

Net
Recorded
Investment

Unpaid
Principal
Balance

Domestic credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

International credit card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total credit card(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consumer Banking:

Auto(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Home loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Retail banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total consumer banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commercial Banking:

Commercial and multifamily real estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commercial and industrial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total commercial lending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Small-ticket commercial real estate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total commercial banking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

541

125

666

273

229

51

553

82

515

597

6

603

$

$

0

0

0

215

136

10

361

3

278

281

0

281

642

541

125

666

488

365

61

914

85

793

878

6

884

$

150

$

391

$

59

209

22

18

14

54

11

75

86

0

86

66

457

466

347

47

860

74

718

792

6

798

526

121

647

772

456

62

1,290

88

862

950

7

957

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

1,822

$

$

2,464

$

349

$

2,115

$

2,894

153

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Dollars in millions)

Credit Card:

December 31, 2014

With an
Allowance

Without
an
Allowance

Total
Recorded
Investment

Related
Allowance

Net
Recorded
Investment

Unpaid
Principal
Balance

Domestic credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

International credit card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total credit card(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consumer Banking:

Auto(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Home loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Retail banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total consumer banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commercial Banking:

Commercial and multifamily real estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commercial and industrial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total commercial lending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Small-ticket commercial real estate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total commercial banking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

546

146

692

230

218

45

493

120

161

281

3

284

$

$

0

0

0

205

149

5

359

26

55

81

5

86

546

146

692

435

367

50

852

146

216

362

8

370

$

145

$

401

$

74

219

19

17

6

42

23

16

39

0

39

72

473

416

350

44

810

123

200

323

8

331

531

141

672

694

472

52

1,218

163

233

396

10

406

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

1,469

$

445

$

1,914

$

300

$

1,614

$

2,296

(Dollars in millions)

Credit Card:

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

Average
Recorded
Investment

Interest
Income
Recognized

Average
Recorded
Investment

Interest
Income
Recognized

Domestic credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

International credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total credit card(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consumer Banking:

Auto(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Home loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Retail banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total consumer banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commercial Banking:

Commercial and multifamily real estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commercial and industrial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total commercial lending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Small-ticket commercial real estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total commercial banking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

539

135

674

462

364

56

882

109

466

575

7

582

$

57

10

67

82

4

2

88

3

5

8

0

8

$

571

160

731

387

388

69

844

175

185

360

8

368

58

11

69

72

5

2

79

6

4

10

0

10

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

2,138

$

163

$

1,943

$

158

__________
(1) 

Impaired loans include loans modified in TDRs, all nonperforming commercial loans and nonperforming home loans with a specific impairment. Impaired 
loans without an allowance generally represent loans that have been charged down to the fair value of the underlying collateral for which we believe no 
additional losses have been incurred, or where the fair value of the underlying collateral meets or exceeds the loan’s amortized cost.

(2)  Credit card loans include finance charges and fees.
(3)  Although auto loans from loan recovery inventory are not reported in our loans held for investment, they are included as impaired loans above since they 

are reported as TDRs.

154

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Loans modified in TDRs accounted for $1.8 billion and $1.7 billion of the impaired loans presented above as of December 31, 
2015 and 2014, respectively. Consumer TDRs classified as performing totaled $1.0 billion as of both December 31, 2015 and 
2014. Commercial TDRs classified as performing totaled $334 million and $194 million as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, 
respectively.

As part of our loan modifications to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty, we may provide multiple concessions to minimize 
our economic loss and improve long-term loan performance and collectability. The following tables present the major modification 
types, recorded investment amounts and financial effects of loans modified in TDRs during the years ended December 31, 2015 
and 2014:

Table 5.10: Troubled Debt Restructurings

Year Ended December 31, 2015

Reduced Interest Rate

Term Extension

Balance Reduction

Total Loans
Modified(1)(2)

% of
TDR
Activity(3)(4)

Average
Rate
Reduction(5)

% of
TDR
Activity(4)(6)

Average
Term
Extension
(Months)(7)

% of
TDR
Activity(4)(8)

Gross
Balance
Reduction(9)

(Dollars in millions)

Credit Card:

Domestic credit card. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

International credit card . . . . . . . . . . .

Total credit card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Consumer Banking:

Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Home loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Retail banking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total consumer banking. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commercial Banking:

Commercial and multifamily
real estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commercial and industrial . . . . . . . . .

Total commercial lending . . . . . . . .

Small-ticket commercial real estate . .

Total commercial banking . . . . . . . . . . . .

293

121

414

347

48

24

419

12

249

261

1

262

100%

12.28%

100

100

41

61

18

42

0

0

0

0

0

25.88

16.26

3.49

2.70

6.88

3.44

0.00

0.67

0.67

0.00

0.67

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

1,095

54

12.42

0%

0

0

69

79

87

71

86

34

36

0

36

36

0

0

0

8

231

6

36

14

7

8

0

8

29

0% $

0

0

30

7

0

26

18

0

1

0

1

0

0

0

93

0

0

93

1

0

1

0

1

10

$

94

155

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Year Ended December 31, 2014

Reduced Interest Rate

Term Extension

Balance Reduction

Total Loans
Modified(1)(2)

% of
TDR
Activity(3)(4)

Average
Rate
Reduction(5)

% of
TDR
Activity(4)(6)

Average
Term
Extension
(Months)(7)

% of
TDR
Activity(4)(8)

Gross
Balance
Reduction(9)

(Dollars in millions)

Credit Card:

Domestic credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

International credit card . . . . . . . . . .

Total credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Consumer Banking:

Auto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Home loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Retail banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total consumer banking . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commercial Banking:

Commercial and multifamily
real estate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commercial and industrial . . . . . . . .

Total commercial lending. . . . . . . .

Small-ticket commercial real estate .

Total commercial banking . . . . . . . . . . .

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

269

149

418

334

35

11

380

72

101

173

2

175

973

100%

11.59%

100

100

39

31

10

37

35

3

17

0

17

60

25.39

16.51

1.38

2.60

4.21

1.50

1.31

1.66

1.35

0.00

1.35

12.17

0%

0

0

65

38

67

63

93

62

75

0

74

38

0

0

0

9

152

9

17

8

9

9

0

9

14

0% $

0

0

34

5

0

30

6

1

3

0

3

0

0

0

102

1

0

103

2

1

3

0

3

12

$

106

__________
(1)  Represents total loans modified and accounted for as TDRs during the period. Paydowns, net charge-offs and any other changes in the loan carrying value 

subsequent to the loan entering TDR status are not reflected. 

(2)  We present the modification types utilized most prevalently across our loan portfolios. As not every modification type is included in the table above, the total 

% of TDR activity may not add up to 100%. 

(3)  Represents percentage of loans modified and accounted for as TDRs during the period that were granted a reduced interest rate.
(4)  Due to multiple concessions granted to some troubled borrowers, percentages may total more than 100% for certain loan types.
(5)  Represents weighted average interest rate reduction for those loans that received an interest rate concession.
(6)  Represents percentage of loans modified and accounted for as TDRs during the period that were granted a maturity date extension.
(7)  Represents weighted average change in maturity date for those loans that received a maturity date extension.
(8)  Represents percentage of loans modified and accounted for as TDRs during the period that were granted forgiveness or forbearance of a portion of their 

balance.

(9) 

Total amount represents the gross balance forgiven. For loans modified in bankruptcy, the gross balance reduction represents collateral value write downs 
associated with the discharge of the borrower’s obligations.

TDR—Subsequent Defaults of Completed TDR Modifications

The following table presents the type, number and recorded investment amount of loans modified in TDRs that experienced a 
default during the period and had completed a modification event in the twelve months prior to the default. A default occurs if the 
loan is either 90 days or more delinquent, has been charged-off as of the end of the period presented, or has been reclassified from 
accrual to nonaccrual status.

156

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Table 5.11: TDR—Subsequent Defaults

(Dollars in millions)
Credit Card:

2015

Year Ended December 31,
2014

2013

Number of
Contracts

Amount

Number of
Contracts

Amount

Number of
Contracts

Amount

Domestic credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
International credit card(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total credit card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consumer Banking:

42,808

$

33,888

76,696

Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8,647

Home loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Retail banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total consumer banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial Banking:

Commercial and multifamily real estate . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commercial and industrial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total commercial lending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Small-ticket commercial real estate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total commercial banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

14

26

8,687

0

7

7

3

10

71

81

152

99

2

2

103

0

19

19

0

19

40,814

$

38,195

79,009

63

106

169

41,859

$

47,688

89,547

72

138

210

6,651

24

75

6,750

5

2

7

33

40

72

5

10

87

11

1

12

3

15

9,525

33

126

9,684

14

24

38

4

42

68

3

7

78

23

22

45

0

45

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

85,393

$

274

85,799

$

271

99,273

$

333

___________
(1) 

In the U.K., regulators require the acceptance of payment plan proposals in which the modified payments may be less than the contractual minimum amount. 
As a result, loans entering long-term TDR payment programs in the U.K. typically continue to age and ultimately charge-off even when fully in compliance 
with the TDR program terms.

Acquired Loans Accounted for Based on Expected Cash Flows

Outstanding Balance and Carrying Value of Acquired Loans

The table below presents the outstanding balance and the carrying value of Acquired Loans that are accounted for based on expected 
cash flows to be collected as of December 31, 2015 and 2014. The table separately displays loans considered impaired due to their 
deterioration in credit quality at acquisition and loans not considered impaired at acquisition.

Table 5.12: Acquired Loans Accounted for Based on Expected Cash Flows

(Dollars in millions)
Outstanding balance(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Carrying value(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
__________
(1) 

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

Total

Impaired
Loans

Non-Impaired
Loans

Total

Impaired
Loans

Non-Impaired
Loans

$ 21,151

$

3,840

$

17,311

$ 25,201

$

4,279

$

19,516

2,629

16,887

23,519

2,882

20,922

20,637

Includes Acquired Loans from the GE Healthcare acquisition, with an outstanding balance and carrying value of $957 million and $847 million, respectively. 
The gross contractual cash flows of these Acquired Loans were $1.1 billion, of which $138 million are not expected to be collected.

(2) 

Includes $37 million and $27 million of allowance for loan and lease losses for these loans as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. We recorded a 
$10 million provision and a $11 million release of the allowance for credit losses for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, for Acquired 
Loans.

157

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Changes in Accretable Yield

The following table presents changes in the accretable yield on the Acquired Loans:

Table 5.13: Changes in Accretable Yield on Acquired Loans

(Dollars in millions)

Total
Loans

Impaired
Loans

Non-Impaired
Loans

Accretable yield as of December 31, 2013. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

6,420

$

2,114

$

4,306

Accretion recognized in earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reclassifications from nonaccretable difference for loans with improving cash flows(1) . . . . . . . .
Changes in accretable yield for non-credit related changes in expected cash flows(2). . . . . . . . . . .
Accretable yield as of December 31, 2014. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(1,042)

214

(939)

(379)

94

(344)

(663)

120

(595)

$

4,653

$

1,485

$

3,168

Addition due to acquisition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Accretion recognized in earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reclassifications from (to) nonaccretable difference for loans with changing cash flows(1) . . . . . .
Changes in accretable yield for non-credit related changes in expected cash flows(2). . . . . . . . . . .
Accretable yield as of December 31, 2015. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

123

(817)

26

(502)

7

(284)

43

(7)

116

(533)

(17)

(495)

$

3,483

$

1,244

$

2,239

__________
(1)  Represents changes in accretable yield for those loans in pools that are driven primarily by credit performance.
(2)  Represents changes in accretable yield for those loans in pools that are driven primarily by changes in actual and estimated prepayments.

Unfunded Lending Commitments

We manage the potential risk of unfunded lending commitments by limiting the total amount of arrangements, both by individual 
customer and in total, by monitoring the size and maturity structure of these portfolios and by applying the same credit standards 
for all of our credit activities. Unused credit card lines available to our customers totaled $308.3 billion and $292.9 billion as of 
December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. While these amounts represented the total available unused credit card lines, we have 
not experienced and do not anticipate that all of our customers will access their entire available line at any given point in time.

In addition to available unused credit card lines, we enter into commitments to extend credit that are legally binding conditional 
agreements having fixed expirations or termination dates and specified interest rates and purposes. These commitments generally 
require customers to maintain certain credit standards. Collateral requirements and loan-to-value (“LTV”) ratios are the same as 
those for funded transactions and are established based on management’s credit assessment of the customer. These commitments 
may expire without being drawn upon; therefore, the total commitment amount does not necessarily represent future funding 
requirements. The outstanding unfunded commitments to extend credit, other than credit card lines, were approximately $27.9 
billion and $24.5 billion, which included $1.0 billion and $924 million of advised lines of credit as of December 31, 2015 and 
2014, respectively. Advised lines of credit are not considered legally binding commitments as funding is subject to our satisfactory 
evaluation of the customer at the time credit is requested.

Finance Charge and Fee Reserves 

We continue to accrue finance charges and fees on credit card loans until the account is charged-off. Our methodology for estimating 
the uncollectible portion of billed finance charges and fees is consistent with the methodology we use to estimate the allowance 
for incurred principal losses on our credit card loan receivables. Revenue was reduced by $732 million, $645 million and $796 
million in 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively, for the estimated uncollectible portion of billed finance charges and fees. The finance 
charge  and  fee  reserve,  which  is  recorded  as  a  contra  asset  on  our  consolidated  balance  sheets,  totaled  $262  million  as  of 
December 31, 2015, compared to $216 million as of December 31, 2014. 

Loans Held for Sale 

We had total loans held for sale of $904 million and $626 million as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. We also 
originated for sale $6.4 billion, $5.4 billion and $2.1 billion of conforming residential mortgage loans and commercial multifamily 
real estate loans in 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. We retained servicing on approximately 100%, 96% and 92% of these loans 
sold in 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

158

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 6—ALLOWANCE FOR LOAN AND LEASE LOSSES

Our allowance for loan and lease losses represents management’s best estimate of incurred loan and lease losses inherent in our 
loans held for investment portfolio as of each balance sheet date. In addition to the allowance for loan and lease losses, we also 
estimate probable losses related to unfunded lending commitments, such as letters of credit, financial guarantees, and binding 
unfunded loan commitments. The provision for unfunded lending commitments is included in the provision for credit losses in 
our consolidated statements of income and the related reserve for unfunded lending commitments is included in other liabilities 
on our consolidated balance sheets. See “Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” for further discussion on the 
methodology and policy for determining our allowance for loan and lease losses for each of our loan portfolio segments.

Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses Activity

The table below summarizes changes in the allowance for loan and lease losses and unfunded lending commitments, by portfolio 
segment, for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Table 6.1: Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses and Unfunded Lending Commitments 

(Dollars in millions)

Allowance for loan and lease losses:

Credit
Card

Consumer
Banking

Commercial
Banking

Other(1)

Total

$

338

$

11

$

4,315

752

703

(989)

314

(675)

(1)

779

7

0

7

786

779

819

Balance as of December 31, 2013. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 3,214

$

Provision (benefit) for credit losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Charge-offs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Recoveries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net charge-offs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other changes(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2,750

(3,963)

1,235

(2,728)

(32)

Balance as of December 31, 2014. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3,204

Unfunded lending commitments reserve:

Balance as of December 31, 2013. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Provision for unfunded lending commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Balance as of December 31, 2014. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

0

0

0

Combined allowance and unfunded reserve as of December 31, 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 3,204

Allowance for loan and lease losses:

Balance as of December 31, 2014. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Provision (benefit) for credit losses(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Charge-offs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 3,204

3,417

$

$

$

$

(4,028)

(1,082)

Recoveries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,110

Net charge-offs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other changes(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Balance as of December 31, 2015. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2,918)

(49)

3,654

Unfunded lending commitments reserve:

Balance as of December 31, 2014. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Provision for unfunded lending commitments(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other changes(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Balance as of December 31, 2015. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

0

0

0

0

351

(731)

1

868

7

0

0

7

Combined allowance and unfunded reserve as of December 31, 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 3,654

$

875

$

67

(34)

24

(10)

0

395

80

26

106

501

395

256

(76)

29

(47)

0

604

106

46

9

161

765

$

$

$

(5)

(10)

9

(1)

0

5

0

0

0

5

5

(2)

(7)

8

1

0

4

0

0

0

0

4

$

$

3,515

(4,996)

1,582

(3,414)

(33)

4,383

87

26

113

4,496

4,383

4,490

(5,193)

1,498

(3,695)

(48)

5,130

113

46

9

168

$

5,298

__________
(1)   Other primarily consists of our discontinued GreenPoint mortgage operations loan portfolio.
(2)   Represents foreign currency translation adjustments and the net impact of loan transfers and sales. At acquisition date we also recognized the fair value of 
the unfunded lending commitments reserve of the GE Healthcare acquisition. See “Note 2—Business Developments” for additional information about the 
GE Healthcare acquisition.

(3)  

Includes a provision for credit losses of $49 million to establish an initial allowance and reserve related to the loans acquired in the GE Healthcare acquisition.   

159

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Components of Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses by Impairment Methodology

The  table  below  presents  the  components  of  our  allowance  for  loan  and  lease  losses,  by  portfolio  segment  and  impairment 
methodology, and the recorded investment of the related loans as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Table 6.2: Components of Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses by Impairment Methodology

(Dollars in millions)

Allowance for loan and lease losses:
Collectively evaluated(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Asset-specific(2)(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acquired Loans(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total allowance for loan and lease losses(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Loans held for investment:
Collectively evaluated(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Asset-specific(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acquired Loans(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total loans held for investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31, 2015

Credit
Card

Consumer
Banking

Commercial
Banking

Other

Total

$ 3,445

$

778

$

517

$

209

0

54

36

86

1

$ 3,654

$

868

$

604

$

4

0

0

4

$

4,744

349

37

$

5,130

$ 95,459

$ 51,113

$ 61,424

$ 88

$ 208,084

666

0

699

18,560

884

958

0

0

2,249

19,518

$ 96,125

$ 70,372

$ 63,266

$ 88

$ 229,851

Allowance as a percentage of period-end loans held for investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3.80%

1.23%

0.95% 4.94%

2.23%

(Dollars in millions)

Allowance for loan and lease losses:
Collectively evaluated(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Asset-specific(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acquired Loans(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total allowance for loan and lease losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Loans held for investment:
Collectively evaluated(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Asset-specific(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acquired Loans(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total loans held for investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31, 2014

Credit
Card

Consumer
Banking

Commercial
Banking

Other

Total

$ 2,985

$

710

$

356

$

219

0

42

27

39

0

$ 3,204

$

779

$

395

$

5

0

0

5

$

4,056

300

27

$

4,383

$ 85,161

$ 47,507

$ 50,328

$ 111

$ 183,107

692

23

647

23,285

370

192

0

0

1,709

23,500

$ 85,876

$ 71,439

$ 50,890

$ 111

$ 208,316

Allowance as a percentage of period-end loans held for investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3.73%

1.09%

0.78%

4.68%

2.10%

__________
(1) 

The component of the allowance for loan and lease losses for credit card and other consumer loans that we collectively evaluate for impairment is based on 
a statistical calculation supplemented by management judgment and interpretation. The component of the allowance for loan and lease losses for commercial 
loans, which we collectively evaluate for impairment, is based on historical loss experience for loans with similar characteristics and consideration of credit 
quality supplemented by management judgment and interpretation.

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

The asset-specific component of the allowance for loan and lease losses for smaller-balance impaired loans is calculated on a pool basis using historical loss 
experience for the respective class of assets. The asset-specific component of the allowance for loan and lease losses for larger-balance commercial loans is 
individually calculated for each loan.

Includes an allowance build of $39 million related to loans purchased in the GE Healthcare acquisition. 

The Acquired Loans component of the allowance for loan and lease losses is accounted for based on expected cash flows. See “Note 1—Summary of 
Significant Accounting Policies” for details on these loans.

160

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

We have certain credit card partnership arrangements in which our partner agrees to share in a portion of the credit losses associated 
with the partnership. The loss sharing amounts due from these partners result in reductions in reported net charge-offs and provision 
for loan and lease losses. The table below summarizes these impacts for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013.

Table 6.3: Summary of Loss Sharing Arrangements Impact

(Dollars in millions)

Reduction in net charge-offs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

Reduction in provision for loan and lease losses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

$

189

240

$

164

167

151

111

The expected reimbursement from these partners, which is netted against our allowance for loan and lease losses, was approximately 
$194 million, $143 million and $141 million as of December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 respectively. See “Note 1—Summary of 
Significant Accounting Policies” for further discussion on our credit card partnership agreements.

161

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 7—VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES AND SECURITIZATIONS

In the normal course of business, we enter into various types of transactions with entities that are considered to be VIEs. Our 
primary involvement with VIEs has been related to our securitization transactions in which we transferred assets from our balance 
sheet to securitization trusts. We have primarily securitized credit card loans and home loans, which have provided a source of 
funding for us and enabled us to transfer a certain portion of the economic risk of the loans or debt securities to third parties.

The entity that has a controlling financial interest in a VIE is referred to as the primary beneficiary and is required to consolidate 
the VIE. The majority of the VIEs in which we are involved have been consolidated in our financial statements.

Summary of Consolidated and Unconsolidated VIEs

The table below presents a summary of VIEs, aggregated based on VIEs with similar characteristics, in which we had continuing 
involvement or held a variable interest as of December 31, 2015 and 2014. We separately present information for consolidated 
and unconsolidated VIEs.

For consolidated VIEs, we present the carrying amount of assets and liabilities reflected on our consolidated balance sheets. The 
assets of consolidated VIEs primarily consist of cash and loans, which we report on our consolidated balance sheets under restricted 
cash and restricted loans, respectively. The assets of a particular VIE are the primary source of funds to settle its obligations. The 
creditors of the VIEs typically do not have recourse to the general credit of the Company. The liabilities primarily consist of debt 
securities issued by the VIEs, which we report under securitized debt obligations. For unconsolidated VIEs, we present the carrying 
amount of assets and liabilities reflected on our consolidated balance sheets and our maximum exposure to loss. Our maximum 
exposure to loss is estimated based on the unlikely event that all of the assets in the VIEs become worthless and we are required 
to meet our maximum remaining funding obligations.

Table 7.1: Carrying Amount of Consolidated and Unconsolidated VIEs

(Dollars in millions)
Securitization-Related VIEs:

Credit card loan securitizations(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Home loan securitizations(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total securitization-related VIEs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other VIEs:

Affordable housing entities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Entities that provide capital to low-income and rural
communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total other VIEs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31, 2015

Consolidated

Unconsolidated

Carrying
Amount
of Assets

Carrying
Amount of
Liabilities

Carrying
Amount
of Assets

Carrying
Amount of
Liabilities

Maximum 
Exposure to
Loss

$

34,800

$

16,925

$

0

$

0

0

34,800

16,925

0

352

0

352

0

101

0

101

211

211

3,852

0

57

3,909

0

27

27

555

0

0

555

582

$

$

0

873

873

3,852

0

57

3,909

4,782

Total VIEs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

35,152

$

17,026

$

4,120

$

162

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

December 31, 2014

Consolidated

Unconsolidated

Carrying
Amount
of Assets

Carrying
Amount of
Liabilities

Carrying
Amount
of Assets

Carrying
Amount of
Liabilities

Maximum
Exposure to
Loss

(Dollars in millions)
Securitization-Related VIEs:

Credit card loan securitizations(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Home loan securitizations(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total securitization-related VIEs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other VIEs:

$

36,779

$

12,350

$

0

$

0

0

36,779

12,350

Affordable housing entities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Entities that provide capital to low-income and rural
communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total other VIEs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

0

374

4

378

0

99

0

99

221

221

3,500

1

74

3,575

0

31

31

488

0

0

488

519

$

$

0

876

876

3,500

1

74

3,575

4,451

Total VIEs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

37,157

$

12,449

$

3,796

$

__________
(1)  Represents the gross amount of assets and liabilities owned by the VIE, which includes the seller’s interest and retained and repurchased notes held by other 

related parties.

(2) 

The carrying amount of assets of unconsolidated securitization-related VIEs consists of retained interests associated with the securitization of option-adjustable 
rate mortgage (“option-ARM”) loans and letters of credit related to manufactured housing securitizations. These are reported on our consolidated balance 
sheets  under  other  assets. The  carrying  amount  of  liabilities  of  unconsolidated  securitization-related VIEs  is  comprised  of  obligations  on  certain  swap 
agreements associated with the securitization of manufactured housing loans and other obligations. These are reported on our consolidated balance sheets 
under other liabilities.

Securitization-Related VIEs

In a securitization transaction, assets from our balance sheet are transferred to a trust we establish, which typically meets the 
definition of a VIE. Our continuing involvement in the majority of our securitization transactions consists primarily of holding 
certain retained interests and acting as the primary servicer on certain transactions. We also may have exposure associated with 
contractual obligations to repurchase previously transferred loans due to breaches of representations and warranties. See “Note 
21—Commitments, Contingencies, Guarantees and Others” for information related to reserves we have established for our mortgage 
representation and warranty exposure.

163

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The table below presents the securitization-related VIEs in which we had continuing involvement as of December 31, 2015 and 
2014.

Table 7.2: Continuing Involvement in Securitization-Related VIEs

(Dollars in millions)
December 31, 2015:

Credit
Card

Option-
ARM

Mortgage

GreenPoint
HELOCs

GreenPoint
Manufactured
Housing

Securities held by third-party investors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

16,166

$

Receivables in the trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

33,783

Cash balance of spread or reserve accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Retained interests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Servicing retained . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Amortization event(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
December 31, 2014:

0

Yes

Yes

No

Securities held by third-party investors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

11,624

$

Receivables in the trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

36,545

Cash balance of spread or reserve accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Retained interests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Servicing retained . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Amortization event(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

0

Yes

Yes

No

$

$

1,754

1,814

8

Yes
Yes (1)
No

2,026

2,094

8

Yes
Yes (1)
No

__________
(1)  We retained servicing of the outstanding balance for a portion of securitized mortgage receivables.
(2) 

The core servicing activities for the manufactured housing securitizations are completed by a third party.

$

$

74

68

N/A

Yes

No

No

95

89

N/A

Yes
No (1)
No

789

794

134

Yes
No (2)
No

887

893

143

Yes
No (2)
No

(3)  Amortization events vary according to each specific trust agreement but generally are triggered by declines in performance or credit metrics, such as net 
charge-off rates or delinquency rates below certain predetermined thresholds. Generally, the occurrence of an amortization event changes the sequencing 
and amount of trust-related cash flows to the benefit of senior noteholders.

Credit Card Loan Securitizations

We hold certain retained interests in our credit card loan securitizations and continue to service the receivables in these trusts. As 
of December 31, 2015 and 2014, we were deemed to be the primary beneficiary, and accordingly, all of these trusts have been 
consolidated in our financial statements. 

Mortgage Securitizations

Option-ARM Loans

We  had  previously  securitized  option-ARM  loans  by  transferring  the  mortgage  loans  to  securitization  trusts  that  had  issued 
mortgage-backed securities to investors. The outstanding balance of debt securities held by third-party investors related to our 
mortgage loan securitization trusts was $1.8 billion and $2.0 billion as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

We continue to service a portion of the outstanding balance of securitized mortgage receivables. We also retain rights to future 
cash flows arising from the receivables, the most significant being certificated interest-only bonds issued by the trusts. We generally 
estimate the fair value of these retained interests based on the estimated present value of expected future cash flows from securitized 
and sold receivables, using our best estimates of the key assumptions which include credit losses, prepayment speeds and discount 
rates commensurate with the risks involved. For the trusts that we continue to service, we do not consolidate these entities because 
we do not have the right to receive benefits nor the obligation to absorb losses that could potentially be significant to the trusts. 
For the remaining trusts, for which we no longer service the underlying mortgage loans, we do not consolidate these entities since 
we do not have the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of the trusts.

In connection with the securitization of certain option-ARM loans, a third party is obligated to advance a portion of any “negative 
amortization” resulting from monthly payments that are less than the interest accrued for that payment period. We have an agreement 

164

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

in place with the third party that mirrors this advance requirement. The amount advanced is tracked through mortgage-backed 
securities retained as part of the securitization transaction. As advances occur, we record an asset in the form of negative amortization 
bonds, which are held at fair value in other assets on our consolidated balance sheets. Our maximum exposure is affected by rate 
caps and monthly payment change caps, but the funding obligation cannot exceed the difference between the original loan balance 
multiplied by a preset negative amortization cap and the current unpaid principal balance. 

We have also entered into certain derivative contracts related to the securitization activities. These are classified as free-standing 
derivatives, with fair value adjustments recorded in non-interest income in our consolidated statements of income. See “Note 11
—Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities” for further details on these derivatives.

GreenPoint Mortgage Home Equity Lines of Credit (“HELOCs”)

Our discontinued wholesale mortgage banking unit, GreenPoint, previously sold HELOCs in whole loan sales and subsequently 
acquired residual interests in certain trusts which securitized some of those loans. We do not consolidate these trusts because we 
either lack the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of the trusts or because we 
do not have the right to receive benefits or the obligation to absorb losses that could potentially be significant to the trusts. As the 
residual interest holder, GreenPoint is required to fund advances on the HELOCs when certain performance triggers are met due 
to deterioration in asset performance. On behalf of GreenPoint, we have funded cumulative advances of $30 million as of both 
December 31, 2015 and 2014. These advances are generally expensed as funded due to the low likelihood of recovery. We also 
have unfunded commitments of $6 million related to those interests for our non-consolidated VIEs as of both December 31, 2015 
and 2014.

GreenPoint Credit Manufactured Housing

We retain the primary obligation for certain provisions of corporate guarantees, recourse sales and clean-up calls related to the 
discontinued manufactured housing operations of GreenPoint Credit, LLC, which was a subsidiary of GreenPoint and was sold 
to a third party in 2004. Although we are the primary obligor, recourse obligations related to aforementioned whole loan sales, 
commitments to exercise mandatory clean-up calls on certain securitization transactions and servicing were transferred to a third 
party in the sale transaction. We do not consolidate the trusts used for the securitization of manufactured housing loans because 
we do not have the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of the trusts since we 
no longer service the loans.

We were required to fund letters of credit in 2004 to cover losses and are obligated to fund future amounts under swap agreements 
for certain transactions. We have the right to receive any funds remaining in the letters of credit after the securities are released. 

The unpaid principal balance of manufactured housing securitization transactions where we are the residual interest holder was 
$794 million and $893 million as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. In the event the third-party servicer does not fulfill 
its obligation to exercise the clean-up calls on certain transactions, the obligation reverts to us and we would assume approximately 
$420 million of loans receivable upon our execution of the clean-up call with the requirement to absorb any losses on the loans 
receivable. We monitor the underlying assets for trends in delinquencies and related losses and review the purchaser’s financial 
strength as well as servicing performance. These factors are considered in assessing the adequacy of the liabilities established for 
these obligations and the valuations of the assets. 

We also have credit exposure on agreements that we entered into to absorb a portion of the risk of loss on certain manufactured 
housing securitizations issued by GreenPoint Credit, LLC in 2000. Our maximum credit exposure related to the agreements totaled 
$13 million and $14 million as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. These agreements are recorded on our consolidated 
balance sheets as a component of other liabilities and our obligations under these agreements was $8 million and $12 million as 
of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. 

Other VIEs

Affordable Housing Entities

As part of our community reinvestment initiatives, we invest in private investment funds that make equity investments in multi-
family affordable housing properties. We receive affordable housing tax credits for these investments. The activities of these entities 
are financed with a combination of invested equity capital and debt. 

165

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CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

We account for certain of our investments in qualified affordable housing projects using the proportional amortization method if 
certain criteria are met. The proportional amortization method amortizes the cost of the investment over the period in which the 
investor expects to receive tax credits and other tax benefits, and the resulting amortization is recognized as a component of income 
tax expense attributable to continuing operations. For the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, we recognized amortization 
of $337 million and $305 million, respectively, and tax credits of $382 million and $336 million, respectively, associated with 
these investments within income tax provision. The carrying value of our investments in these qualified affordable housing projects 
was $3.5 billion and $3.2 billion as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. We are periodically required to provide additional 
financial or other support during the period of the investments. We had a recorded liability of $1.3 billion for these unfunded 
commitments as of December 31, 2015, which is expected to be paid from 2016 to 2019.

For those investment funds considered to be VIEs, we are not required to consolidate them if we do not have the power to direct 
the  activities  that  most  significantly  impact  the  economic  performance  of  those  entities.  We  record  our  interests  in  these 
unconsolidated VIEs in loans held for investment, other assets and other liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets. Our interests 
consisted of assets of approximately $3.9 billion and $3.5 billion as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Our maximum 
exposure to these entities is limited to our variable interests in the entities of $3.9 billion and $3.5 billion as of December 31, 2015 
and 2014, respectively. The creditors of the VIEs have no recourse to our general credit and we do not provide additional financial 
or other support other than during the period that we are contractually required to provide. The total assets of the unconsolidated 
VIE investment funds were $11.4 billion and $10.2 billion as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

Entities that Provide Capital to Low-Income and Rural Communities 

We hold variable interests in entities (“Investor Entities”) that invest in community development entities (“CDEs”) that provide 
debt financing to businesses and non-profit entities in low-income and rural communities. Variable interests in the CDEs held by 
the  consolidated  Investor  Entities  are  also  our  variable  interests.  The  activities  of  the  Investor  Entities  are  financed  with  a 
combination of invested equity capital and debt. The activities of the CDEs are financed solely with invested equity capital. We 
receive federal and state tax credits for these investments. We consolidate the VIEs in which we have the power to direct the 
activities that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance and where we have the obligation to absorb losses or 
right to receive benefits that could be potentially significant to the VIE. We have also consolidated other investments and CDEs 
that are not considered to be VIEs, but where we hold a controlling financial interest. The assets of the VIEs that we consolidated, 
which totaled approximately $352 million and $374 million as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, are reflected on our 
consolidated balance sheets in cash, loans held for investment, interest receivable and other assets. The liabilities are reflected in 
other liabilities. The creditors of the VIEs have no recourse to our general credit. We have not provided additional financial or 
other support other than during the period that we are contractually required to provide.

Other

Other VIEs include a variable interest that we hold in a trust that has a royalty interest in certain oil and gas properties. The activities 
of the trust are financed solely with debt. The total assets of the trust were $120 million and $159 million as of December 31, 2015 
and 2014, respectively. We were not required to consolidate the trust because we do not have the power to direct the activities that 
most significantly impact the trust’s economic performance. Our maximum exposure to this entity is limited to our retained interest 
of $57 million and $74 million as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. The creditors of the trust have no recourse to our 
general credit. We have not provided additional financial or other support other than during the period that we are contractually 
required to provide.

166

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 8—GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

The table below displays the components of goodwill, intangible assets and MSRs as of December 31, 2015 and 2014. Goodwill 
is  presented  separately  on  our  consolidated  balance  sheets.  Intangible  assets  and  MSRs  are  included  in  other  assets  on  our 
consolidated balance sheets.

Table 8.1: Components of Goodwill, Intangible Assets and MSRs

(Dollars in millions)

December 31, 2015

Carrying
Amount of
Assets(1)

Accumulated 
Amortization(1)

Net
Carrying
Amount

Remaining
Amortization
Period

Goodwill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

14,480

N/A $

14,480

N/A

Intangible assets:

Purchased credit card relationship (“PCCR”) intangibles. . . . . . .

2,156

$

Core deposit intangibles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total intangible assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,771

378

4,305

(1,467)

(1,662)

(135)

(3,264)

Total goodwill and intangible assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MSRs:
        Consumer MSRs(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
        Commercial MSRs(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total MSRs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

$

$

18,785

$

(3,264) $

68

212

280

$

$

N/A $

(51)

(51) $

689

109

243

1,041

15,521

68

161

229

5.1 years

2.9 years

9.6 years

5.9 years

(Dollars in millions)

December 31, 2014

Carrying
Amount of
Assets(1)

Accumulated 
Amortization(1)

Net
Carrying
Amount

Remaining
Amortization
Period

Goodwill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

13,978

N/A $

13,978

N/A

Intangible assets:

Purchased credit card relationship (“PCCR”) intangibles. . . . . . .

2,124

$

Core deposit intangibles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total intangible assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,771

300

4,195

(1,152)

(1,569)

(158)

(2,879)

Total goodwill and intangible assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MSRs:
        Consumer MSRs(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
        Commercial MSRs(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total MSRs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

$

$

18,173

$

(2,879) $

53

171

224

$

$

N/A $

(24)

(24) $

972

202

142

1,316

15,294

53

147

200

__________
(1)  Certain intangible assets that were fully amortized in prior periods were removed from our consolidated balance sheets. 
(2) 

Primarily consists of brokerage relationship intangibles, partnership and other contract intangibles and trade name intangibles. 

6.0 years

3.8 years

9.6 years

6.1 years

(3)  Represents MSRs related to our Consumer Banking business that are carried at fair value on our consolidated balance sheets.
(4)  Represents MSRs related to our Commercial Banking business that are subsequently accounted for under the amortization method and periodically assessed 

for impairment. We recorded $27 million and $21 million of amortization expense for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

167

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Goodwill

The following table presents goodwill attributable to each of our business segments as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Table 8.2: Goodwill Attributable to Business Segments

(Dollars in millions)

Credit
Card

Consumer 
Banking

Commercial
Banking

Total

Balance as of December 31, 2013. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

5,005

$

4,585

$

4,388

$

13,978

Acquisitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Balance as of December 31, 2014. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acquisitions (1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2

(6)

10

(2)

5,001

4,593

1

(5)

7

0

0

(4)

4,384

500

(1)

12

(12)

13,978

508

(6)

Balance as of December 31, 2015. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

4,997

$

4,600

$

4,883

$

14,480

__________
(1) 

In connection with the GE Healthcare acquisition, we recorded goodwill of $500 million representing the amount by which the purchase price exceeded the 
fair value of the net assets acquired. The goodwill was assigned to the Commercial Banking segment. See “Note 2—Business Developments” for additional 
information about this acquisition. 

Goodwill was not impaired as of December 31, 2015 or 2014, nor was any goodwill written off due to impairment during 2015, 
2014 or 2013. The goodwill impairment test, performed as of October 1 of each year, is a two-step test. The first step identifies 
whether there is potential impairment by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit to its carrying amount, including goodwill. 
If the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, the second step of the impairment test is required to measure 
the amount of any potential impairment loss.

The fair value of reporting units is calculated using a discounted cash flow methodology, a form of the income approach. The 
calculation uses projected cash flows based on each reporting unit’s internal forecast and uses the perpetuity growth method to 
calculate terminal values. These cash flows and terminal values are then discounted using appropriate discount rates, which are 
largely based on our external cost of equity with adjustments for risk inherent in each reporting unit. Cash flows are adjusted, as 
necessary,  in  order  to  maintain  each  reporting  unit’s  equity  capital  requirements.  Our  discounted  cash  flow  analysis  requires 
management to make judgments about future loan and deposit growth, revenue growth, credit losses, and capital rates. Discount 
rates used in 2015 for the reporting units ranged from 8% to 13%. The key inputs into the discounted cash flow analysis were 
consistent with market data, where available, indicating that assumptions used were within a reasonable range of observable market 
data. Based on our analysis, fair value exceeded the carrying amount for all reporting units as of our annual testing date; therefore, 
the second step of impairment testing was unnecessary.

Intangible Assets

In connection with our acquisitions, we recorded intangible assets which include purchased credit card relationship (“PCCR”) 
intangibles, core deposit intangibles, brokerage relationship intangibles, partnership contract intangibles, other contract intangibles, 
trademark intangibles and other intangibles, which are subject to amortization. At acquisition, the PCCR intangibles reflect the 
estimated value of existing credit card holder relationships and the core deposit intangibles reflect the estimated value of deposit 
relationships. We did not record any material impairment on intangible assets during 2015 or 2014.

Intangible assets are typically amortized over their respective estimated useful lives on either an accelerated or straight-line basis. 
The following table summarizes the actual amortization expense recorded for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 
and the estimated future amortization expense for intangible assets as of December 31, 2015:

168

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Table 8.3: Amortization Expense

(Dollars in millions)
Actual for the year ended December 31,

Amortization
Expense

2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Estimated future amounts for the year ended December 31,

2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Thereafter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

671

532

430

368

269

178

100

49

73

Total estimated future amounts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

1,037

169

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 9—PREMISES, EQUIPMENT AND LEASE COMMITMENTS

Premises and Equipment

Premises and equipment as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 were as follows:

Table 9.1: Components of Premises and Equipment 

(Dollars in millions)
Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Buildings and improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Furniture and equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Computer software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total premises and equipment, gross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31,

2015

2014

$

458

$

552

2,674

1,735

1,618

514

6,999

2,577

1,730

1,556

467

6,882

Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3,415)

(3,197)

Total premises and equipment, net. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

3,584

$

3,685

Depreciation and amortization expense was $638 million, $656 million and $571 million for the years ended December 31, 2015, 
2014 and 2013, respectively.

Lease Commitments

Certain  premises  and  equipment  are  leased  under  agreements  that  expire  at  various  dates  through  2056,  without  taking  into 
consideration available renewal options. Many of these leases provide for payment by us, as the lessee, of property taxes, insurance 
premiums, cost of maintenance and other costs. In some cases, rentals are subject to increases in relation to a cost of living index. 
Total rent expenses amounted to approximately $276 million, $265 million and $245 million for the years ended December 31, 
2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Future minimum rental commitments as of December 31, 2015, for all non-cancelable operating leases with initial or remaining 
terms of one year or more are as follows:

Table 9.2: Lease Commitments

(Dollars in millions)
2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Thereafter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Estimated Future
Minimum Rental
Commitments

$

$

292

281

266

230

205

1,027

2,301

Minimum sublease rental income of $124 million due in future years under non-cancelable leases has not been included in the 
table above as a reduction to minimum lease payments.

170

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 10—DEPOSITS AND BORROWINGS

Deposits

Our deposits, which are our largest source of funding for our asset growth and operations, consist of non-interest bearing and 
interest-bearing deposits, which include checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, negotiable order of withdrawals, 
savings deposits and time deposits. 

We had $191.9 billion and $180.5 billion in interest-bearing deposits as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Time deposits 
issued by domestic offices totaled $12.2 billion and $8.3 billion as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Of these deposits, 
the amount of domestic time deposits with a denomination of $100,000 or more was $1.9 billion and $2.3 billion as of December 31, 
2015 and 2014, respectively. Time deposits issued by foreign offices totaled $843 million and $977 million as of December 31, 
2015 and 2014, respectively. Substantially all of our foreign time deposits were greater than $100,000 as of December 31, 2015 
and 2014.

Securitized and Unsecured Debt Obligations

We use a variety of funding sources other than deposits, including short-term borrowings, the issuance of senior and subordinated 
notes and other borrowings, and securitization transactions. In addition, we utilize FHLB advances, which are secured by certain 
portions of our loan and investment securities portfolios, for our funding needs. The securitized debt obligations are separately 
presented on our consolidated balance sheets, while federal funds purchased and securities loaned or sold under agreements to 
repurchase, senior and subordinated notes and other borrowings, including FHLB advances, are included in other debt on our 
consolidated balance sheets. 

Securitized Debt Obligations

Our outstanding borrowings due to securitization investors were $16.2 billion and $11.6 billion as of December 31, 2015 and 
December 31, 2014, respectively. During 2015, approximately $5.1 billion of new debt was issued to third-party investors from 
our credit card loan securitization trust, offset by $500 million of debt maturities.

Senior and Subordinated Notes

As of December 31, 2015, we had $21.8 billion of senior and subordinated notes outstanding, inclusive of fair value hedging losses 
of $134 million. As of December 31, 2014, we had $18.7 billion of senior and subordinated notes outstanding, inclusive of fair 
value hedging losses of $179 million. During 2015, we issued $6.0 billion of long-term senior unsecured debt comprised of $700 
million of floating-rate notes and $5.3 billion of fixed-rate notes. During 2015, $2.8 billion of outstanding unsecured notes matured. 
See “Note 11—Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities” for information about our fair value hedging activities.

FHLB Advances and Other

In addition to the issuance capacity under the registration statement, we also have access to funding through the FHLB system 
and the Federal Reserve Discount Window. Our FHLB and Federal Reserve memberships require us to hold FHLB and Federal 
Reserve stock which totaled $2.1 billion and $2.0 billion as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, and are included in 
other assets on our consolidated balance sheets.

Our FHLB advances and lines of credit are secured by our investment securities, residential home loans, multifamily real estate 
loans, commercial real estate loans and HELOCs. The outstanding FHLB advances totaled $20.1 billion as of December 31, 2015, 
substantially  all  of  which  represented  long-term  advances  generally  callable  on  a  quarterly  basis,  and  $17.3  billion  as  of 
December 31, 2014, which was substantially comprised of short-term advances.

We have access to short-term borrowings through the Federal Reserve. Our membership with the Federal Reserve is secured by 
our investment in Federal Reserve stock, totaling $1.2 billion as of both December 31, 2015 and 2014. On an annual basis, we 
process immaterial overnight test trades to ensure continued system functionality and borrowing capabilities. We did not access 
the Federal Reserve Discount Window for funding during 2015 or 2014.

171

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Composition of Deposits, Short-Term Borrowings and Long-Term Debt

The table below summarizes the components of our deposits, short-term borrowings and long-term debt as of December 31, 2015 
and 2014. Our total short-term borrowings consist of federal funds purchased and securities loaned or sold under agreements to 
repurchase and other short-term borrowings with an original contractual maturity of one year or less. Our long-term debt consists 
of borrowings with an original contractual maturity of greater than one year. The amounts presented for outstanding borrowings 
include unamortized debt premiums and discounts, net of fair value hedge accounting adjustments.

Table 10.1: Components of Deposits, Short-Term Borrowings and Long-Term Debt

(Dollars in millions)
Deposits:

December 31,
2015

December 31,
2014

Non-interest bearing deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Interest-bearing deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Short-term borrowings:

Federal funds purchased and securities loaned or sold under agreements to repurchase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
FHLB advances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total short-term borrowings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

$

$

$

25,847
191,874
217,721

981
0
981

$

$

$

$

25,081
180,467
205,548

880
16,200
17,080

(Dollars in millions)
Long-term debt:

Securitized debt obligations(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Senior and subordinated notes:(1)

December 31, 2015

Maturity
Dates

Interest Rates

Weighted-
Average
Interest Rate

 Outstanding
Amount

December 31,
2014

2016 - 2025

0.37 - 5.75%

1.46% $

16,166

$

11,624

Fixed unsecured senior debt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Floating unsecured senior debt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.15 - 6.75%
0.86 - 1.51%
Total unsecured senior debt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.38 - 8.80%

Fixed unsecured subordinated debt . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2016 - 2025
2016 - 2018

2016 - 2025

2.72
1.11
2.61
4.70

Total senior and subordinated notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other long-term borrowings:

FHLB advances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Capital lease obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2016 - 2025
2016 - 2035

0.28 - 6.41%
3.09 - 12.86%

0.40
4.17

Total other long-term borrowings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total long-term debt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total short-term borrowings and long-term debt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$
$

___________
(1)  Outstanding amount includes the impact from hedge accounting.

16,559
1,198
17,757
4,080
21,837

20,098
33
20,131
58,134
59,115

$
$

15,174
880
16,054
2,630
18,684

1,069
0
1,069
31,377
48,457

172

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Interest-bearing deposits, securitized debt obligations and other debt as of December 31, 2015 mature as follows:

Table 10.2: Maturity Profile of Borrowings and Debt

(Dollars in millions)
Interest-bearing time deposits(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Securitized debt obligations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Federal funds purchased and securities loaned or sold under
agreements to repurchase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Senior and subordinated notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other borrowings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Thereafter

Total

$ 4,864

$ 2,080

$ 1,992

$ 1,544

$ 2,479

$

3,519

7,234

2,361

1,136

1,564

121

352

$13,080

16,166

981

2,430

19

0

0

0

3,082

4,674

3,834

0

0

19

11

2

1,001

0

7,817

19,079

981

21,837

20,131

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$11,813

$12,415

$ 9,038

$ 6,516

$ 5,044

$ 27,369

$72,195

__________
(1) 

Includes only those interest-bearing deposits which have a contractual maturity date.

Components of Interest Expense

The following table displays interest expense attributable to short-term borrowings and long-term debt for  the years ended December 
31, 2015, 2014 and 2013:

Table 10.3: Components of Interest Expense on Short-Term Borrowings and Long-Term Debt

(Dollars in millions)
Short-term borrowings:

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

Federal funds purchased and securities loaned or sold under agreements to repurchase . . .
FHLB advances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total short-term borrowings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Long-term debt:

Securitized debt obligations(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Senior and subordinated notes(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other long-term borrowings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total long-term debt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total interest expense on short-term borrowings and long-term debt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

$

1
9
10

151
330
43
524
534

$

$

2
19
21

145
299
26
470
491

$

$

1
28
29

183
315
24
522
551

__________
(1) 

 Interest expense includes the impact from hedge accounting.

173

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 11—DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS AND HEDGING ACTIVITIES

Use of Derivatives

We manage our asset and liability positions and market risk exposure and limits in accordance with our market risk management 
policies that are approved by our Board of Directors. Our primary market risks stem from the impact on our earnings and economic 
value of equity from changes in interest rates and, to a lesser extent, changes in foreign exchange rates. We employ several techniques 
to manage our interest rate sensitivity which include changing the duration and re-pricing characteristics of various assets and 
liabilities by using interest rate derivatives. Our current policies also include the use of derivatives to hedge foreign-currency 
denominated exposures so we may limit our earnings and capital ratio exposure to foreign exchange risk. We execute our derivative 
contracts in both the over-the-counter (“OTC”) and exchange-traded derivative markets, and clear derivative transactions through 
a central clearinghouse as required by the Dodd-Frank Act. The majority of our derivatives are interest rate swaps. In addition, we 
may use a variety of other derivative instruments, including caps, floors, options, futures and forward contracts, to manage our 
interest rate and foreign exchange risks. We offer various interest rate, foreign exchange rate and commodity derivatives as an 
accommodation to our customers as part of our Commercial Banking business but usually offset our exposure through derivative 
transactions with other counterparties.

Accounting for Derivatives

Our  derivatives  are  designated  as  either  qualifying  accounting  hedges  or  free-standing  derivatives.  Free-standing  derivatives 
primarily consist of customer-accommodation derivatives and economic hedges that do not qualify for hedge accounting. Qualifying 
accounting hedges are designated as fair value hedges, cash flow hedges or net investment hedges.

•  Fair Value Hedges: We designate derivatives as fair value hedges when they are used to manage our exposure to changes 
in the fair value of certain financial assets and liabilities, which fluctuate in value as a result of movements in interest rates. 
Changes in the fair value of derivatives designated as fair value hedges are recorded in earnings together with offsetting 
changes in the fair value of the hedged item and any resulting ineffectiveness. Our fair value hedges consist of interest rate 
swaps that are intended to modify our exposure to interest rate risk on various fixed-rate assets and liabilities. 

•  Cash Flow Hedges: We designate derivatives as cash flow hedges when they are used to manage our exposure to variability 
in cash flows related to forecasted transactions. Changes in the fair value of derivatives designated as cash flow hedges are 
recorded as a component of AOCI, to the extent that the hedge relationships are effective, and amounts are reclassified from 
AOCI to earnings as the forecasted transactions impact earnings. To the extent that any ineffectiveness exists in the hedge 
relationships, the amounts are recorded in current period earnings. Our cash flow hedges use interest rate swaps that are 
intended to hedge the variability in interest payments on some of our variable-rate assets. These hedges have the effect of 
converting some of our variable-rate assets to a fixed rate. We also have entered into forward foreign currency derivative 
contracts  to  hedge  our  exposure  to  variability  in  cash  flows  related  to  foreign-currency  denominated  intercompany 
borrowings.

•  Net Investment Hedges: We use net investment hedges to manage the foreign currency exposure related to our net investments 
in foreign operations that have functional currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Changes in the fair value of net investment 
hedges are recorded in the translation adjustment component of AOCI, offsetting the translation gain or loss from those 
foreign operations. We execute net investment hedges using foreign exchange forward contracts to hedge the translation 
exposure of the net investment in our foreign operations.

•  Free-Standing Derivatives: We use free-standing derivatives to hedge the risk of changes in the fair value of residential 
MSRs, mortgage loan origination and purchase commitments and other interests held. We also categorize our customer 
accommodation derivatives and the related offsetting contracts as free-standing derivatives. Changes in the fair value of 
free-standing derivatives are recorded in earnings as a component of other non-interest income.

Balance Sheet Presentation

As of January 1, 2015, we changed our accounting principle to move from a gross basis of presentation to a net basis for presenting 
qualifying derivative assets and liabilities, as well as the related fair value amounts recognized for the right to reclaim cash collateral 

174

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(a receivable) or the obligation to return cash collateral (a payable), for instruments executed with the same counterparty where a 
right of setoff exists. See additional information in “Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies.” 

The following table summarizes the notional and fair values of our derivative instruments on a gross basis as of December 31, 
2015 and 2014, which are segregated by derivatives that are designated as accounting hedges and those that are not, and are further 
segregated by type of contract within those two categories. The total derivative assets and liabilities are adjusted on an aggregate 
basis to take into consideration the effects of legally enforceable master netting agreements and any associated cash collateral 
received or paid. 

Table 11.1: Derivative Assets and Liabilities at Fair Value

(Dollars in millions)

Derivatives designated as accounting hedges:

Interest rate contracts:

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

Notional or
Contractual
Amount

Derivative(1)

Assets    

Liabilities

Notional or
Contractual
Amount

Derivative(1)

Assets

Liabilities

Fair value hedges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

34,417

$

Cash flow hedges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total interest rate contracts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Foreign exchange contracts:

Cash flow hedges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net investment hedges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total foreign exchange contracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

30,450

64,867

5,580

2,562

8,142

550

167

717

239

87

326

$

146

$

24,543

$

61

207

2

0

2

24,450

48,993

5,546

2,476

8,022

Total derivatives designated as accounting hedges. . . . . . .

73,009

1,043

209

57,015

Derivatives not designated as accounting hedges:

Interest rate contracts covering:

MSRs(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Customer accommodation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other interest rate exposures(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total interest rate contracts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other contracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total derivatives not designated as accounting hedges . . .

Total derivatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Less: netting adjustment(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total derivative assets/liabilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,665

28,841

1,519

32,025

882

32,907

11

431

33

475

0

475

$

105,916

$

1,518

(532)

$

986

$

$

7

290

10

307

4

311

520

(143)

377

__________
(1)  Derivative assets and liabilities include interest accruals. 
(2) 

Includes interest rate swaps and To Be Announced (“TBA”) contracts.

777

27,646

2,614

31,037

593

31,630

$

88,645

$

1,452

(624)

$

828

480

222

702

221

73

294

996

10

413

33

456

0

456

$

$

$

39

18

57

2

0

2

59

3

251

21

275

5

280

339

(164)

175

(3)  Other interest rate exposures include mortgage-related derivatives.
(4)  Represents balance sheet netting of derivative assets and liabilities, and related payables and receivables for cash collateral held or placed with the same 

counterparty. See Table 11.2 for further information.

Offsetting of Financial Assets and Liabilities 

We execute the majority of our derivative transactions and repurchase agreements under master netting arrangements. Under our 
existing enforceable master netting arrangements, we generally have the right to offset exposure with the same counterparty. In 
addition, either counterparty can generally request the net settlement of all contracts through a single payment upon default on, or 
termination of, any one contract. As of January 1, 2015, the Company changed its accounting principle to begin offsetting derivative 
assets and liabilities for purposes of balance sheet presentation where a right of setoff exists. As of December 31, 2015 and 2014, 
derivative contracts that are executed bilaterally with a counterparty in the OTC market and then novated to and cleared through 

175

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

a central clearinghouse are not subject to offsetting due to current uncertainty about the legal enforceability of our right of setoff 
with the clearinghouses. 

The following table presents as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 the gross and net fair values of our derivative assets and liabilities 
and repurchase agreements, as well as the related offsetting amounts permitted under U.S. GAAP. The table also includes cash 
and non-cash collateral received or pledged associated with such arrangements. The collateral amounts shown are limited to the 
extent of the related net derivative fair values or outstanding balances, thus instances of over-collateralization are not shown.

Table 11.2: Offsetting of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities

(Dollars in millions)

As of December 31, 2015

Gross Amounts Offset in the
Balance Sheet

Gross
Amounts

Financial
Instruments

Cash Collateral
Received

Net Amounts
as Recognized

Securities
Collateral Held
Under Master
Netting
Agreements

Net
Exposure

Derivatives assets(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

1,518

$

(86) $

(446) $

986

$

(156) $

830

As of December 31, 2014

Derivatives assets(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,452

(101)

(523)

828

(80)

748

(Dollars in millions)
As of December 31, 2015

Gross Amounts Offset in the
Balance Sheet

Gross
Amounts

Financial
Instruments

Cash Collateral
Pledged

Net Amounts
as Recognized

Securities
Collateral Pledged
Under Master
Netting
Agreements

Net
Exposure

Derivatives liabilities(1). . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Repurchase agreements(2)(3) . . . . . . . . . .

$

As of December 31, 2014

Derivatives liabilities(1). . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Repurchase agreements(2) . . . . . . . . . . . .

520
969

339

869

$

(86) $
0

(101)

0

(57) $
0

(63)

0

$

377
969

175

869

$

0
(969)

0

(869)

377
0

175

0

__________
(1) 

The gross balances include derivative assets and derivative liabilities as of December 31, 2015 totaling $429 million and $314 million, respectively, related 
to the centrally cleared derivative contracts. The comparable amounts as of December 31, 2014 totaled $360 million and $127 million, respectively. These 
contracts were not subject to offsetting as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.

(2)  As of December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Company only had repurchase obligations outstanding and did not have any reverse repurchase receivables.
(3)  Represents customer repurchase agreements that mature the next business day. As of December 31, 2015, we pledged collateral with a fair value of $989 

million under these customer repurchase agreements, all of which were agency RMBS securities. 

Credit Risk-Related Contingency Features and Collateral

Certain of our derivatives contracts include provisions requiring that our debt maintain a credit rating of investment grade or above 
by each of the major credit rating agencies. In the event of a downgrade of our debt credit rating below investment grade, some 
of our derivatives counterparties would have the right to terminate the derivative contract and close out the existing positions, or 
demand immediate and ongoing full overnight collateralization on derivative instruments in a net liability position. Certain of our 
derivatives contracts may also allow, in the event of a downgrade of our debt credit rating of any kind, our derivatives counterparties 
to demand additional collateralization on such derivatives instruments in a net liability position. We posted $304 million and $87 
million of cash collateral as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. If our debt credit rating had fallen below investment 
grade, we would have been required to post $55 million and $65 million of additional collateral as of December 31, 2015 and 
2014, respectively. The fair value of derivatives instruments with credit risk-related contingent features in a net liability position 
was less than $1 million as of both December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Derivatives Counterparty Credit Risk 

Derivatives instruments contain an element of credit risk that arises from the potential failure of a counterparty to perform according 
to the contractual terms of the contract. Our exposure to derivatives counterparty credit risk, at any point in time, is represented 
by the fair value of derivatives in a gain position, or derivatives assets, assuming no recoveries of underlying collateral. To mitigate 

176

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
   
 
   
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

the risk of counterparty default, we enter into legally enforceable master netting agreements and maintain collateral agreements 
with certain derivative counterparties. We generally enter into these agreements on a bilateral basis with our counterparties; however, 
since June 2013 we have begun to clear eligible OTC derivatives through a central clearinghouse in accordance with the requirements 
of the Dodd-Frank Act. These agreements typically provide for the right to offset exposures and require both parties to maintain 
collateral in the event the fair values of derivative financial instruments exceed established thresholds. We received cash collateral 
from derivatives counterparties totaling $544 million and $695 million as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. We also 
received securities from derivatives counterparties with a fair value of $172 million and $91 million as of December 31, 2015 and 
2014, respectively, which we have the ability to re-pledge. 

We  record  counterparty  credit  risk  valuation  adjustments  on  our  derivative  assets  to  properly  reflect  the  credit  quality  of  the 
counterparty. We consider collateral and legally enforceable master netting agreements that mitigate our credit exposure to each 
counterparty in determining the counterparty credit risk valuation adjustment, which may be adjusted in future periods due to 
changes  in  the  fair  value  of  the  derivatives  contracts,  collateral  and  creditworthiness  of  the  counterparty.  The  cumulative 
counterparty credit risk valuation adjustment recorded on our consolidated balance sheets as a reduction in the derivatives asset 
balance was $4 million and $5 million as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. We also adjust the fair value of our 
derivatives liabilities to reflect the impact of our own credit quality. We calculate this adjustment by comparing the spreads on our 
credit default swaps to the discount benchmark curve. The cumulative credit risk valuation adjustment related to our credit quality 
recorded on our consolidated balance sheets as a reduction in the derivative liability balance was less than $1 million and $1 million 
as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

Income Statement Presentation and AOCI

The following tables summarize the impact of derivatives and the related hedged items in our consolidated statements of income 
and AOCI.

Fair Value Hedges and Free-Standing Derivatives

The net gains (losses) recognized in earnings related to derivatives in fair value hedging relationships and free-standing derivatives 
are presented below for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013.

Table 11.3: Gains and Losses on Fair Value Hedges and Free-Standing Derivatives

(Dollars in millions)
Derivatives designated as accounting hedges:(1)
Fair value interest rate contracts:

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

(Losses) gains recognized in earnings on derivatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

(66) $

200

$

Gains (losses) recognized in earnings on hedged items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net fair value hedge ineffectiveness gains (losses) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Derivatives not designated as accounting hedges:(1)
Interest rate contracts covering:

MSRs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Customer accommodation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other interest rate exposures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total interest rate contracts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Foreign exchange contracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other contracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total gains on derivatives not designated as accounting hedges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net derivative gains (losses) recognized in earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

__________
(1)  Amounts are recorded in our consolidated statements of income in other non-interest income.

75

9

3

21

44

68

0

(2)

66

75

$

(157)

43

23

18

11

52

1

(1)

52

95

$

(550)

507

(43)

(12)

49

(9)

28

(5)

(20)

3

(40)

177

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Cash Flow and Net Investment Hedges 

The table below shows the net gains (losses) related to derivatives designated as cash flow hedges and net investment hedges for 
the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013.

Table 11.4: Gains and Losses on Derivatives Designated as Cash Flow Hedges and Net Investment Hedges 

(Dollars in millions)

Gains (losses) recorded in AOCI:

Cash flow hedges:

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

Interest rate contracts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

301

$

251

$

Foreign exchange contracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Subtotal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net investment hedges:

Foreign exchange contracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net derivatives gains (losses) recognized in AOCI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

(17)

284

83

367

$

(23)

228

132

360

$

Gains (losses) recorded in earnings:

Cash flow hedges:

Gains (losses) reclassified from AOCI into earnings:

Interest rate contracts(1)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Foreign exchange contracts(2)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Subtotal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Gains (losses) recognized in earnings due to ineffectiveness:

Interest rate contracts(2)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net derivative gains recognized in earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

$

190

$

131

$

(16)

174

2

176

$

(23)

108

1

109

$

__________
(1)  Amounts reclassified are recorded in our consolidated statements of income in interest income or interest expense.
(2)  Amounts are recorded in our consolidated statements of income in contra-revenue and other non-interest income. 

(103)

(21)

(124)

0

(124)

53

(22)

31

(1)

30

In the next 12 months, we expect to reclassify to earnings net after-tax gains of $109 million currently recorded in AOCI as of 
December 31, 2015. These amounts will offset the cash flows associated with the hedged forecasted transactions. The maximum 
length of time over which forecasted transactions were hedged was approximately six years as of December 31, 2015. The amount 
we expect to reclassify into earnings may change as a result of changes in market conditions and ongoing actions taken as part of 
our overall risk management strategy.

178

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 12—STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

Preferred Stock

The following table summarizes the Company’s preferred stock issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Table 12.1: Preferred Stock Issued and Outstanding

Series
Series B(1)

Series C(1)

Series D(1)

Series E

Series F(1)

Total

Description

Issuance
Date

6.00% 
Non-Cumulative

August 20,
2012

6.25% 
Non-Cumulative

June 12,
2014

6.70% 
Non-Cumulative

October 31,
2014

Fixed-to-
Floating Rate
Non-Cumulative

May 14,
2015

Redeemable
by Issuer
Beginning

September 1,
2017

September 1,
2019

December 1,
2019

June 1, 2020

Per Annum
Dividend Rate

Dividend
Frequency

Liquidation
Preference
per Share

Carrying Value 
(in millions)

Total Shares
Outstanding

December 31,
2015

December 31,
2014

6.00% Quarterly

$

1,000

875,000

$

853

$

6.25

Quarterly

1,000

500,000

6.70

Quarterly

1,000

500,000

1,000

1,000,000

484

485

988

853

484

485

N/A

5.55% through 
5/31/2020; 
3-mo. LIBOR+ 
380 bps 
thereafter

Semi-
Annually
through
5/31/2020;
Quarterly
thereafter
Quarterly

6.20% 
Non-Cumulative

August 24,
2015

December 1,
2020

6.20

1,000

500,000

484

N/A

$

3,294

$

1,822

__________
(1)  Ownership is held in the form of depositary shares, each representing a 1/40th interest in a share of fixed-rate non-cumulative perpetual preferred stock.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income

The following table presents the changes in AOCI by component for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013.

Table 12.2: Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income

(Dollars in millions)
AOCI as of December 31, 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other comprehensive (loss) income before reclassifications . . . . .
Amounts reclassified from AOCI into earnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net other comprehensive (loss) income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
AOCI as of December 31, 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications . . . . .
Amounts reclassified from AOCI into earnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net other comprehensive income (loss) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
AOCI as of December 31, 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other comprehensive (loss) income before reclassifications . . . . .
Amounts reclassified from AOCI into earnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net other comprehensive (loss) income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
AOCI as of December 31, 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Securities
Available
for Sale
703
$
(619)
22
(597)
106
302
2
304
410
(268)
20
(248)
162

$

$

Securities 
Held to 
Maturity(1)
0
$
(915)
18
(897)
(897)
0
76
76
(821)
0
96
96
(725) $

$

Cash 
Flow
Hedges

45
(124)
(31)
(155)
(110)
228
(108)
120
10
284
(174)
110
120

Foreign
Currency
Translation 
Adjustments(2)
32
$
8
0
8
40
(48)
0
(48)
(8)
(135)
0
(135)
(143) $

$

Other
$

(41) $
18
12
30
(11)
(5)
(5)
(10)
(21)
(5)
(4)
(9)

Total
739
(1,632)
21
(1,611)
(872)
477
(35)
442
(430)
(124)
(62)
(186)
(30) $ (616)

__________
(1) 

The amortization of unrealized holding gains or losses reported in AOCI for securities held to maturity will be offset by the amortization of the premium or 
discount present at the date of transfer from securities available for sale to securities held to maturity, which occurred at fair value. These unrealized gains 
or losses will be amortized over the remaining life of the security with no expected impact on future net income.

(2) 

Includes the impact from hedging instruments designated as net investment hedges.

179

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The following table presents the impacts on net income of amounts reclassified from each component of AOCI for the years ended 
December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013. 

Table 12.3: Reclassifications from AOCI

(Dollars in millions)

AOCI Components

Securities available for sale:

Affected Income Statement Line Item

Amount Reclassified from AOCI

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

Non-interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

(2) $

21

$

Securities held to maturity:(1)

Non-interest income - OTTI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Loss from continuing operations before income taxes . . . . . . . .

Income tax benefit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income tax benefit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cash flow hedges:

Interest rate contracts:

Interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Foreign exchange contracts:

Interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other:

Non-interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income from continuing operations before income taxes . . . . . .

Income tax provision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Various (pension and other). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income tax provision (benefit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net income (loss) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(30)

(32)

(12)

(20)

(151)

(55)

(96)

303

(5)

(21)

277

103

174

5

1

4

(24)

(3)

(1)

(2)

(131)

(55)

(76)

209

0

(36)

173

65

108

11

6

5

Total reclassifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

62

$

35

$

7

(41)

(34)

(12)

(22)

(29)

(11)

(18)

86

0

(35)

51

20

31

(13)

(1)

(12)

(21)

__________
(1)  The amortization of unrealized holding gains or losses reported in AOCI for securities held to maturity will be offset by the amortization of the premium or 
discount created from the transfer into securities held to maturity, which occurred at fair value. These unrealized gains or losses will be amortized over the 
remaining life of the security with no expected impact on future net income. 

180

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The table below summarizes other comprehensive income activity and the related tax impact for the years ended December 31, 
2015, 2014 and 2013.

Table 12.4: Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

(Dollars in millions)

Other comprehensive income (loss):

Net unrealized (losses) gains on
securities available for sale . . . . . . . . .
Net changes in securities held to
maturity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net unrealized gains (losses) on cash
flow hedges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Foreign currency translation 
adjustments(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

Before
Tax

Provision
(Benefit)

After
Tax

Before
Tax

Provision
(Benefit)

After
Tax

Before
Tax

Provision
(Benefit)

After
Tax

$ (393) $

(145) $ (248) $

482

$

178

$

304

$ (961) $

(364) $ (597)

151

175

(86)

(14)

55

65

49

(5)

96

110

(135)

(9)

131

192

29

(18)

55

72

77

(8)

76

(1,435)

(538)

(897)

120

(250)

(95)

(155)

(48)

(10)

8

49

0

19

8

30

Other comprehensive (loss) income. . .

$ (167) $

19

$ (186) $

816

$

374

$

442

$ (2,589) $

(978) $ (1,611)

__________
(1) 

Includes the impact from hedging instruments designated as net investment hedges. 

181

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 13—REGULATORY AND CAPITAL ADEQUACY

Regulation and Capital Adequacy

Bank holding companies (“BHCs”) and national banks are subject to capital adequacy standards adopted by the Federal Banking 
Agencies, including the Final Basel III Capital Rule. Moreover, the Banks, as insured depository institutions, are subject to PCA 
capital regulations,which require the Federal Banking Agencies to take prompt corrective action for banks that do not meet PCA 
capital requirements. The Final Basel III Capital Rule amended both the Basel I and Basel II Advanced Approaches frameworks, 
establishing a new common equity Tier 1 capital requirement and setting higher minimum capital ratio requirements. We refer to 
the amended Basel I framework as the “Basel III Standardized Approach,” and the amended Advanced Approaches framework as 
the “Basel III Advanced Approaches.” 

At the end of 2012, we met one of the two independent eligibility criteria set by banking regulators for becoming subject to the 
Advanced Approaches capital rules. As a result, we have undertaken a multi-year process of implementing the Advanced Approaches 
regime for calculating risk-weighted assets and regulatory capital levels. We entered parallel run under Advanced Approaches on 
January 1, 2015, during which we will calculate capital ratios under both the Basel III Standardized Approach and the Basel III 
Advanced Approaches, though we will continue to use the Standardized Approach for purposes of meeting regulatory capital 
requirements. 

As of January 1, 2015, under the Final Basel III Capital Rule, the regulatory minimum risk-based and leverage capital requirements 
for Advanced Approaches banking organizations include a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of at least 4.5%, a Tier 1 capital 
ratio of at least 6.0%, a total capital ratio of at least 8.0% and a Tier 1 leverage capital ratio of at least 4.0%. The Final Basel III 
Capital Rule introduced a supplementary leverage ratio for all Advanced Approaches banking organizations, which compares Tier 
1 capital to total leverage exposure, which includes all on-balance sheet assets and certain off-balance sheet exposures, including 
derivatives and unused commitments. The supplementary leverage ratio minimum requirement of 3.0% becomes effective on 
January 1, 2018.

Beginning in the first quarter of 2015, as an Advanced Approaches banking organization, we are required to calculate and publicly 
disclose our supplementary leverage ratio. For additional information about the capital adequacy guidelines we are subject to, see 
“Part 1—Item 1. Business—Supervision and Regulation.”

The following table provides a comparison of our regulatory capital amounts and ratios under the Federal Banking Agencies’ 
capital adequacy standards as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.

182

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Table 13.1: Capital Ratios Under Basel III(1)

(Dollars in millions)

Capital One Financial Corp:
Common equity Tier 1 capital(2) . . . . . .
Tier 1 capital(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total capital(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tier 1 leverage(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Supplementary leverage ratio(6) . . . . . .
Capital One Bank (USA), N.A.:
Common equity Tier 1 capital(2) . . . . . .
Tier 1 capital(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total capital(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tier 1 leverage(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Supplementary leverage ratio(6) . . . . . .
Capital One, N.A.:
Common equity Tier 1 capital(2) . . . . . .
Tier 1 capital(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total capital(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tier 1 leverage(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Supplementary leverage ratio(6) . . . . . .

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

Capital
Amount

Capital
Ratio

Minimum
Capital
Adequacy

Well-
Capitalized

Capital
Amount

Capital
Ratio

Minimum
Capital
Adequacy

Well-
Capitalized

$ 29,544

11.1%

4.5%

N/A

$ 29,534

12.5%

4.0%

N/A

32,838

38,838

32,838

357,794

12.4

14.6

10.6

9.2

6.0

8.0

4.0

N/A

6.0% 31,355

10.0

N/A

N/A

35,879

31,355

N/A

13.2

15.1

10.8

N/A

5.5

8.0

4.0

N/A

6.0%

10.0

N/A

N/A

$ 10,644

12.2%

4.5%

6.5% $

8,503

11.3%

4.0%

N/A

10,644

13,192

10,644

118,859

12.2

15.2

10.8

9.0

6.0

8.0

4.0

N/A

8.0

10.0

5.0

N/A

8,503

10,938

8,503

N/A

11.3

14.6

9.6

N/A

5.5

8.0

4.0

N/A

6.0%

10.0

5.0

N/A

$ 21,765

11.8%

4.5%

6.5% $ 21,136

12.5%

4.0%

N/A

21,765

23,832

21,765

276,132

11.8

12.9

8.8

7.9

6.0

8.0

4.0

N/A

8.0

10.0

5.0

N/A

21,136

22,881

21,136

N/A

12.5

13.6

8.9

N/A

5.5

8.0

4.0

N/A

6.0%

10.0

5.0

N/A

__________
(1)   Capital ratios are calculated based on the Basel III Standardized Approach framework, subject to applicable transition provisions. As we continue to refine 

our classification of exposures under the Basel III Standardized Approach framework, risk-weighted asset classifications are subject to change. 

(2)   Common equity Tier 1 capital ratio is a regulatory capital measure calculated based on common equity Tier 1 capital divided by risk-weighted assets.
(3)   Tier 1 capital ratio is a regulatory capital measure calculated based on Tier 1 capital divided by risk-weighted assets.
(4)   Total capital ratio is a regulatory capital measure calculated based on total capital divided by risk-weighted assets. 
(5)   Tier 1 leverage ratio is a regulatory capital measure calculated based on Tier 1 capital divided by average assets, after certain adjustments.
(6) 

Supplementary leverage ratio is a regulatory capital measure calculated based on Tier 1 capital under the Basel III Standardized Approach divided by total 
leverage exposure. 

Capital One Financial Corporation exceeded Federal Banking Agencies’ minimum capital requirements and the Banks exceeded 
minimum regulatory requirements and were “well-capitalized” under PCA requirements as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Regulatory restrictions exist that limit the ability of the Banks to transfer funds to our BHC. Funds available for dividend payments 
from COBNA and CONA were $2.9 billion and $359 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2015. Applicable provisions that 
may be contained in our borrowing agreements or the borrowing agreements of our subsidiaries may limit our subsidiaries’ ability 
to pay dividends to us or our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders. There can be no assurance that we will declare and pay 
any dividends.

183

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 14—EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per common share: 

Table 14.1: Computation of Basic and Diluted Earnings per Common Share

(Dollars and shares in millions, except per share data)
Income from continuing operations, net of tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dividends and undistributed earnings allocated to participating securities(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Preferred stock dividends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net income available to common stockholders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total weighted-average basic shares outstanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Effect of dilutive securities:

Stock options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other contingently issuable shares. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Warrants(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total effect of dilutive securities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total weighted-average diluted shares outstanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Basic earnings per common share:
Net income from continuing operations per share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income (loss) from discontinued operations per share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net income per basic common share. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Diluted earnings per common share:(3)
Net income from continuing operations per share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income (loss) from discontinued operations per share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net income per diluted common share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

4,012
38
4,050
(20)
(158)
3,872

$

$

4,423
5
4,428
(18)
(67)
4,343

$

4,354
(233)
4,121
(17)
(53)
4,051

541.8

563.1

579.7

2.6
1.3
2.3
6.2
548.0

2.7
1.6
4.5
8.8
571.9

7.08
0.07
7.15

7.00
0.07
7.07

$

$

$

$

7.70
0.01
7.71

7.58
0.01
7.59

$

$

$

$

2.2
1.5
4.2
7.9
587.6

7.39
(0.40)
6.99

7.28
(0.39)
6.89

$

$

$

$

$

$

__________
(1) 

Includes undistributed earnings allocated to participating securities using the two-class method under the accounting guidance for computing earnings per 
share.

(2)  Represents warrants issued as part of the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Troubled Assets Relief Program (“TARP”). As of December 31, 2015, there were 

4.1 million warrants to purchase common stock outstanding.

(3) 

Excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share were 1.9 million shares related to options with exercise prices ranging from $70.96 to $88.81, 
2.9 million shares related to options with exercise prices ranging from $70.96 to $88.81 and 5.2 million shares related to options with exercise prices ranging 
from $56.28 to $88.81 for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively, because their inclusion would be anti-dilutive.

184

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 15—OTHER NON-INTEREST EXPENSE

The following table represents the components of other non-interest expense for 2015, 2014 and 2013:

Table 15.1: Components of Other Non-Interest Expense

(Dollars in millions)
Collections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

Fraud losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bankcard, regulatory and other fee assessments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

$

322

316

444

761

$

372

275

465

623

470

218

562

794

Total other non-interest expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 1,843

$ 1,735

$ 2,044

185

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 16—STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION PLANS

Stock Plans

We have one active stock-based compensation plan available for the issuance of shares to employees, directors and third-party 
service providers (if applicable). As of December 31, 2015, under the Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive plan (the “2004 
Plan”), we are authorized to issue 55 million common shares in various forms, including incentive stock options, nonstatutory 
stock  options,  stock  appreciation  rights,  restricted  stock  awards  (“RSAs”),  share-settled  restricted  stock  units  (“RSUs”), 
performance share awards (“PSA”), and performance share units (“PSU”). Of this amount, 20 million shares remain available for 
future  issuance  as  of  December 31,  2015. The  2004  Plan  permits  the  use  of  newly  issued  shares  or  treasury  shares  upon  the 
settlement of options and stock-based incentive awards, and we generally settle by issuing new shares. 

We also issue cash-settled restricted stock units (and in the past issued cash equity units). These cash-settled units are not counted 
against the common shares authorized for issuance or available for issuance under the 2004 Plan. 

Total compensation expense recognized for stock-based compensation for 2015, 2014 and 2013 was $161 million, $205 million 
and $240 million, respectively. The total income tax benefit recognized in the consolidated statements of income for stock-based 
compensation for 2015, 2014 and 2013 was $61 million, $77 million and $91 million, respectively.

Stock Options

Stock options have a maximum contractual term of ten years. Generally, the exercise price of stock options will equal the fair 
market value of our common stock on the date of grant. Option vesting is determined at the time of grant and may be subject to 
the achievement of any applicable performance conditions. Options generally become exercisable over three years beginning on 
the first anniversary of the date of grant, however some option grants cliff-vest on or shortly after the first or third anniversary of 
the grant date. 

The following table presents a summary of 2015 activity for stock options and the balance of stock options exercisable as of 
December 31, 2015. 

Table 16.1: Summary of Stock Options Activity

(Shares in thousands, and intrinsic value in millions)
Outstanding as of January 1, 2015. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Granted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercised . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Forfeited. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Expired. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Outstanding as of December 31, 2015. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercisable as of December 31, 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Shares
Subject to
Options

Weighted-
Average
Exercise
Price

Weighted-
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term

Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value

10,538
466
(1,029)
(49)
(604)
9,322
8,054

$

$
$

55.87
74.96
61.95
87.98
86.74
53.98
51.82

3.7 years
2.9 years

$
$

188
181

The weighted-average fair value of each option granted for 2015, 2014 and 2013 was $15.11, $16.39 and $13.42, respectively. 
The total intrinsic value of stock options exercised during 2015, 2014 and 2013 was $23 million, $24 million and $47 million, 
respectively. The unrecognized compensation expense related to stock options as of December 31, 2015 was $3 million, which is 
expected to be amortized over a weighted-average period of 1 year. 

The following table sets forth the cash received from the exercise of stock options under all stock-based incentive arrangements, 
and the actual income tax benefit realized related to tax deductions from the exercise of the stock options.

186

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Table 16.2: Stock Options Cash Flow Impact

(Dollars in millions)

Cash received for options exercised . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

Tax benefit realized for options exercised. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Year ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

64

9

$

131

$

9

105

18

Compensation expense for stock options is based on the grant date fair value, which is estimated using the Black-Scholes option-
pricing model. Certain stock options have discretionary vesting conditions and are remeasured at fair value each reporting period. 
The option pricing model requires the use of numerous assumptions, many of which are subjective. 

The following table presents the weighted-average assumptions used to value stock options granted during 2015, 2014 and 2013.

Table 16.3: Fair Value of Stock Options Granted

Dividend yield(1)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Volatility(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Risk-free interest rate(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Expected option lives(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

1.82%

1.74%

2.29%

24.00

1.55

26.00

1.92

32.00

1.07

6.3 years

6.1 years

5.6 years

__________
(1)  Represents the expected dividend rate over the life of the option.
(2)  Based on the implied volatility of exchange-traded options and warrants.
(3)  Based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve.
(4)  Represents the period of time that options granted are expected to remain outstanding based on historical activities.

Restricted Stock Awards and Units

RSAs and RSUs represent share-settled awards that do not contain performance conditions and are granted to certain employees 
at no cost to the recipient. RSAs and RSUs generally vest over three years from the date of grant, however some RSAs and RSUs 
cliff vest on or shortly after the first or third anniversary of the grant date. These awards and units are subject to forfeiture until 
certain restrictions have lapsed, including continued employment for a specified period of time. A recipient of a RSA is entitled 
to voting rights and is generally entitled to dividends on the common stock. A recipient of a RSU is entitled to receive a share of 
common stock after the applicable restrictions lapse. Additionally, a recipient of a RSU is generally entitled to receive cash payments 
or additional shares of common stock equivalent to any dividends paid on the underlying common stock during the period the 
RSU is outstanding, but is not entitled to voting rights.

Generally, the value of RSAs and RSUs will equal the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant and the expense 
is recognized over the vesting period. 

187

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The following table presents a summary of 2015 activity for RSAs and RSUs.

Table 16.4: Summary of Restricted Stock Awards and Units

Restricted Stock Awards

Restricted Stock Units

(Shares/units in thousands)
Unvested as of January 1, 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Granted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Vested . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Forfeited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Unvested as of December 31, 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Shares
794
0
(375)
(32)
387

Weighted-Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
per Share

$

$

57.28
0.00
53.14
57.46
61.28

Units
1,486
1,316
(341)
(151)
2,310

Weighted-Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
per Unit

$

$

65.86
76.15
71.99
73.17
70.34

There were no new RSA grants in 2015 or 2014. The weighted-average grant date fair value of RSAs in 2013 was $58.93. The 
total fair value of RSAs that vested during 2015, 2014, and 2013 was $28 million, $57 million and $56 million, respectively. The 
unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested RSAs as of December 31, 2015 was $10 million, which is expected to be 
amortized over a weighted-average period of 1.2 years.

The weighted-average grant date fair value of RSUs in 2015, 2014 and 2013 was $76.15, $72.12 and $58.10, respectively. The 
total fair value of RSUs that vested during 2015, 2014 and 2013 was $27 million, $5 million and $6 million, respectively. The 
unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested RSUs as of December 31, 2015 was $80 million, which is expected to be 
amortized over a weighted-average period of 1.9 years.

Performance Share Awards and Units

PSAs and PSUs represent share-settled awards that contain performance conditions and are granted to certain employees at no 
cost to the recipient. PSAs and PSUs generally vest over  three years from the date of grant, however some PSUs cliff vest on or 
shortly after the third anniversary of the grant date. Generally, the value of PSAs and PSUs will equal the fair market value of our 
common stock on the date of grant and the expense is recognized over the vesting period. Certain PSAs and PSUs have discretionary 
vesting conditions and are remeasured at fair value each reporting period. A recipient of a PSA is entitled to voting rights and is 
generally entitled to dividends on the common stock. A recipient of a PSU is entitled to receive a share of common stock after the 
applicable restrictions lapse. Additionally, a recipient of a PSU is generally entitled to receive cash payments or additional shares 
of common stock equivalent to any dividends paid on the underlying common stock during the period the PSU is outstanding, but 
is not entitled to voting rights.

The number of PSAs that vest each year, and PSUs that step vest over three years, can be reduced by 50% or 100% depending on 
whether specific performance goals are met during the vesting period. The number of three-year cliff vesting PSUs that will 
ultimately  vest  is  contingent  upon  meeting  specific  performance  goals  over  a  three-year  period. These  PSUs  also  include  an 
opportunity to receive from  0% to 150% of the target number of common shares.

The following table presents a summary of 2015 activity for PSAs and PSUs.

Table 16.5: Summary of Performance Share Awards and Units

Performance Share Awards

Performance Share Units

(Shares/units in thousands)
Unvested as of January 1, 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Granted(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Vested(1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Forfeited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Unvested as of December 31, 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Shares
588
0
(395)
(10)
183

Weighted-Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
per Share

$

$

53.33
0.00
51.42
56.32
57.30

Units
1,524
1,213
(947)
(84)
1,706

Weighted-Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
per Unit

$

$

62.25
65.98
50.41
76.77
70.95

__________
(1) 

Includes adjustments for achievement of specific performance goals for performance share units granted in prior periods.

188

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

There were no PSAs granted in 2015. The weighted-average grant date fair value of PSAs granted during 2014 and 2013 was 
$70.96 and $56.32, respectively. The total fair value of PSAs that vested during 2015, 2014 and 2013 was $30 million, $33 million 
and $16 million, respectively. The unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested PSAs as of December 31, 2015 was 
$0.3 million, which is expected to be amortized over a weighted-average period of 0.1 years.

The  weighted-average  grant  date  fair  value  of  PSUs  granted  during  2015,  2014  and  2013  was  $65.98,  $68.66  and  $52.05, 
respectively. The total fair value of performance share units that vested on the vesting date was $74 million, $20 million and $10 
million in 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested performance share 
units as of December 31, 2015 was $28 million, which is expected to be amortized over a weighted-average period of 1 year.

Cash-Settled Units

Cash-settled units are recorded as liabilities and marked-to-market on a quarterly basis. Cash-settled units are settled with a cash 
payment for each unit vested that is equal to the average fair market value of our common stock for the 15 or 20 trading days 
preceding the vesting date. Cash-settled units generally vest over three years beginning on the first anniversary of the date of grant, 
however some cash-settled units cliff vest shortly before the one year anniversary of the grant date or on or shortly after the third 
anniversary of the grant date. Cash-settled units vesting during 2015, 2014 and 2013 resulted in cash payments to associates of 
$70 million, $72 million and $74 million, respectively. We expect to recognize the unrecognized compensation cost for unvested 
cash-settled units of $1 million, as of December 31, 2015, based on the closing price of our common stock as of that date, over a 
weighted-average period of 0.1 years. 

Associate Stock Purchase Plan

We maintain an Associate Stock Purchase Plan (the “Purchase Plan”) which is a compensatory plan under the accounting guidance 
for stock-based compensation. We recognized $16 million, $13 million and $11 million in compensation expense for 2015, 2014 
and 2013, respectively, under the Purchase Plan.

Under the Purchase Plan, eligible associates are permitted to contribute between 1% and 15% of their base salary through payroll 
deductions. The amounts contributed are applied to the purchase of our unissued common or treasury stock at 85% of the current 
market price. Shares may also be acquired on the open market. Dividends for active participants are automatically reinvested in 
additional shares of common stock. Of the 18 million total authorized shares as of December 31, 2015, 7 million shares were 
available for issuance. 

Dividend Reinvestment and Stock Purchase Plan

In 2002, we implemented our Dividend Reinvestment and Stock Purchase Plan (the “2002 DRP”), which allows participating 
stockholders to purchase additional shares of our common stock through automatic reinvestment of dividends or optional cash 
investments. Of the 8 million total authorized shares as of December 31, 2015, 7 million shares were available for issuance under 
the 2002 DRP.

189

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 17—EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

Defined Contribution Plan

We sponsor a contributory Associate Savings Plan (the “Plan”) in which all full-time and part-time associates over the age of 18 
are eligible to participate. We make non-elective contributions to each eligible associate’s account and match a portion of associate 
contributions. We also sponsor a voluntary non-qualified deferred compensation plan in which select groups of employees are 
eligible to participate. We make contributions to this plan based on participants’ deferral of salary, bonuses and other eligible pay. 
In addition, we match participants’ excess compensation (compensation over the Internal Revenue Service compensation limit) 
less deferrals. We contributed a total of $234 million, $214 million and $206 million to these plans during the years ended December 
31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans

We sponsor a frozen qualified defined benefit pension plan and several non-qualified defined benefit pension plans. We also sponsor 
a plan that provides other postretirement benefits, including medical and life insurance coverage.

Our pension plans and the other postretirement benefit plans are valued using December 31, 2015 and 2014 measurement dates. 
Our policy is to amortize prior service amounts on a straight-line basis over the average remaining years of service to full eligibility 
for benefits of active plan participants.

The following table sets forth, on an aggregated basis, changes in the benefit obligation and plan assets, the funded status and how 
the funded status is recognized on our consolidated balance sheets.

Table 17.1: Changes in Benefit Obligation and Plan Assets

(Dollars in millions)
Change in benefit obligation:

Defined Pension 
Benefits

Other Postretirement
Benefits

2015

2014

2015

2014

Benefit obligation as of January 1, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

204

$

185

$

55

$

Service cost. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Interest cost. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Benefits paid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net actuarial (gain) loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Benefit obligation as of December 31, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Change in plan assets:

Fair value of plan assets as of January 1, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Actual return on plan assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Employer contributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Benefits paid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fair value of plan assets as of December 31, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Over (under) funded status as of December 31, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(Dollars in millions)
Balance sheet presentation as of December 31,

Other assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net amount recognized as of December 31,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Accumulated benefit obligation as of December 31, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

1

8

(15)

(13)

185

239

(3)

1

(15)

222

37

$

$

$

$

1

8

(17)

27

204

230

25

1

(17)

239

35

$

$

$

$

53

0

2

(3)

3

55

7

0

3

(3)

7

0

2

(3)

(9)

45

7

(1)

2

(3)

$

$

5

$

(40) $

(48)

Defined Pension 
Benefits

Other Postretirement
Benefits

2015

2014

2015

2014

48

(11)

37

185

$

$

$

$

$

48

(13)

35

204

0

$

(40)

(40) $

0

(48)

(48)

190

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The following table presents the components of net periodic benefit costs and other amounts recognized in other comprehensive 
income.

Table 17.2: Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost

(Dollars in millions)
Components of net periodic benefit cost:

Service cost. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Interest cost. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Expected return on plan assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Amortization of transition obligation, prior service credit and net actuarial loss (gain) . . . . . . .

Net periodic benefit gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Changes recognized in other comprehensive income, pretax:

Net actuarial (loss) gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Reclassification adjustments for amounts recognized in net periodic benefit cost . . . . . . . . . . .

Total (loss) gain recognized in other comprehensive income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2015

2014

Defined Pension 
Benefits

Other Postretirement
Benefits

$

$

$

$

$

1

8

$

1

8

(15)

1

(14)

1

$

0

2

0

(4)

(5) $

(4) $

(2) $

(5) $

(16) $

1

1

(4) $

(15) $

7

(4)

3

$

$

0

2

0

(3)

(1)

(3)

(3)

(6)

Pre-tax amounts recognized in AOCI that have not yet been recognized as a component of net periodic benefit cost consist of the 
following:

Table 17.3: Amounts Recognized in AOCI

(Dollars in millions)
Prior service cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net actuarial (loss) gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31,

2015

2014

2015

2014

Defined Pension
Benefits
0

$

Other Postretirement
Benefits

0

$

(2) $

(1)

(71)
(71) $

(67)
(67) $

12
10

$

8

7

$

$

Pre-tax amounts recorded in AOCI as of December 31, 2015 that are expected to be recognized as a component of our net periodic 
benefit cost in 2016 consist of the following:

Table 17.4: Estimated Amortization of Unamortized Actuarial Gains and Losses - 2016

(Dollars in millions)
Prior service cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net actuarial (loss) gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net (loss) gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The following table presents weighted-average assumptions used in the accounting for the plans:

2016 Estimate

Defined
Pension
Benefits

Other
Postretirement
Benefits

$

$

0

$

(1)

(1) $

1

3

4

191

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
 
  
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Table 17.5: Assumptions Used in the Accounting for the Plans

December 31,

2015

2014

2015

2014

Defined Pension 
Benefits

Other Postretirement 
Benefits

Assumptions for benefit obligations at measurement date:

Discount rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4.2%

3.9%

4.2%

3.9%

Assumptions for periodic benefit cost for the year ended:

Discount rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Assumptions for year-end valuations:

Health care cost trend rate assumed for next year:

Pre-age 65 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Post-age 65 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Rate to which the cost trend rate is assumed to decline (the ultimate trend rate) . . . . . . . . . .

Year the rate reaches the ultimate trend rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3.9

6.5

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

4.6

6.5

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

3.9

6.5

7.0

7.1

4.5

4.6

6.5

7.3

7.4

4.5

2037

2028

To develop the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets assumption, consideration was given to the current level of expected 
returns on risk-free investments (primarily government bonds), the historical level of the risk premium associated with the other 
asset classes in which the portfolio is invested and the expectations for future returns of each asset class. The expected return for 
each asset class was then weighted based on the target asset allocation to develop the expected long-term rate of return on the plan 
assets assumption for the portfolio.

Assumed health care trend rates have a significant effect on the amounts reported for the other postretirement benefit plans. A one-
percentage point change in assumed health care cost trend rates would have the following effects:

Table 17.6: Sensitivity Analysis

(Dollars in millions)

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

1% Increase

1% Decrease

1% Increase

1% Decrease

Effect on year-end postretirement benefit obligation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

Effect on total service and interest cost components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

5

0

(4) $

0

$

7

0

(6)

0

Plan Assets

The qualified defined benefit pension plan asset allocations as of the annual measurement dates are as follows:

Table 17.7: Plan Assets

Common collective trusts(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Corporate bonds (Standard & Poor’s [“S&P”] rating of A or higher) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Corporate bonds (S&P rating of lower than A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Government securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Mortgage-backed securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Municipal bonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31,

2015

2014

57%

59%

6

13

18

5

1

6

12

16

6

1

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

100%

100%

__________
(1)  Common collective trusts include domestic and international equity securities.

192

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Plan assets are invested using a total return investment approach whereby a mix of equity securities and debt securities are used 
to preserve asset values, diversify risk and enhance our ability to achieve our benchmark for long-term investment return. 

Investment strategies and asset allocations are based on careful consideration of plan liabilities, the plan’s funded status and our 
financial condition. Investment performance and asset allocation are measured and monitored on a quarterly basis.

Plan assets are managed in a balanced portfolio comprised of three major components: a domestic equity portion, an international 
equity portion and a domestic fixed income portion. The expected role of plan equity investments is to maximize the long-term 
real growth of fund assets, while the role of fixed income investments is to generate current income, provide for more stable 
periodic returns and provide some protection against a prolonged decline in the market value of fund equity investments.

The investment guidelines provide the following asset allocation targets and ranges: domestic equity target of 39% and allowable 
range of 34% to 44%, international equity target of 16% and allowable range of 11% to 21%, fixed income securities target of 
45% and allowable range of 35% to 55%.

Fair Value Measurement

For information on fair value measurements, including descriptions of Level 1, 2 and 3 of the fair value hierarchy and the valuation 
methods we utilize, see “Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” and “Note 19—Fair Value Measurement.”

Table 17.8: Plan Assets Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis

(Dollars in millions)
Common collective trusts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Corporate bonds (S&P rating of A or higher). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Corporate bonds (S&P rating of lower than A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Government securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Mortgage-backed securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Municipal bonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total planned assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(Dollars in millions)
Common collective trusts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Corporate bonds (S&P rating of A or higher). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Corporate bonds (S&P rating of lower than A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Government securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Mortgage-backed securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Municipal bonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total planned assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Expected Future Benefit Payments

December 31, 2015

Fair Value Measurements Using

Level 1  

Level 2

Level 3  

$

$

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

$

129

$

15

30

40

12

1

$

227

$

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

December 31, 2014

Fair Value Measurements Using

Level 1  

Level 2  

Level 3  

$

$

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

$

146

$

16

30

38

15

1

$

246

$

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Assets
at Fair
   Value  
129
$

15

30

40

12

1

$

227

Assets
at Fair
  Value  
146
$

16

30

38

15

1

$

246

The following benefit payments, which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, are expected to be paid:

193

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Table 17.9: Expected Future Benefits Payments

(Dollars in millions)
2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2021-2025. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Pension
Benefits

Postretirement
Benefits

$

13

12

12

12

12

54

3

3

3

3

3

13

In 2016, $1 million in contributions are expected to be made to the pension plans and $2 million in contributions are expected to 
be made to other postretirement benefits plans.

194

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 18—INCOME TAXES

We recognize the current and deferred tax consequences of all transactions that have been recognized in the consolidated financial 
statements using the provisions of enacted tax laws. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on differences between 
the financial reporting and tax basis of assets and liabilities and are measured using the enacted tax rates and laws that are expected 
to apply to taxable income in which the differences are expected to be settled or realized. Valuation allowances are recorded to 
reduce deferred tax assets to an amount that is more likely than not to be realized. 

The following table presents significant components of the provision for income taxes attributable to continuing operations:

Table 18.1: Significant Components of the Provision for Income Taxes Attributable to Continuing Operations

(Dollars in millions)
Current income tax provision:

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

Federal taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 1,991

$ 1,934

$ 1,581

State taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

International taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

207

73

197

91

194

115

Total current provision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 2,271

$ 2,222

$ 1,890

Deferred income tax (benefit) provision:

Federal taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

(368) $

(125) $

284

State taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

International taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(39)

5

22

27

46

4

Total deferred (benefit) provision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

(402) $

(76) $

334

Total income tax provision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 1,869

$ 2,146

$ 2,224

The international income tax provision is related to pre-tax earnings from foreign operations of approximately $288 million in 
2015, $466 million in 2014 and $459 million in 2013.

The following table presents the income tax provision (benefit) reported in stockholders’ equity: 

Table 18.2: Income Tax Provision (Benefit) Reported in Stockholders’ Equity

(Dollars in millions)
Income tax provision (benefit) recorded in AOCI (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income tax (benefit) provision recorded in additional paid in capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Foreign currency translation losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total income tax provision (benefit) recorded in stockholders’ equity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

__________
(1) 

Includes the impact from hedging instruments designated as net investment hedges.

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

$

$

19

$

374

$

(978)

(7)

23

35

16

6

(10)

5

$

396

$

(983)

The following table presents the reconciliation of the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate to the Company’s effective income 
tax rate applicable to income from continuing operations for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013:

195

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Table 18.3: Effective Income Tax Rate

(Dollars in millions)
Income tax at U.S. federal statutory tax rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

State taxes, net of federal benefit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Low-income housing, new markets and other tax credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other foreign tax differences, net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other, net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

35.0%

35.0%

35.0%

1.9

(4.0)

(0.2)

(0.9)

1.8

(3.0)

(0.6)

(0.5)

2.1

(2.5)

(0.6)

(0.2)

Effective tax rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

31.8%

32.7%

33.8%

The following table presents significant components of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities at December 31, 2015 
and 2014:

Table 18.4: Significant Components of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

(Dollars in millions)
Deferred tax assets:

December 31,
2015

December 31,
2014

Allowance for loan and lease losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

1,853

$

1,574

Rewards programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,192

Security and loan valuations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Compensation and employee benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Goodwill and intangibles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Representation and warranty reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Unearned income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net unrealized losses on derivatives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Subtotal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Valuation allowance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total deferred tax assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Deferred tax liabilities:

Original issue discount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fixed assets and leases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net unrealized gains on derivatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total deferred tax liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

912

303

245

226

176

143

0

329

5,379

(166)

5,213

940

242

46

323

1,551

Net deferred tax assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

3,662

$

993

928

305

140

271

163

100

41

323

4,838

(148)

4,690

875

208

0

275

1,358

3,332

As of the end of December 31, 2015, we have federal net operating loss carryforwards and losses of $20 million attributable to 
prior acquisitions that expire from 2018 to 2034. Under IRS rules, the Company’s ability to utilize these losses against future 
income is limited. We have state operating loss carryforwards with a net tax value of $169 million that expire from 2016 to 2034. 

The valuation allowance increased by $18 million to $166 million as of December 31, 2015 in order to adjust the tax benefit of 
certain state deferred tax assets and net operating loss carryforwards to the amount we have determined is more likely than not to 
be  realized. We  recognize  accrued  interest  and  penalties  related  to  income  taxes  as  a  component  of  income  tax  expense. We 
recognized a $3 million benefit for net interest and penalties for both 2015 and 2014, and a $13 million benefit for 2013. 

196

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The following table presents the accrued balance of tax, interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits:

Table 18.5: Reconciliation of the Change in Unrecognized Tax Benefits

(Dollars in millions)
Balance as of January 1, 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Additions for tax positions related to prior years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Reductions for tax positions related to prior years due to IRS and other settlements . . . . .

Balance as of December 31, 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Additions for tax positions related to prior years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Reductions for tax positions related to prior years due to IRS and other settlements . . . . .

Balance as of December 31, 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Portion of balance at December 31, 2015 that, if recognized, would impact the effective
income tax rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Gross
Unrecognized
Tax Benefits

Accrued
Interest and
Penalties

Gross Tax,
Interest and
Penalties

$

$

$

$

114

$

9

(16)

107

$

38

(15)

130

85

$

$

39

2

(5)

36

8

(11)

33

21

$

$

$

$

153

11

(21)

143

46

(26)

163

106

We are subject to examination by the IRS and other tax authorities in certain countries and states in which we operate. The tax 
years subject to examination vary by jurisdiction. During 2015, the IRS continued examining the Company’s federal income tax 
returns for the tax years 2012 and 2013. These examinations are expected to be completed in 2016. 

The Company entered into the IRS Compliance Assurance Process (“CAP”) for the Company’s 2014 federal income tax return.  
The CAP examination process was substantially completed in 2015 prior to the filing of the Company’s 2014 federal income tax 
return. The Company has continued in the CAP examination process for the 2015 tax year, with a similar expectation that the IRS 
examination will be substantially completed prior to the filing of its 2015 federal income tax return in 2016. The Company has 
also been accepted into CAP for 2016. It is reasonably possible that further adjustments to the Company’s unrecognized tax benefits 
may be made within twelve months of the reporting date as a result of the above-referenced pending matters. At this time, an 
estimate of the potential change to the amount of unrecognized tax benefits cannot be made.

As of December 31, 2015, U.S. income taxes and foreign withholding taxes have not been provided on approximately $1.5 billion 
of unremitted earnings of subsidiaries operating outside the U.S., in accordance with the guidance for accounting for income taxes 
in special areas. These earnings are considered by management to be invested indefinitely. Upon repatriation of these earnings, 
we could be subject to both U.S. income taxes (subject to possible adjustment for foreign tax credits) and withholding taxes payable 
to various foreign countries. Determination of the amount of unrecognized deferred U.S. income tax liability and foreign withholding 
tax on these unremitted earnings is not practicable at this time because such liability is dependent upon circumstances existing if 
and when remittance occurs.

As of December 31, 2015, U.S. income taxes of approximately $107 million have not been provided for approximately $287 
million of previously acquired thrift bad debt reserves created for tax purposes as of December 31, 1987. These amounts, acquired 
as a result of the merger with North Fork Bancorporation, Inc. (“North Fork”) and the acquisition of Chevy Chase Bank, F.S.B. 
(“CCB”), are subject to recapture in the unlikely event that CONA, as successor to North Fork and CCB, makes distributions in 
excess of earnings and profits, redeems its stock, or liquidates.

197

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 19—FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between 
market participants on the measurement date (also referred to as an exit price). The fair value accounting guidance provides a 
three-level fair value hierarchy for classifying financial instruments. This hierarchy is based on the markets in which the assets or 
liabilities trade and whether the inputs to the valuation techniques used to measure fair value are observable or unobservable. The 
fair value measurement of a financial asset or liability is assigned a level based on the lowest level of any input that is significant 
to the fair value measurement in its entirety. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described below:

Level 1:
Level 2:

Level 3:

  Valuation is based on quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Valuation is based on observable market-based inputs, other than quoted prices in active markets for identical assets 
or  liabilities,  quoted  prices  in  markets  that  are  not  active,  or  models  using  inputs  that  are  observable  or  can  be 
corroborated by observable market data of substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.
Valuation  is  generated  from  techniques  that  use  significant  assumptions  not  observable  in  the  market. Valuation 
techniques include pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies or similar techniques.

The accounting guidance for fair value measurements requires that we maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the 
use of unobservable inputs in determining fair value. The accounting guidance provides for the irrevocable option to elect, on a 
contract-by-contract basis, to measure certain financial assets and liabilities at fair value at inception of the contract and record 
any subsequent changes in fair value in earnings. We have not made any material fair value option elections as of or for the periods 
disclosed herein.

Fair Value Governance and Control

We have a governance framework and a number of key controls that are intended to ensure that our fair value measurements are 
appropriate and reliable. Our governance framework provides for independent oversight and segregation of duties. Our control 
processes include review and approval of new transaction types, price verification and review of valuation judgments, methods, 
models, process controls and results. Groups independent of our trading and investing functions, including our Corporate Valuations 
Group (“CVG”), Fair Value Committee (“FVC”) and Model Validation Group (“MVG”), participate in the review and validation 
process. The fair valuation governance process is set up in a manner that allows the Chairperson of the FVC to escalate valuation 
disputes that cannot be resolved by the FVC to a more senior committee called the Valuations Advisory Committee (“VAC”) for 
resolution. The VAC is chaired by the Chief Financial Officer and includes other members of senior management. The VAC is 
only required to convene to review escalated valuation disputes and may meet for a general update on the valuation process. 

The  CVG  performs  periodic  verification  of  fair  value  measurements  to  determine  if  assigned  fair  values  are  reasonable.  For 
example, in cases where we rely on third-party pricing services to obtain fair value measures, we analyze pricing variances among 
different pricing sources and validate the final price used by comparing the information to additional sources, including dealer 
pricing indications in transaction results and other internal sources, where necessary. Additional validation procedures performed 
by the CVG include reviewing (either directly or indirectly through the reasonableness of assigned fair values) valuation inputs 
and assumptions and monitoring acceptable variances between recommended prices and validation prices. The CVG and the Trade 
Analytics and Valuation (“TAV”) team perform due diligence reviews of the third-party pricing services by comparing their prices 
to those from other sources and periodically reviewing research publications. Additionally, when necessary, the CVG and TAV 
challenge prices from third-party vendors to ensure reasonableness of prices through a pricing challenge process. This may include 
a request for transparency of the assumptions used by the third party.

The FVC, which includes representation from our Risk Management and Finance functions, is a forum for discussing fair market 
valuations, related inputs, assumptions, methodologies, as well as variance thresholds, valuation control environments and material 
risks or concerns related to fair market valuations. Additionally, the FVC is empowered to resolve valuation disputes between the 
primary  valuation  providers  and  the  CVG,  and  provides  guidance  and  oversight  to  ensure  an  appropriate  valuation  control 
environment. The FVC regularly reviews and approves our valuation methodologies to ensure that our methodologies and practices 
are consistent with industry standards and adhere to regulatory and accounting guidance. The Chief Financial Officer determines 
when material issues or concerns regarding valuations shall be raised to the Audit Committee or another delegated committee of 
the Board of Directors.

198

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

  
  
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

We have a model policy, established by an independent Model Risk Office, which governs the validation of models and related 
supporting documentation to ensure the appropriate use of models for pricing. The MVG is part of the Model Risk Office and 
validates  all  models  and  provides  ongoing  monitoring  of  their  performance,  including  the  validation  and  monitoring  of  the 
performance of all valuation models.

Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis

The following table displays our assets and liabilities measured on our consolidated balance sheets at fair value on a recurring 
basis as of December 31, 2015 and 2014:

Table 19.1: Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis

(Dollars in millions)

Assets:

Securities available for sale:

December 31, 2015

Fair Value Measurements Using

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total

U.S. Treasury securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

4,660

$

0

$

0

$

4,660

RMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other ABS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total securities available for sale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other assets:

Consumer MSRs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Derivative assets(1)(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Retained interests in securitizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

0

0

0

355

5,015

0

2

0

26,807

5,282

1,340

2

33,431

0

1,459

0

Total assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

5,017

$ 34,890

$

504

27,311

97

0

14

5,379

1,340

371

615

39,061

68

57

211

951

68

1,518

211

$ 40,858

Liabilities:

Other liabilities:

Derivative liabilities(1)(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

$

2

2

$

$

491

491

$

$

27

27

$

$

520

520

199

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

December 31, 2014

Fair Value Measurements Using

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total

(Dollars in millions)

Assets:

Securities available for sale:

U.S. Treasury securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

4,117

$

1

$

0

$

4,118

Corporate debt securities guaranteed by U.S. government agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

RMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other ABS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total securities available for sale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other assets:

Consumer MSRs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Derivative assets(1)(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Retained interests in securitizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

0

0

0

0

111

4,228

0

4

0

467

24,820

5,291

2,597

899

333

561

228

65

18

800

25,381

5,519

2,662

1,028

34,075

1,205

39,508

0

1,382

0

53

66

221

53

1,452

221

Total assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

4,232

$ 35,457

$

1,545

$ 41,234

Liabilities:

Other liabilities:

Derivative liabilities(1)(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

$

3

3

$

$

293

293

$

$

43

43

$

$

339

339

__________
(1)  As of January 1, 2015, we changed our accounting principle to move from a gross basis of presentation to a net basis, for presenting qualifying derivative 
assets and liabilities, as well as the related right to reclaim cash collateral or obligation to return cash collateral. See “Note 1—Summary of Significant 
Accounting Policies” for additional information. Prior period results have been recast to conform to this presentation. 

The balances represent gross derivative amounts and are not reduced by the impact of legally enforceable master netting agreements that allow us to net 
positive and negative positions and the related payables and receivables for cash collateral held or placed with the same counterparty. The net derivative 
assets were $986 million and $828 million, and the net derivative liabilities were $377 million and $175 million as of December 31, 2015 and December 31, 
2014, respectively. See “Note 11—Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities” for further information. 

(2)  Does not reflect $4 million recognized as a net valuation allowance on derivative assets and liabilities for non-performance risk as of both December 31, 
2015 and 2014. Non-performance risk is reflected in other assets and liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets and offset through non-interest income in 
the consolidated statements of income. 

The determination of the classification of financial instruments in the fair value hierarchy is performed at the end of each reporting 
period. We consider all available information, including observable market data, indications of market liquidity and orderliness, 
and our understanding of the valuation techniques and significant inputs. Based upon the specific facts and circumstances of each 
instrument or instrument category, judgments are made regarding the significance of the unobservable inputs to the instruments’ 
fair value measurement in its entirety. If unobservable inputs are considered significant, the instrument is classified as Level 3. 
The process for determining fair value using unobservable inputs is generally more subjective and involves a high degree of 
management judgment and assumptions. During 2015, we had minimal movements between Levels 1 and 2.

Level 3 Recurring Fair Value Rollforward

The table below presents a reconciliation for all assets and liabilities measured and recognized at fair value on a recurring basis 
using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014. When assets and liabilities are 
transferred between levels, we recognize the transfer as of the end of the period.

200

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Table 19.2: Level 3 Recurring Fair Value Rollforward

Fair Value Measurements Using Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)

Year Ended December 31, 2015

Total Gains (Losses)
(Realized/Unrealized)

Balance,
January 1,
2015

Included
in Net
Income(1)

Included 
in
OCI

Purchases

Sales

Issuances

Settlements

Transfers
Into
Level 3(2)

Transfers
Out of
Level 3(2)

Balance,
December
31, 2015

Net Unrealized
Gains (Losses)
Included in Net
Income Related to 
Assets and
Liabilities 
Still Held as of
Dcember 31, 2015(3)

$

333

561
228
65
18

1,205

53
66

221

$

(1) $

6

$

0

$(226) $

35
0
1
0

35

(1)
14

(10)

(3)
(1)
(2)
0

0

0
0

0

0
138
0
4

0
0
(20)
0

142

(246)

0
0

0

0
0

0

0

0
0
0
0

0

22
49

0

$

(12) $

0

$ (100) $

0

$

(63)
(52)
0
(8)

(135)

(6)
(59)

0

343
0
0
0

343

0
0

0

(369)
(216)
(44)
0

(729)

0
(13)

0

504
97
0
14

615

68
57

211

0

36
0
0
0

36

(1)
14

(10)

$

(43) $

(9) $

0

$

0

$

0

$

(20) $

36

$

0

$

9

$

(27) $

(9)

Fair Value Measurements Using Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)

Year Ended December 31, 2014

Total Gains (Losses)
(Realized/Unrealized)

Balance,
January 1,
2014

Included
in Net
Income(1)

Included 
in
OCI

Purchases

Sales

Issuances

Settlements

Transfers
Into
Level 3(2)

Transfers
Out of
Level 3(2)

Balance,
December 
31, 2014

Net Unrealized
Gains (Losses)
Included in Net
Income Related to 
Assets and Liabilities 
Still Held as of 
December 31, 2014(3)

$

927

$

(5) $

1,304
739
343
17

3,330

69
50

199

65
0
5
(1)

64

(27)
20

22

20

39
3
12
0

74

0
0

0

$

0

$(248) $

1,022
192
0
0

0
0
0
0

1,214

(248)

0
0

0

0
0

0

0

0
0
0
0

0

15
20

0

$

(63) $

64

$ (362) $

(171)
(75)
(3)
(8)

259
66
75
10

(1,957)
(697)
(367)
0

$

333

561
228
65
18

(320)

474

(3,383)

1,205

(4)
(21)

0

0
0

0

0
(3)

0

53
66

221

0

64
0
5
0

69

(27)
19

22

$

(38) $

(20) $

0

$

0

$

0

$

(15) $

29

$

0

$

1

$

(43) $

(20)

(Dollars in millions)

Assets:
Securities available for sale:
Corporate debt securities
guaranteed by U.S.
government agencies . . . .
RMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
CMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other ABS . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other securities . . . . . . . .
Total securities available
for sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other assets:
Consumer MSRs . . . . . . .
Derivative assets(4) . . . . . .
Retained interest in
securitizations . . . . . . . . .
Liabilities:
Other liabilities:
Derivative liabilities(4) . . .

(Dollars in millions)

Assets:
Securities available for sale:
Corporate debt securities
guaranteed by U.S.
government agencies . . . .

RMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
CMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other ABS . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other securities . . . . . . . .
Total securities available
for sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other assets:
Consumer MSRs . . . . . . .
Derivative assets(4) . . . . . .
Retained interest in
securitization . . . . . . . . . .
Liabilities:
Other liabilities:
Derivative liabilities(4) . . .

__________
(1)  Gains (losses) related to Level 3 Consumer MSRs, derivative assets and derivative liabilities, and retained interests in securitizations are reported in other 

non-interest income, which is a component of non-interest income, in our consolidated statements of income.

(2)  During the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, the transfers into Level 3 were primarily driven by less consistency among vendor pricing on individual 

securities, while the transfers out of Level 3 for 2015 and 2014 were primarily driven by greater consistency among multiple pricing sources. 

201

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(3) 

The amount presented for unrealized gains (losses) for assets still held as of the reporting date primarily represents impairments of securities available for 
sale, accretion on certain fixed maturity securities, changes in fair value of derivative instruments and mortgage servicing rights transactions. Impairment is 
reported in total OTTI, which is a component of non-interest income, in our consolidated statements of income.

(4)  All Level 3 derivative assets and liabilities are presented on a gross basis and are not reduced by the impact of legally enforceable master netting agreements 

that allow us to net positive and negative positions and the related payables and receivables for cash collateral held or placed with the same counterparty. 

Significant Level 3 Fair Value Asset and Liability Input Sensitivity

Changes in unobservable inputs may have a significant impact on fair value. Certain of these unobservable inputs will, in isolation, 
have a directionally consistent impact on the fair value of the instrument for a given change in that input. Alternatively, the fair 
value of the instrument may move in an opposite direction for a given change in another input. In general, an increase in the 
discount rate, default rates, loss severity and credit spreads, in isolation, would result in a decrease in the fair value measurement. 
In addition, an increase in default rates would generally be accompanied by a decrease in recovery rates, slower prepayment rates 
and an increase in liquidity spreads.

Techniques and Inputs for Level 3 Fair Value Measurements

The following table presents the significant unobservable inputs relied upon to determine the fair values of our Level 3 financial 
instruments on a recurring basis. We utilize multiple third-party pricing services to obtain fair value measures for our securities. 
Several of our third-party pricing services are only able to provide unobservable input information for a limited number of securities 
due to software licensing restrictions. Other third-party pricing services are able to provide unobservable input information for all 
securities for which they provide a valuation. As a result, the unobservable input information for the securities available for sale 
presented below represents a composite summary of all information we are able to obtain for a majority of our securities. The 
unobservable input information for all other Level 3 financial instruments is based on the assumptions used in our internal valuation 
models.

Table 19.3: Quantitative Information about Level 3 Fair Value Measurements

(Dollars in millions)

Assets:

Quantitative Information about Level 3 Fair Value Measurements

Fair Value at
December 31,
2015

Significant
Valuation
Techniques

Significant
Unobservable
Inputs

Range

Weighted
Average

Securities available for sale:

RMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

504 Discounted cash flows

(3rd party pricing)

CMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

97 Discounted cash flows
(3rd party pricing)
14 Discounted cash flows

Other assets:

Consumer MSRs . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

68 Discounted cash flows

Yield
Constant prepayment rate
Default rate
Loss severity

Yield
Constant prepayment rate

Yield

0-12%
0-28%
0-8%
16-85%

2-3%
0-15%
1%

Total prepayment rate
Discount rate
Option-adjusted spread rate
Servicing cost ($ per loan)

11-18%
12%
435-1,500 bps
$93-$201

Derivative assets(1) . . . . . . . . . . . .

Retained interests in 
securitization(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Liabilities:
Derivative liabilities(1). . . . . . . . . .

$

57 Discounted cash flows

Swap rates

211 Discounted cash flows

Life of receivables (months)
Constant prepayment rate
Discount rate
Default rate
Loss severity

2%

16-75
1-13%
4-9%
2-6%
15-94%

6%
4%
4%
55%

3%
9%
1%

16%
12%
474 bps
$98

2%

N/A

27 Discounted cash flows

Swap rates

2%

2%

Quantitative Information about Level 3 Fair Value Measurements

202

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

6%
4%
5%
55%

1%
5%

5%
2%
7%
71%

3%

18%
12%
478 bps
$101

2%

N/A

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Dollars in millions)

Assets:

Fair Value at 
December 31, 
2014

Significant
Valuation
Techniques

Significant
Unobservable
Inputs

Range

Weighted
Average

Securities available for sale:

RMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

CMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other ABS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

561 Discounted cash flows

(3rd party pricing)

Yield
Constant prepayment rate
Default rate
Loss severity

228 Discounted cash flows

(3rd party pricing)

Yield
Constant prepayment rate

65 Discounted cash flows
(3rd party pricing)

Yield
Constant prepayment rate
Default rate
Loss severity

U.S. government guaranteed debt
and other securities . . . . . . . . . . . .

351 Discounted cash flows

Yield

(3rd party pricing)

0-18%
0-23%
0-15%
0-85%

1-4%
0-100%

2-7%
0-3%
1-10%
30-88%

1-4%

Other assets:

Consumer MSRs . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

53 Discounted cash flows

Total prepayment rate
Discount rate
Option-adjusted spread rate
Servicing cost ($ per loan)

12-27%
12%
435-1,500 bps
$93-$209

Derivative assets(1) . . . . . . . . . . . .

Retained interests in 
securitization(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Liabilities:
Derivative liabilities(1). . . . . . . . . .

$

66 Discounted cash flows

Swap rates

221 Discounted cash flows

Life of receivables (months)
Constant prepayment rate
Discount rate
Default rate
Loss severity

2-3%

25-72
2-13%
4-9%
2-8%
19-95%

43 Discounted cash flows

Swap rates

2-3%

2%

__________
(1)  All Level 3 derivative assets and liabilities are presented on a gross basis and are not reduced by the impact of legally enforceable master netting agreements 

that allow us to net positive and negative positions and the related payables and receivables for cash collateral held or placed with the same counterparty. 

(2)  Due to the nature of the various mortgage securitization structures in which we have retained interests, it is not meaningful to present a consolidated weighted 

average for the significant unobservable inputs.

Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Nonrecurring Basis

We are required to measure and recognize certain other assets at fair value on a nonrecurring basis on the consolidated balance 
sheets.  These  assets  are  not  measured  at  fair  value  on  an  ongoing  basis  but  are  subject  to  fair  value  adjustments  in  certain 
circumstances (for example, from the application of lower of cost or market accounting or when we evaluate for impairment). The 
following table presents the carrying amount of the assets measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis and still held as of 
December 31, 2015 and 2014, and for which a nonrecurring fair value measurement was recorded during the years then ended:

Table 19.4: Nonrecurring Fair Value Measurements Related to Assets Still Held at Period End

(Dollars in millions)

Loans held for investment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Loans held for sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other assets(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31, 2015

Estimated Fair Value Hierarchy

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total

$

$

0

0
0

0

$

$

0

$

362

$

149
0

149

0
92

$

454

$

362

149

92

603

203

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
  
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Dollars in millions)

December 31, 2014

Estimated Fair Value Hierarchy

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total

Loans held for investment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

Loans held for sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other assets(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

0

0

0

0

$

$

0

34

0

34

$

121

$

121

0

65

34

65

$

186

$

220

__________
(1) 

Includes foreclosed property and repossessed assets of $54 million and long-lived assets held for sale of $38 million as of December 31, 2015, compared to 
foreclosed property and repossessed assets of $60 million and long-lived assets held for sale of $5 million as of December 31, 2014.

In the above table, loans held for investment primarily include nonperforming loans for which specific reserves or charge-offs 
have been recognized. These loans are classified as Level 3 as they are valued based in part on the estimated fair value of the 
underlying collateral and the non-recoverable rate, which is considered to be a significant unobservable input. Collateral fair value 
sources  include  the  appraisal  value  obtained  from  independent  appraisers,  broker  pricing  opinions  or  other  available  market 
information. The non-recoverable rate ranged from 9% to 73%, with a weighted average of 20%, and from 0% to 74%, with a 
weighted average of 30%, as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. The fair value of the other assets classified as Level 
3 is determined based on appraisal value or listing price which involves significant judgment; the significant unobservable inputs 
and related quantitative information are not meaningful to disclose as they vary significantly across properties and collateral.

The following table presents total nonrecurring fair value measurements for the period, included in earnings, attributable to the 
change in fair value relating to assets that are still held at December 31, 2015 and 2014:

Table 19.5: Nonrecurring Fair Value Measurements Included in Earnings Related to Assets Still Held at Period End

(Dollars in millions)

Total Losses

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

Loans held for investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

(80) $

Loans held for sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other assets(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(1)

(45)

$

(126) $

(24)

0

(12)

(36)

__________
(1) 

Includes losses related to foreclosed property, repossessed assets and long-lived assets.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The following table is a summary of the fair value estimates for our financial instruments, excluding those financial instruments 
that are recorded at fair value on a recurring basis as they are included within the “Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value 
on a Recurring Basis” table included earlier in this Note.

204

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
  
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Table 19.6: Fair Value of Financial Instruments 

(Dollars in millions)

Financial assets:

December 31, 2015

Carrying
Amount

Estimated
Fair Value

Estimated Fair Value Hierarchy

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Cash and cash equivalents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

8,023

$

8,023

$ 8,023

$

Restricted cash for securitization investors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Securities held to maturity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,017

24,619

1,017

25,317

1,017

198

25,068

$

0

0

0

0

51

Net loans held for investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

224,721

222,007

Loans held for sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Interest receivable(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

904

1,189

933

1,189

0

0

0

0

222,007

860

1,189

73

0

Financial liabilities:

Non-interest bearing deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 25,847

$

25,847

$ 25,847

$

0

$

0

Interest-bearing deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

191,874

185,075

Securitized debt obligations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Senior and subordinated notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Federal funds purchased and securities loaned or sold under agreements to repurchase . . . .

16,166

21,837

981

16,225

22,062

981

Other borrowings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Interest payable(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

20,131

20,134

299

299

0

0

0

981

0

0

15,848

169,227

16,225

22,062

0

20,134

299

0

0

0

0

0

(Dollars in millions)

Financial assets:

December 31, 2014

Carrying
Amount

Estimated
Fair Value

Estimated Fair Value Hierarchy

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Cash and cash equivalents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

7,242

$

7,242

$ 7,242

$

Restricted cash for securitization investors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

234

234

234

Securities held to maturity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

22,500

Net loans held for investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

203,933

Loans held for sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Interest receivable(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

626

1,079

23,634

207,104

650

1,079

0

0

0

0

$

0

0

0

0

23,503

131

0

207,104

650

1,079

Financial liabilities:

Non-interest bearing deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 25,081

$

25,081

$ 25,081

$

0

$

Interest-bearing deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

180,467

174,074

Securitized debt obligations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Senior and subordinated notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Federal funds purchased and securities loaned or sold under agreements to repurchase . . . .

11,624

18,684

880

11,745

19,083

880

Other borrowings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Interest payable(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

17,269

17,275

254

254

0

0

0

880

0

0

11,668

162,406

11,745

19,083

0

17,275

254

0

0

0

0

0

__________
(1)   As of January 1, 2015, we changed our accounting principle to move from a gross basis of presentation to a net basis, for presenting qualifying derivative 
assets and liabilities, as well as the related right to reclaim cash collateral or obligation to return cash collateral. Prior period results have been recast to 
conform to this presentation. See additional information in “Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies.”

Financial Assets and Liabilities

The following describes the valuation techniques used in estimating the fair value of our financial assets and liabilities as of 
December 31, 2015 and 2014. We applied the fair value provisions to the financial instruments not recognized on the consolidated 
balance sheets at fair value, which  include securities held  to maturity,  loans held for  investment, loans  held for sale,  interest 
receivable,  interest-bearing  deposits,  securitized  debt  obligations,  other  borrowings  and  senior  and  subordinated  notes.  The 
provisions requiring us to maximize the use of observable inputs and to measure fair value using a notion of exit price were factored 
into our selection of inputs for our established valuation techniques.

205

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

0

0

0

 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The carrying amounts of cash and due from banks, federal funds sold and securities purchased under agreements to resell and 
interest-bearing deposits with banks approximate fair value.

Restricted Cash for Securitization Investors

The carrying amount of restricted cash for securitization investors approximates the fair value due to its relatively short-term 
nature.

Investment Securities 

Quoted prices in active markets are used to measure the fair value of U.S. Treasury debt obligations. For the majority of securities 
in other investment categories, we utilize multiple third-party pricing services to obtain fair value measurements. A pricing service 
may be considered as the primary pricing provider for certain types of securities, and the designation of the primary pricing provider 
may vary depending on the type of securities. The determination of the primary pricing provider is based on our experience and 
validation benchmark of the pricing service’s performance in terms of providing fair value measurements for the various types of 
securities.

Certain securities are classified as Level 2 and 3, the majority of which are RMBS and CMBS. When significant assumptions are 
not consistently observable, fair values are derived using the best available data. Such data may include quotes provided by a 
dealer,  the  use  of  external  pricing  services,  independent  pricing  models  or  other  model-based  valuation  techniques  such  as 
calculation of the present values of future cash flows incorporating assumptions such as benchmark yields, spreads, prepayment 
speeds, credit ratings and losses. The techniques used by the pricing services utilize observable market data to the extent available. 
Pricing models may be used, which can vary by asset class and may incorporate available trade, bid and other market information. 
Across asset classes, information such as trader/dealer input, credit spreads, forward curves and prepayment speeds are used to 
help determine appropriate valuations. Because many fixed income securities do not trade on a daily basis, the pricing models 
may apply available information through processes such as benchmarking curves, like securities, sector groupings and matrix 
pricing to prepare valuations. In addition, model processes are used by the pricing services to develop prepayment and interest 
rate scenarios.

We validate the pricing obtained from the primary pricing providers through comparison of pricing to additional sources, including 
other pricing services, dealer pricing indications in transaction results and other internal sources. Pricing variances among different 
pricing sources are analyzed and validated. Additionally, on an on-going basis, we select a sample of securities and test the third-
party valuation by obtaining more detailed information about the pricing methodology, sources of information and assumptions 
used to value the securities.

The  significant  unobservable  inputs  used  in  the  fair  value  measurement  of  our  RMBS,  CMBS  and  other ABS  include  yield, 
prepayment rate, default rate and loss severity in the event of default. Significant increases or decreases in any of those inputs in 
isolation  or  combination  would  result  in  a  significant  change  in  fair  value  measurement.  Generally,  an  increase  in  the  yield 
assumption will result in a decrease in fair value measurement; however, an increase or decrease in prepayment rate, default rate 
or loss severity may have a different impact on the fair value given various characteristics of the security including the capital 
structure of the deal, credit enhancement for the security or other factors.

Net Loans Held For Investment

Loans held for investment that are individually impaired are carried at the lower of cost or fair value of the underlying collateral, 
less the estimated cost to sell. The fair values of credit card loans, installment loans, auto loans, home loans and commercial loans 
are  estimated  using  a  discounted  cash  flow  method,  which  is  a  form  of  the  income  approach.  Discount  rates  are  determined 
considering rates at which similar portfolios of loans would be made under current conditions and considering liquidity spreads 
applicable to each loan portfolio based on the secondary market. The fair value of credit card loans excludes any value related to 
customer account relationships. For loans held for investment that are recorded at fair value on our consolidated balance sheets 
and are measured on a nonrecurring basis, the fair value is determined using appraisal values that are obtained from independent 
appraisers, broker pricing opinions or other available market information, adjusted for the estimated costs to transact the sale.

206

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Due to the use of significant unobservable inputs, loans held for investment are classified as Level 3 under the fair value hierarchy. 
Fair value adjustments for individually impaired collateralized loans held for investment are recorded in provision for credit losses 
in the consolidated statements of income.

Loans Held For Sale

Loans held for sale are carried at the lower of aggregate cost, net of deferred fees and deferred origination costs, or fair value. We 
originate loans with the intent to sell them. Certain commercial mortgage loans are sold to government-sponsored enterprises as 
part of a delegated underwriting and servicing (“DUS”) program. For DUS commercial mortgage loans, the fair value is estimated 
primarily using contractual prices and other observable market-based inputs. For residential mortgage loans classified as held for 
sale, the fair value is estimated using observable market prices for loans with similar characteristics as the primary component, 
with the secondary component derived from typical securitization activities and market conditions. Credit card loans held for sale 
are valued based on other observable market-based inputs. These assets are therefore classified as Level 2. Fair value adjustments 
to loans held for sale are recorded in other non-interest income in our consolidated statements of income.

Interest Receivable

The carrying amount of interest receivable approximates the fair value of this asset due to its relatively short-term nature.

Derivative Assets and Liabilities

We use both exchange-traded derivatives and OTC derivatives to manage our interest rate and foreign currency risk exposure. 
Quoted market prices are available and used to value our exchange-traded derivatives, which we classify as Level 1. However, 
predominantly all of our derivatives are traded in OTC markets where quoted market prices are not always readily available. 
Therefore, we value most OTC derivatives using valuation techniques, which include internally-developed models. We primarily 
rely on market observable inputs for our models, such as interest rate yield curves, credit curves, option volatility and currency 
rates, that vary depending on the type of derivative and nature of the underlying rate, price or index upon which the derivative’s 
value is based. Where model inputs can be observed in a liquid market and the model does not require significant judgment, such 
derivatives  are  typically  classified  as  Level  2. When  instruments  are  traded  in  less  liquid  markets  and  significant  inputs  are 
unobservable, such as interest rate swaps whose remaining terms do not correlate with market observable interest rate yield curves, 
the derivatives are classified as Level 3. The impact of counterparty non-performance risk is considered when measuring the fair 
value of derivative assets. We validate the pricing obtained from the internal models through comparison of pricing to additional 
sources, including external valuation agents and other internal sources. Pricing variances among different pricing sources are 
analyzed and validated. These derivatives are included in other assets or other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets.

Mortgage Servicing Rights 

We record consumer MSRs at fair value on a recurring basis, while commercial MSRs are subsequently measured at amortized 
cost with impairment recognized as a reduction in other non-interest income. MSRs do not trade in an active market with readily 
observable prices. Accordingly, we determine the fair value of MSRs using a valuation model that calculates the present value of 
estimated  future  net  servicing  income. The  model  incorporates  assumptions  that  we  believe  other  market  participants  use  in 
estimating future net servicing income, including estimates of prepayment speeds, discount rate/option-adjusted spreads, cost to 
service,  contractual  servicing  fee  income,  ancillary  income  and  late  fees.  Fair  value  measurements  of  MSRs  use  significant 
unobservable inputs and, accordingly, are classified as Level 3. In the event we enter into an agreement with a third party to sell 
the MSRs, the valuation is based on the agreed upon sale price which is considered to be the exit price and the MSRs are classified 
as Level 2. 

Retained Interests in Securitizations 

We have retained interests in various mortgage securitizations from previous acquisitions. Our retained interest includes rights to 
future cash flows arising from the receivables, the most significant being certificated interest-only bonds issued by a trust. We 
record our interest in these deals at fair value using market indications and valuation models to calculate the present value of future 
income. The models incorporate various assumptions that market participants use in estimating future income including weighted-
average life, constant prepayment rate, discount rate, default rate and severity. 

207

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Other Assets

Included in other assets are foreclosed property, other repossessed assets and long-lived assets held for sale. Foreclosed property, 
other repossessed assets and long-lived assets held for sale are carried at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value less costs 
to sell. The fair value is determined based on the appraisal value, listing price of the property or collateral provided by independent 
appraisers, and is adjusted for the estimated costs to transact the sale. Due to the use of significant unobservable inputs, these assets 
are classified as Level 3 under the fair value hierarchy. Fair value adjustments for these assets are recorded in other non-interest 
expense in the consolidated statements of income.

Non-Interest Bearing Deposits

The carrying amount of non-interest bearing deposits approximates fair value.

Interest-Bearing Deposits

The fair value of interest-bearing deposits is determined based on discounted expected cash flows using discount rates consistent 
with current market rates for similar products with similar remaining terms.

Securitized Debt Obligations

We utilized multiple third-party pricing services to obtain fair value measurements for the large majority of our securitized debt 
obligations. The techniques used by the pricing services utilize observable market data to the extent available; and pricing models 
may be used which incorporate available trade, bid and other market information. We used internal pricing models, discounted 
cash flow models or similar techniques to estimate the fair value of certain securitization trusts where third-party pricing was not 
available.

Senior and Subordinated Notes

We engage multiple third-party pricing services in order to estimate the fair value of senior and subordinated notes. The pricing 
services  utilize  pricing  models  that  incorporate  available  trade,  bid  and  other  market  information.  It  also  incorporates  spread 
assumptions, volatility assumptions and relevant credit information into the pricing models.

Federal Funds Purchased and Securities Loaned or Sold under Agreements to Repurchase and Other Borrowings

The carrying amount of federal funds purchased and repurchase agreements approximates fair value. The fair value of FHLB 
advances is determined based on discounted expected cash flows using discount rates consistent with current market rates for 
FHLB advances with similar remaining terms. 

Interest Payable

The carrying amount of interest payable approximates the fair value of this liability due to its relatively short-term nature.

208

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 20—BUSINESS SEGMENTS

Our principal operations are currently organized into three major business segments, which are defined based on the products and 
services provided or the type of customer served: Credit Card, Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking. The operations of 
acquired businesses have been integrated into our existing business segments. Certain activities that are not part of a segment, 
such as management of our corporate investment portfolio and asset/liability management by our centralized Corporate Treasury 
group, are included in the Other category.

•  Credit  Card:  Consists  of  our  domestic  consumer  and  small  business  card  lending,  and  the  international  card  lending 

businesses in Canada and the United Kingdom.

•  Consumer  Banking:  Consists  of  our  branch-based  lending  and  deposit  gathering  activities  for  consumers  and  small 
businesses, national deposit gathering, national auto lending and consumer home loan lending and servicing activities.

•  Commercial Banking: Consists of our lending, deposit gathering and treasury management services to commercial real 
estate and commercial and industrial customers. Our commercial and industrial customers typically include companies with 
annual revenues between $10 million to $1 billion. 

•  Other category: Includes the residual impact of the allocation of our centralized Corporate Treasury group activities, such 
as management of our corporate investment portfolio and asset/liability management, to our business segments. Accordingly, 
net gains and losses on our investment securities portfolio and certain trading activities are included in the Other category. 
Other category also includes foreign exchange-rate fluctuations on foreign currency-denominated transactions; unallocated 
corporate expenses that do not directly support the operations of the business segments or for which the business segments 
are not considered financially accountable in evaluating their performance, such as acquisition and restructuring charges; 
certain provisions for representation and warranty reserves related to continuing operations; certain material items that are 
non-recurring in nature; and offsets related to certain line-item reclassifications.

Basis of Presentation

We report the results of each of our business segments on a continuing operations basis. See “Note 3—Discontinued Operations” 
for a discussion of discontinued operations. The results of our individual businesses reflect the manner in which management 
evaluates performance and makes decisions about funding our operations and allocating resources. 

Business Segment Reporting Methodology

The  results  of  our  business  segments  are  intended  to  reflect  each  segment  as  if  it  were  a  stand-alone  business.  Our  internal 
management and reporting process used to derive our segment results employs various allocation methodologies, including funds 
transfer pricing, to assign certain balance sheet assets, deposits and other liabilities and their related revenue and expenses directly 
or indirectly attributable to each business segment. Our funds transfer pricing process provides a funds credit for sources of funds, 
such as deposits generated by our Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking businesses, and a funds charge for the use of funds 
by each segment. Due to the integrated nature of our business segments, estimates and judgments have been made in allocating 
certain revenue and expense items. Transactions between segments are based on specific criteria or approximate third-party rates. 
We regularly assess the assumptions, methodologies and reporting classifications used for segment reporting, which may result 
in the implementation of refinements or changes in future periods. 

The following is additional information on the principles and methodologies used in preparing our business segment results. 

•  Net interest income: Interest income from loans held for investment and interest expense from deposits and other interest-
bearing liabilities are reflected within each applicable business segment. Because funding and asset/liability management 
are managed centrally by our Corporate Treasury Group, net interest income for our business segments also includes the 
results of a funds transfer pricing process that is intended to allocate a cost of funds used or credit for funds provided to all 
business segment assets and liabilities, respectively, using a matched funding concept. Also, the taxable-equivalent benefit 
of tax-exempt products is allocated to each business unit with a corresponding increase in income tax expense.

•  Non-interest income: Non-interest fees and other revenue associated with loans or customers managed by each business 

segment and other direct revenues are accounted for within each business segment.

209

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

•  Provision for credit losses: The provision for credit losses is directly attributable to the business segment in which the loans 

are managed.

•  Non-interest expense: Non-interest expenses directly managed and incurred by a business segment are accounted for within 
each business segment. We allocate certain non-interest expenses indirectly incurred by business segments, such as corporate 
support functions, to each business segment based on various factors, including the actual cost of the services from the 
service providers, the utilization of the services, the number of employees or other relevant factors.

•  Goodwill and intangible assets: Goodwill and intangible assets that are not directly attributable to business segments are 
assigned to business segments based on the relative fair value of each segment. Intangible amortization is included in the 
results of the applicable segment.

• 

• 

Income taxes: Income taxes are assessed for each business segment based on a standard tax rate with the residual tax expense 
or benefit to arrive at the consolidated effective tax rate included in the Other category. 

Loans held for investment: Loans are reported within each business segment based on product or customer type.

•  Deposits: Deposits are reported within each business segment based on product or customer type.

Segment Results and Reconciliation 

We may periodically change our business segments or reclassify business segment results based on modifications to our management 
reporting methodologies and changes in organizational alignment. The following tables present our business segment results for 
the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, selected balance sheet data as of 2015, 2014 and 2013, and a reconciliation 
of our total business segment results to our reported consolidated income from continuing operations, assets and deposits. 

Table 20.1: Segment Results and Reconciliation

(Dollars in millions)
Net interest income. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total net revenue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Provision (benefit) for credit losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-interest expense:

Amortization of intangibles:

PCCR intangible amortization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Core deposit intangible amortization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total PCCR and core deposit intangible amortization . . . . . . .
Other non-interest expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total non-interest expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes . .
Income tax provision (benefit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income from continuing operations, net of tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Loans held for investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

$
$

Year Ended December 31, 2015

Credit
Card

Consumer
Banking

Commercial
Banking

Other

Consolidated
Total

$

11,161
3,421
14,582
3,417

$

5,755
710
6,465
819

$

1,865
487
2,352
302

$

53
(39)
14
(2)

18,834
4,579
23,413
4,536

316
0
316
7,186
7,502
3,663
1,309
2,354
96,125
0

$
$

0
79
79
3,947
4,026
1,620
586
1,034
70,372
172,702

$
$

0
15
15
1,141
1,156
894
324
570
63,266
34,257

$
$

0
0
0
312
312
(296)
(350)
54
88
10,762

$
$

316
94
410
12,586
12,996
5,881
1,869
4,012
229,851
217,721

210

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Dollars in millions)

Year Ended December 31, 2014

Credit
Card

Consumer
Banking

Commercial
Banking

Other

Net interest income. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

10,310

$

5,748

$

1,751

$

Non-interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total net revenue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Provision (benefit) for credit losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Non-interest expense:

Amortization of intangibles:

PCCR intangible amortization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Core deposit intangible amortization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total PCCR and core deposit intangible amortization . . . . . . .

Other non-interest expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total non-interest expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes . .

Income tax provision (benefit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income from continuing operations, net of tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Loans held for investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

$

3,311

13,621

2,750

369

0

369

6,694

7,063

3,808

1,329

2,479

85,876

0

$

$

684

6,432

703

0

108

108

3,761

3,869

1,860

665

1,195

71,439

168,078

$

$

450

2,201

93

0

21

21

1,062

1,083

1,025

366

659

50,890

31,954

Consolidated
Total

$

17,818

4,472

22,290

3,541

9

27

36

(5)

0

0

0

165

165

(124)

(214)

$

$

90

111

$

$

5,516

369

129

498

11,682

12,180

6,569

2,146

4,423

208,316

205,548

(Dollars in millions)

Year Ended December 31, 2013

Credit
Card

Consumer
Banking

Commercial
Banking

Other

Consolidated
Total

Net interest income (expense) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

10,967

$

5,905

$

1,674

$

(440) $

18,106

Non-interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total net revenue (loss) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Provision (benefit) for credit losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Non-interest expense:

Amortization of intangibles:

PCCR intangible amortization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Core deposit intangible amortization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total PCCR and core deposit intangible amortization . . . . . . .

Other non-interest expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total non-interest expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes . .

Income tax provision (benefit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income (loss) from continuing operations, net of tax . . . . . . . . . .

Loans held for investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

$

3,320

14,287

2,824

434

0

434

7,005

7,439

4,024

1,409

2,615

81,305

0

$

$

749

6,654

656

0

138

138

3,607

3,745

2,253

802

1,451

70,762

167,652

395

2,069

(24)

0

27

27

931

958

1,135

404

731

45,011

30,567

$

$

$

$

(186)

(626)

(3)

0

0

0

211

211

(834)

(391)

(443) $

4,278

22,384

3,453

434

165

599

11,754

12,353

6,578

2,224

4,354

121

$

197,199

6,304

204,523

211

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 21—COMMITMENTS, CONTINGENCIES, GUARANTEES AND OTHERS

Letters of Credit and Loss Sharing Agreements

We issue letters of credit (financial standby, performance standby and commercial) to meet the financing needs of our customers. 
Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by us to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party in 
a borrowing arrangement. Commercial letters of credit are short-term commitments issued primarily to facilitate trade finance 
activities for customers and are generally collateralized by the goods being shipped to the client. These collateral requirements are 
similar to those for funded transactions and are established based on management’s credit assessment of the customer. Management 
conducts regular reviews of all outstanding letters of credit and customer acceptances, and the results of these reviews are considered 
in assessing the adequacy of our allowance for loan and lease losses.

Within our Commercial Banking business, we originate multifamily commercial real estate loans with the intent to sell them to a 
GSE. We enter into loss sharing agreements with the GSE upon the sale of the loans. At inception, we record a liability representing 
the fair value of our obligation which is subsequently amortized as we are released from risk of payment under the loss sharing 
agreement. If payment under the loss sharing agreement becomes probable and estimable, an additional liability may be recorded 
on the consolidated balance sheets and a non-interest expense may be recognized in the consolidated statements of income. The 
amount of liability recognized on our consolidated balance sheets for our loss sharing agreements was $40 million and $36 million 
as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. 

We had standby letters of credit and commercial letters of credit with contractual amounts of $1.9 billion and $2.1 billion as of 
December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. The carrying value of outstanding letters of credit, which we include in other liabilities 
on our consolidated balance sheets was $3 million as of both December 31, 2015 and 2014. These financial guarantees had expiration 
dates ranging from 2016 to 2025 as of December 31, 2015. 

U.K. Cross Sell

In the U.K., we previously sold payment protection insurance (“PPI”) and other ancillary cross sell products. In response to an 
elevated level of customer complaints across the industry, heightened media coverage and pressure from consumer advocacy 
groups, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), formerly the Financial Services Authority, investigated and raised concerns 
about the way the industry has handled complaints related to the sale of these insurance policies. For the past several years, the 
U.K.’s  Financial  Ombudsman  Service  (“FOS”)  has  been  adjudicating  customer  complaints  relating  to  PPI,  escalated  to  it  by 
consumers who disagree with the rejection of their complaint by firms, leading to customer remediation payments by us and others 
within the industry. On October 2, 2015, the FCA issued a Statement on PPI (“FCA Proposal”) announcing it has decided to consult, 
by the end of 2015, on the introduction of a time bar for PPI complaints and on new rules and guidance about how banks should 
handle PPI complaints covered by s. 140A of the Consumer Credit Act of 1974 (“Consumer Credit Act”) in light of the U.K. 
Supreme Court’s 2014 ruling in Plevin v. Paragon Personal Finance Limited (“Plevin”). The consultation began on November 
26, 2015 and will run into early 2016.

In determining our best estimate of incurred losses for future remediation payments, management considers numerous factors, 
including: (i) the number of customer complaints we expect in the future; (ii) our expectation of upholding those complaints; (iii) 
the expected number of complaints customers escalate to the FOS; (iv) our expectation of the FOS upholding such escalated 
complaints; (v) the number of complaints that fall under the s.140A of the Consumer Credit Act; and (vi) the estimated remediation 
payout to customers. We monitor these factors each quarter and adjust our reserves to reflect the latest data. 

Management’s best estimate of incurred losses related to U.K. cross sell products, including PPI, totaled $176 million and $116 
million as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. In the year ended December 31, 2015, we increased reserves by $147 
million primarily because of an increase of our claims rate assumption. Our best estimate of reasonably possible future losses 
beyond our reserve as of December 31, 2015 is approximately $250 million. 

212

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Mortgage Representation and Warranty Liabilities

We acquired three subsidiaries that originated residential mortgage loans and sold these loans to various purchasers, including 
purchasers who created securitization trusts. These subsidiaries are Capital One Home Loans, LLC, which was acquired in February 
2005; GreenPoint, which was acquired in December 2006 as part of the North Fork acquisition; and CCB, which was acquired in 
February 2009 and subsequently merged into CONA (collectively, the “subsidiaries”).

In connection with their sales of mortgage loans, the subsidiaries entered into agreements containing varying representations and 
warranties about, among other things, the ownership of the loan, the validity of the lien securing the loan, the loan’s compliance 
with any applicable loan criteria established by the purchaser, including underwriting guidelines and the existence of mortgage 
insurance, and the loan’s compliance with applicable federal, state and local laws. The representations and warranties do not address 
the credit performance of the mortgage loans, but mortgage loan performance often influences whether a claim for breach of 
representation and warranty will be asserted and has an effect on the amount of any loss in the event of a breach of a representation 
or warranty.

Each of these subsidiaries may be required to repurchase mortgage loans in the event of certain breaches of these representations 
and warranties. In the event of a repurchase, the subsidiary is typically required to pay the unpaid principal balance of the loan 
together with interest and certain expenses (including, in certain cases, legal costs incurred by the purchaser and/or others). The 
subsidiary then recovers the loan or, if the loan has been foreclosed, the underlying collateral. The subsidiary is exposed to any 
losses on the repurchased loans, taking into account any recoveries on the collateral. In some instances, rather than repurchase the 
loans, a subsidiary may agree to make cash payments to make an investor whole on losses or to settle repurchase claims, possibly 
including claims for attorneys’ fees and interest. In addition, our subsidiaries may be required to indemnify certain purchasers and 
others against losses they incur as a result of certain breaches of representations and warranties.

These subsidiaries, in total, originated and sold to non-affiliates approximately $111 billion original principal balance of mortgage 
loans between 2005 and 2008, which are the years (or “vintages”) with respect to which our subsidiaries have received the vast 
majority of the repurchase-related requests and other related claims.

The following table presents the original principal balance of mortgage loan originations, by vintage for 2005 through 2008, for 
the three general categories of purchasers of mortgage loans and the estimated unpaid principal balance as of December 31, 2015 
and 2014:

Table 21.1: Unpaid Principal Balance of Mortgage Loans Originated and Sold to Third Parties Based on Category of Purchaser 

(Dollars in billions)

Estimated Unpaid Principal Balance

Original Principal Balance

December 31,
2015

December 31,
2014

Total

2008

2007

2006

2005

GSEs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

Insured Securitizations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Uninsured Securitizations and Other . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

2

4

14

20

$

$

3

4

16

23

$

$

11

20

80

$

111

$

1

0

3

4

$

$

4

2

15

21

$

$

3

8

30

41

$

$

3

10

32

45

Between 2005 and 2008, our subsidiaries sold an aggregate amount of $11 billion in original principal balance mortgage loans to 
the GSEs.

Of the $20 billion in original principal balance of mortgage loans sold directly by our subsidiaries to private-label purchasers who 
placed the loans into securitizations supported by bond insurance (“Insured Securitizations”), approximately 48% of the original 
principal balance was covered by bond insurance. Further, approximately $16 billion original principal balance was placed in 
securitizations as to which the monoline bond insurers have made repurchase-related requests or loan file requests to one of our 
subsidiaries (“Active Insured Securitizations”) and the remaining approximately $4 billion original principal balance was placed 
in securitizations as to which the monoline bond insurers have not made repurchase-related requests or loan file requests to one 
of  our  subsidiaries  (“Inactive  Insured  Securitizations”).  Insured  Securitizations  often  allow  the  monoline  bond  insurer  to  act 
independently of the investors. Bond insurers typically have indemnity agreements directly with both the mortgage originators 
and the securitizers, and they often have super-majority rights within the trust documentation that allow them to direct trustees to 
pursue mortgage repurchase-related requests without coordination with other investors.

213

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Because we do not service most of the loans our subsidiaries sold to others, we do not have complete information about the current 
ownership of a portion of the $80 billion in original principal balance of mortgage loans not sold directly to GSEs or placed in 
Insured Securitizations. We have determined based on information obtained from third-party databases that about $48 billion 
original principal balance of these mortgage loans was placed in private-label publicly issued securitizations not supported by 
bond insurance (“Uninsured Securitizations”). An additional approximately $22 billion original principal balance of mortgage 
loans were initially sold to private investors as whole loans. Various known and unknown investors purchased the remaining $10 
billion original principal balance of mortgage loans.

With respect to the $111 billion in original principal balance of mortgage loans originated and sold to others between 2005 and 
2008, we estimate that approximately $20 billion in unpaid principal balance remains outstanding as of December 31, 2015, of 
which approximately $3 billion in unpaid principal balance is at least 90 days delinquent. Approximately $22 billion in losses have 
been realized by third parties. Because we do not service most of the loans we sold to others, we do not have complete information 
about the underlying credit performance levels for some of these mortgage loans. These amounts reflect our best estimates, including 
extrapolations of underlying credit performance where necessary. These estimates could change as we get additional data or refine 
our analysis.

The subsidiaries had open repurchase-related requests with regard to approximately $1.4 billion original principal balance of 
mortgage loans as of December 31, 2015, a $1.2 billion decrease from December 31, 2014. Currently, repurchase-related demands 
predominantly relate to the 2006 and 2007 vintages. We have received relatively few repurchase-related demands from the 2008 
and 2009 vintages, mostly because GreenPoint ceased originating mortgages in August 2007.

The following table presents information on pending repurchase-related requests by counterparty category and timing of initial 
request. The amounts presented are based on original loan principal balances.

Table 21.2: Open Pipeline All Vintages (all entities)(1)

(Dollars in millions)

GSEs

Insured
Securitizations

Uninsured
Securitizations
and Other

Total

Open claims as of December 31, 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

Gross new demands received . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Loans repurchased/made whole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Demands rescinded . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Open claims as of December 31, 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Gross new demands received . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Loans repurchased/made whole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Demands rescinded . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

89

22

(31)

(64)

16

23

(17)

(21)

Open claims as of December 31, 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

1

$

$

1,614

$

1,122

$

2,825

0

0

(965)

649

0

0

742

(5)

(12)

1,847

23

(1)

764

(36)

(1,041)

2,512

46

(18)

(115)

534

$

(1,054)

(1,190)

815

$

1,350

__________
(1) 

The open pipeline includes all timely repurchase-related requests ever received by our subsidiaries where the requesting party has not formally rescinded 
the repurchase-related request or our subsidiary has not agreed to either repurchase the loan at issue or make the requesting party whole with respect to its 
losses. The demands rescinded in 2015 reflect the ruling from New York’s highest court in June 2015 that the statute of limitations for repurchase claims 
begins when the relevant representations and warranties were made, as opposed to some later date during the life of the loan. Finally, the amounts reflected 
in this chart are the original principal balance amounts of the mortgage loans at issue and do not correspond to the losses our subsidiary would incur upon 
the repurchase of these loans.

214

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The following table summarizes changes in our representation and warranty reserve for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 
2014:

Table 21.3: Changes in Representation and Warranty Reserve(1)

(Dollars in millions)

Representation and warranty reserve, beginning of period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Benefit for mortgage representation and warranty losses:

Recorded in continuing operations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recorded in discontinued operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total benefit for mortgage representation and warranty losses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net realized losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Representation and warranty reserve, end of period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

610

$

__________
(1)  Reported on our consolidated balance sheets as a component of other liabilities.

The following table summarizes the allocation of our representation and warranty reserve as December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Table 21.4: Allocation of Representation and Warranty Reserve

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

$

731

$

1,172

(16)

(64)

(80)

(41)

(26)

(7)

(33)

(408)

731

(Dollars in millions, except for loans sold)

Selected period-end data:

Reserve Liability

December 31, 2015

2015

2014

Loans Sold

2005 to 2008(1)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Active Insured Securitizations and GSEs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Inactive Insured Securitizations and Others. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

$

480

130

610

$

$

499

232

731

$

$

27

84

111

__________
(1)  Reflects, in billions, the total original principal balance of loans originated by our subsidiaries and sold to third-party investors between 2005 and 2008.
(2) 

The total reserve liability includes an immaterial amount related to loans that were originated after 2008.

We established reserves for the $11 billion original principal balance of GSE loans, based on open claims and historic repurchase 
rates. We have entered into and completed repurchase or settlement agreements with respect to the majority of our repurchase 
exposure within this category. 

Our reserves could also be impacted by any claims which may be brought by governmental agencies under the Financial Institutions 
Reform,  Recovery,  and  Enforcement Act  (“FIRREA”),  the  False  Claims Act,  or  other  federal  or  state  statutes.  For  example, 
GreenPoint and Capital One have received requests for information and/or subpoenas from various governmental regulators and 
law enforcement authorities, including members of the RMBS Working Group, relating to the origination of loans for sale to the 
GSEs and to RMBS participants. We are cooperating with these regulators and other authorities in responding to such requests.

For the $16 billion original principal balance in Active Insured Securitizations, our reserving approach is based upon the expected 
resolution of litigation with the monoline bond insurers. Accordingly, our representation and warranty reserves for this category 
are litigation reserves. In establishing litigation reserves for this category, we consider the current and future monoline insurer 
losses inherent within the securitization and apply legal judgment to the developing factual and legal record to estimate the liability 
for each securitization. We consider as factors within the analysis our own past monoline settlements in addition to publicly available 
industry monoline settlements. Our reserves with respect to the U.S. Bank Litigation, referenced below, are contained within the 
Active Insured Securitization reserve category. Further, to the extent we have litigation reserves with respect to indemnification 
risks from certain representation and warranty lawsuits brought by monoline bond insurers against third-party securitizations 
sponsors, where one of our subsidiaries provided some or all of the mortgage collateral within the securitization but is not a 
defendant in the litigation, such reserves are also contained within this category.

215

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the $4 billion original principal balance of mortgage loans in the Inactive Insured Securitizations category and the $48 billion 
original principal balance of mortgage loans in the Uninsured Securitizations category, we establish reserves based on an assessment 
of  probable  and  estimable  legal  liability,  if  any,  utilizing  both  our  own  experience  and  publicly  available  industry  settlement 
information to estimate lifetime liability. In contrast with the bond insurers in the Insured Securitizations, investors in Uninsured 
Securitizations often face a number of legal and logistical hurdles before they can force a securitization trustee to pursue mortgage 
repurchases, including the need to coordinate with a certain percentage of investors holding the securities and to indemnify the 
trustee for any litigation it undertakes. Accordingly, we only reserve for such exposures when a trustee or investor with standing 
brings claims and it is probable we have incurred a loss. Some Uninsured Securitization investors from this category are currently 
suing investment banks and securitization sponsors under federal and/or state securities laws. Although we face some indirect 
indemnity risks from these litigations, we generally have not established reserves with respect to these indemnity risks because 
we do not consider them to be both probable and reasonably estimable liabilities. In addition, to the extent we have litigation 
reserves with respect to indemnification risks from certain representation and warranty lawsuits brought by parties who purchased 
loans from our subsidiaries and subsequently re-sold the loans into securitizations, such reserves are also contained within this 
category.

For the $22 billion original principal balance of mortgage loans sold to private investors as whole loans, we establish reserves 
based on open claims and historical repurchase rates.

The aggregate reserve for all three subsidiaries totaled $610 million as of December 31, 2015, compared to $731 million as of 
December 31, 2014. We recorded a net benefit for mortgage representation and warranty losses of $80 million (which includes a 
benefit of $16 million before taxes in continuing operations and a benefit of $64 million before taxes in discontinued operations) 
in 2015. The decrease in the representation and warranty reserve was primarily driven by settlements and favorable industry legal 
developments, including a ruling from New York’s highest court that the statute of limitations for repurchase claims begins when 
the relevant representations and warranties were made, as opposed to some later date during the life of the loan. 

As part of our business planning processes, we have considered various outcomes relating to the future representation and warranty 
liabilities of our subsidiaries that are possible but do not rise to the level of being both probable and reasonably estimable outcomes 
justifying an incremental accrual under applicable accounting standards. Our current best estimate of reasonably possible future 
losses from representation and warranty claims beyond our reserves as of December 31, 2015 is approximately $1.6 billion, a 
decrease from our $2.1 billion estimate at December 31, 2014. The decrease in this estimate was primarily driven by favorable 
industry legal developments, including the statute of limitations ruling from New York’s highest court mentioned above. The 
estimate as of December 31, 2015 covers all reasonably possible losses relating to representation and warranty claim activity, 
including those relating to the U.S. Bank Litigation, the FHFA Litigation, and the LXS Trust Litigation described below.

In estimating reasonably possible future losses in excess of our current reserves, we assume a portion of the inactive securitizations 
become active and for all Insured Securitizations, we assume loss rates on the high end of those observed in monoline settlements 
or court rulings. For our remaining GSE exposures, Uninsured Securitizations and whole loan exposures, our reasonably possible 
risk estimates assume lifetime loss rates and claims rates at the highest levels of our past experience and also consider the limited 
instances of observed settlements. We do not assume claim rates or loss rates for these risk categories will be as high as those 
assumed for the Active Insured Securitizations, however, based on industry precedent. Should the number of claims or the loss 
rates on these claims increase significantly, our estimate of reasonably possible risk would increase materially. We also assume 
that repurchase-related requests will be resolved at discounts reflecting the nature of the claims, the vintage of the underlying loans 
and evolving legal precedents. 

Notwithstanding our ongoing attempts to estimate a reasonably possible amount of future losses beyond our current accrual levels 
based on current information, it is possible that actual future losses will exceed both the current accrual level and our current 
estimate of the amount of reasonably possible losses. Our reserve and reasonably possible estimates involve considerable judgment 
and reflect that there is still significant uncertainty regarding numerous factors that may impact the ultimate loss levels, including, 
but not limited to: litigation outcomes; court rulings; governmental enforcement decisions; future repurchase and indemnification 
claim levels; securitization trustees pursuing mortgage repurchase litigation unilaterally or in coordination with investors; investors 
successfully pursuing repurchase litigation independently and without the involvement of the trustee as a party; ultimate repurchase 
and  indemnification  rates;  future  mortgage  loan  performance  levels;  actual  recoveries  on  the  collateral;  and  macroeconomic 
conditions (including unemployment levels and housing prices). In light of the significant uncertainty as to the ultimate liability 
our subsidiaries may incur from these matters, an adverse outcome in one or more of these matters could be material to our results 
of operations or cash flows for any particular reporting period.

216

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Litigation

In accordance with the current accounting standards for loss contingencies, we establish reserves for litigation related matters that 
arise from the ordinary course of our business activities when it is probable that a loss associated with a claim or proceeding has 
been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. None of the amounts we currently have recorded individually 
or in the aggregate are considered to be material to our financial condition. Litigation claims and proceedings of all types are 
subject to many uncertain factors that generally cannot be predicted with assurance. Below we provide a description of potentially 
material legal proceedings and claims.

For some of the matters disclosed below, we are able to determine estimates of potential future outcomes that are not probable and 
reasonably estimable outcomes justifying either the establishment of a reserve or an incremental reserve build, but which are 
reasonably possible outcomes. For other disclosed matters, such an estimate is not possible at this time. For those matters below 
where an estimate is possible (excluding the reasonably possible future losses relating to the U.S. Bank Litigation, the FHFA 
Litigation, and the LXS Trust Litigation, because reasonably possible losses with respect to those litigations are included within 
the reasonably possible representation and warranty liabilities discussed above) management currently estimates the reasonably 
possible future losses beyond our reserves as of December 31, 2015 is approximately $200 million. Notwithstanding our attempt 
to estimate a reasonably possible range of loss beyond our current accrual levels for some litigation matters based on current 
information, it is possible that actual future losses will exceed both the current accrual level and the range of reasonably possible 
losses disclosed here. Given the inherent uncertainties involved in these matters, especially those involving governmental actors, 
and the very large or indeterminate damages sought in some of these matters, there is significant uncertainty as to the ultimate 
liability we may incur from these litigation matters and an adverse outcome in one or more of these matters could be material to 
our results of operations or cash flows for any particular reporting period.

Interchange Litigation

In 2005, a number of entities, each purporting to represent a class of retail merchants, filed antitrust lawsuits (the “Interchange 
Lawsuits”) against MasterCard and Visa and several member banks, including our subsidiaries and us, alleging among other things, 
that the defendants conspired to fix the level of interchange fees. The complaints seek injunctive relief and civil monetary damages, 
which could be trebled. Separately, a number of large merchants have asserted similar claims against Visa and MasterCard only. 
In October 2005, the class and merchant Interchange Lawsuits were consolidated before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern 
District  of  New York  for  certain  purposes,  including  discovery.  In  July  2012,  the  parties  executed  and  filed  with  the  court  a 
Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to resolve the litigation on certain terms set forth in a settlement agreement attached to 
the Memorandum. The class settlement provides for, among other things, (i) payments by defendants to the class and individual 
plaintiffs totaling approximately $6.6 billion; (ii) a distribution to the class merchants of an amount equal to 10 basis points of 
certain interchange transactions for a period of eight months; and (iii) modifications to certain Visa and MasterCard rules regarding 
point of sale practices. In December 2013, the court granted final approval of the proposed class settlement, which was appealed 
to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in January 2014 and argued before the court on September 28, 2015. Several merchant 
plaintiffs have also opted out of the class settlement, some of which have sued MasterCard, Visa and various member banks, 
including Capital One. The opt-out cases were consolidated before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York 
for certain purposes, including discovery. These consolidated cases are in their preliminary stages, and Visa and MasterCard have 
settled a number of individual opt-out cases, requiring non-material payments from all banks. Separate settlement and judgment 
sharing agreements between Capital One and MasterCard and Visa allocate the liabilities of any judgment or settlement arising 
from the Interchange Lawsuits and associated opt-out cases.  Visa created a litigation escrow account following its IPO of stock 
in 2008, which funds any settlements for its member banks, and any settlements related to MasterCard allocated losses are reflected 
in Capital One’s reserves.

In March 2011, a furniture store owner named Mary Watson filed a proposed class action in the Supreme Court of British Columbia 
against Visa, MasterCard, and several banks, including Capital One (the “Watson Litigation”). The lawsuit asserts, among other 
things, that the defendants conspired to fix the merchant discount fees that merchants pay on credit card transactions in violation 
of Section 45 of the Competition Act and seeks unspecified damages and injunctive relief. In addition, Capital One has been named 
as a defendant in similar proposed class action claims filed in other jurisdictions in Canada. In March 2014, the court granted a 
partial motion for class certification. Both parties appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal for British Columbia, which heard 
oral argument in December 2014. In April 2015, the merchant plaintiffs and Capital One agreed to settle all matters filed in Canada 
as to Capital One and the courts across the different provinces approved the class settlement in the fourth quarter of 2015.

217

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Credit Card Interest Rate Litigation

The Capital One Bank Credit Card Interest Rate Multi-district Litigation matter was created as a result of a June 2010 transfer 
order issued by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multi-district Litigation (“MDL”), which consolidated for pretrial proceedings in the 
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia two pending putative class actions against COBNA-Nancy Mancuso, et 
al. v. Capital One Bank (USA), N.A., et al., (E.D. Virginia); and Kevin S. Barker, et al. v. Capital One Bank (USA), N.A., (N.D. 
Georgia). A third action, Jennifer L. Kolkowski v. Capital One Bank (USA), N.A., (C.D. California) was subsequently transferred 
into the MDL. In August 2010, the plaintiffs in the MDL filed a Consolidated Amended Complaint alleging that COBNA breached 
its contractual obligations, and violated the Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”), the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act, the 
Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”), the California False Advertising Act, the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, and the Kansas 
Consumer Protection Act when it raised interest rates on certain credit card accounts. As a result of a settlement in another matter, 
the California-based UCL and TILA claims in the MDL are extinguished. The MDL plaintiffs sought statutory damages, restitution, 
attorney’s fees and an injunction against future rate increases. In September 2014, the court granted summary judgment for Capital 
One, which the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in November 2015.

Mortgage Repurchase Litigation

In February 2009, GreenPoint was named as a defendant in a lawsuit commenced in the New York County Supreme Court, by 
U.S. Bank, N. A., Syncora Guarantee Inc. and CIFG Assurance North America, Inc. (the “U.S. Bank Litigation”). Plaintiffs allege, 
among other things, that GreenPoint breached certain representations and warranties in two contracts pursuant to which GreenPoint 
sold  approximately  30,000  mortgage  loans  having  an  aggregate  original  principal  balance  of  approximately  $1.8  billion  to  a 
purchaser that ultimately transferred most of these mortgage loans to a securitization trust. Some of the securities issued by the 
trust were insured by Syncora and CIFG. Plaintiffs seek unspecified damages and an order compelling GreenPoint to repurchase 
the entire portfolio of 30,000 mortgage loans based on alleged breaches of representations and warranties relating to a limited 
sampling of loans in the portfolio, or, alternatively, the repurchase of specific mortgage loans to which the alleged breaches of 
representations and warranties relate. In March 2010, the court granted GreenPoint’s motion to dismiss with respect to plaintiffs 
Syncora and CIFG and denied the motion with respect to U.S. Bank. GreenPoint subsequently answered the complaint with respect 
to U.S. Bank, denying the allegations, and filed a counterclaim against U.S. Bank alleging breach of covenant of good faith and 
fair dealing. In February 2012, the court denied plaintiffs’ motion for leave to file an amended complaint and dismissed Syncora 
and CIFG from the case. Syncora and CIFG appealed their dismissal to the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First 
Department (the “First Department”), which affirmed the dismissal in April 2013. The New York Court of Appeals denied Syncora’s 
and CIFG’s motion for leave to appeal the First Department’s decision in February 2014. Therefore, the case is now proceeding 
with U.S. Bank as the sole plaintiff. On May 20, 2015, Lehman Brothers Holding, Inc. (“LBHI”) filed an adversary proceeding 
in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York against U.S. Bank, Syncora, and GreenPoint regarding 
bankruptcy proofs of claims filed by U.S. Bank and Syncora on the same securitization at issue in the U.S. Bank Litigation.

In May, June, and July 2012, FHFA (acting as conservator for Freddie Mac) filed three summonses with notice in the New York 
state court against GreenPoint, on behalf of the trustees for three RMBS trusts backed by loans originated by GreenPoint with an 
aggregate original principal balance of $3.4 billion. In January 2013, the plaintiffs filed an amended consolidated complaint in the 
name of the three trusts, acting by the respective trustees, alleging breaches of contractual representations and warranties regarding 
compliance  with  GreenPoint  underwriting  guidelines  relating  to  certain  loans  (“FHFA  Litigation”).  Plaintiffs  seek  specific 
performance of the repurchase obligations with respect to the loans for which they have provided notice of alleged breaches as 
well as all other allegedly breaching loans, rescissory damages, indemnification, costs and interest.

In July 2013, Lehman XS Trust, Series 2006-4N, by its trustee U.S. Bank, N.A. filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New 
York against GreenPoint alleging breaches of representations and warranties made in certain loan sale agreements, pursuant to 
which GreenPoint sold mortgage loans with an original principal balance of $915 million to Lehman Brothers for securitization 
and sale to investors. The lawsuit (“LXS Trust Litigation”) seeks specific performance of GreenPoint’s obligation to repurchase 
certain allegedly breaching loans, or in the alternative, the repurchase of all loans in the trust, the award of rescissory damages, 
costs, fees and interest. In January 2014, the court granted GreenPoint’s motion to dismiss based on the statute of limitations, 
ruling that New York’s six-year statute of limitations began running no later than the time of the mortgage securitization. The 
plaintiff has appealed the dismissal of the complaint, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit heard oral 
argument on December 3, 2015.

218

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

As noted above in the section entitled Mortgage Representation and Warranty Liabilities, the Company’s subsidiaries establish 
reserves  with  respect  to  representation  and  warranty  litigation  matters,  where  appropriate,  within  the  Company’s  overall 
representation and warranty reserves. Please see above for more details.

Anti-Money Laundering 

Capital One has received requests for subpoenas and testimony from the New York District Attorney’s Office (“NYDA”) with 
respect to certain former check casher clients of the Commercial Banking business and Capital One’s anti-money laundering 
(“AML”) program. In early 2015, we received similar requests from the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Financial 
Crimes  Enforcement  Network  (“FinCEN”)  of  the  U.S.  Department  of Treasury.  Capital  One  is  cooperating  with  all  agencies 
involved in the investigation.

Intellectual Ventures Corp., et al.

In June 2013, Intellectual Ventures I, LLC and Intellectual Ventures II, LLC (collectively “IV”) sued Capital One Financial Corp., 
Capital One Bank (USA), N.A. and Capital One, N.A. (collectively “Capital One”) for patent infringement in the U.S. District 
Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. In the Complaint, IV alleged infringement of patents related to various business processes 
across the Capital One enterprise. IV simultaneously filed patent infringement actions against numerous other financial institutions 
on the same and other patents in several other federal courts. Capital One filed an answer and counterclaim alleging antitrust 
violations.  In  December  2013,  the  court  dismissed  Capital  One’s  counterclaim  and  decided  the  parties’  arguments  on  claim 
construction. IV agreed to dismiss two patents in suit, and following claim construction, asked for a stipulation of non-infringement 
for one patent with an opportunity to appeal the court’s decision regarding claim construction. In April 2014, the court granted 
Capital One’s motion for summary judgment and found that the two remaining patents were either unpatentable or indefinite. In 
May 2014, IV appealed to the Federal Circuit, which affirmed the district court’s dismissal of all three remaining patents in July 
2015. 

In January 2014, IV filed a second suit against Capital One for patent infringement in the U.S. District Court for the District of 
Maryland. In the complaint, IV again alleges infringement of patents related to various business practices across the Capital One 
enterprise. In March 2015, the court granted Capital One’s motion for leave to add a counterclaim for antitrust violations. IV 
voluntarily dismissed one of the patents against Capital One and in September 2015, the court granted summary judgment in favor 
of Capital One on the remaining four patents and dismissed IV’s claims. IV has appealed the dismissal of its claims to the Federal 
Circuit.

Other Pending and Threatened Litigation

In addition, we are commonly subject to various pending and threatened legal actions relating to the conduct of our normal business 
activities. In the opinion of management, the ultimate aggregate liability, if any, arising out of all such other pending or threatened 
legal actions will not be material to our consolidated financial position or our results of operations.

219

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 22—CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION (PARENT COMPANY ONLY) (1)

Financial Information

The following Parent Company Only financial statements are provided in accordance with Regulation S-X of the U.S. Securities 
and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

Table 22.1: Parent Company Statements of Income

(Dollars in millions)
Interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Interest expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dividends from subsidiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-interest expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income before income taxes and equity in undistributed earnings of subsidiaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income tax (benefit) provision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Equity in undistributed earnings of subsidiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Comprehensive income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

$

120
185
450
10
178
217
(67)
3,766
4,050
(186)
$ 3,864

$

114
204
3,449
53
85
3,327
11
1,112
4,428
442
$ 4,870

$

94
250
5,950
33
196
5,631
(66)
(1,576)
4,121
(1,611)
$ 2,510

Table 22.2: Parent Company Balance Sheets

(Dollars in millions)
Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Investment in subsidiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Loans to subsidiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Securities available for sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

December 31,

2015

2014

$ 7,245
48,676
521
905
739
$ 58,086

$ 8,262
44,993
1,494
961
618
$ 56,328

Liabilities:
Senior and subordinated notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other borrowings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Accrued expenses and other liabilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total stockholders’ equity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 8,657
1,591
554
10,802
47,284
$ 58,086

$ 8,907
1,573
795
11,275
45,053
$ 56,328

220

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Table 22.3: Parent Company Statements of Cash Flows

(Dollars in millions)
Operating activities:
Net income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash provided by operating activities:

Dividends (undistributed earnings) from subsidiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other operating activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Investing activities:

Net payments (to) from subsidiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Proceeds from maturities of securities available for sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Purchase of securities available for sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Decrease (increase) in loans to subsidiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Financing activities:
Borrowings: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Increase (decrease) in borrowings from subsidiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Issuance of senior notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Maturities of senior notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Common stock:

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

$ 4,050

$ 4,428

$ 4,121

(3,766)
(300)
(16)

(1,112)
(83)
3,233

1,576
(1,120)
4,577

(172)
65
0

973
866

94
50
(143)

(7)
(6)

787
46
(287)

(153)
393

18
2,487
(2,625)

28
1,498
(2,100)

(3,490)
849
(1,040)

Net proceeds from issuances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dividends paid

111
(816)

100
(679)

81
(555)

Preferred stock:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net proceeds from issuances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dividends paid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Purchases of treasury stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Proceeds from stock-based payment activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net cash used in financing activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(Decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,472
(158)
(2,441)
85
(1,867)
(1,017)
8,262
$ 7,245

969
(67)
(2,045)
146
(2,150)
1,077
7,185
$ 8,262

0
(53)
(1,033)
114
(5,127)
(157)
7,342
$ 7,185

___________
(1)  As of January 1, 2015, we changed our accounting principle to move from a gross basis of presentation to a net basis, for presenting qualifying derivative 
assets and liabilities, as well as the related right to reclaim cash collateral or obligation to return cash collateral. See “Note 1—Summary of Significant 
Accounting Policies” for additional information. Prior period results have been recast to conform to this presentation. 

221

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 23—RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

In the ordinary course of business, we may have loans issued to our executive officers, directors, and principal stockholders. 
Pursuant to our policy, such loans are issued on the same terms as those prevailing at the time for comparable loans to unrelated 
persons and do not involve more than the normal risk of collectability.

222

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
SELECTED QUARTERLY FINANCIAL INFORMATION(1)

(Dollars in millions, except per share data) (unaudited)

Q4

Q3

Q2

Q1

Q4

Q3

Q2

Q1

2015

2014

Summarized results of operations:

Interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

5,384

$

5,164

$

4,937

$

4,974

$

5,045

$

4,887

$

4,712

$

4,753

Interest expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Provision for credit losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net interest income after provision for credit losses . . . . . .

Non-interest income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Non-interest expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income from continuing operations before income taxes . .

Income tax provision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income from continuing operations, net of tax . . . . . . . . . .

Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax

Net income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Dividends and undistributed earnings allocated to 
participating securities(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Preferred stock dividends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

423

4,961

1,380

3,581

1,233

3,480

1,334

426

908

12

920

(4)

(68)

404

4,760

1,092

3,668

1,140

3,160

1,648

530

1,118

(4)

1,114

(6)

(29)

400

4,537

1,129

3,408

1,135

3,307

1,236

384

852

11

863

(4)

(29)

398

4,576

935

3,641

1,071

3,049

1,663

529

1,134

19

1,153

(6)

(32)

389

4,656

1,109

3,547

1,157

3,284

1,420

450

970

29

999

(4)

(21)

390

4,497

993

3,504

1,142

2,985

1,661

536

1,125

397

4,315

704

3,611

1,153

2,979

1,785

581

1,204

(44)

(10)

1,081

1,194

403

4,350

735

3,615

1,020

2,932

1,703

579

1,124

30

1,154

(5)

(20)

(4)

(13)

(5)

(13)

Net income available to common stockholders. . . . . . . . . .

$

848

$

1,079

$

830

$

1,115

$

974

$

1,056

$

1,177

$

1,136

Per common share:

Basic earnings per common share:(2)

Net income from continuing operations . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income (loss) from discontinued operations . . . . . . . . .
Net income per basic common share. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Diluted earnings per common share:(2)

Net income from continuing operations . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income (loss) from discontinued operations . . . . . . . . .
Net income per diluted common share . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Weighted average common shares outstanding:

$

$

$

$

1.58

0.02

1.60

1.56

0.02

1.58

$

$

$

$

2.01

(0.01)

2.00

1.99

(0.01)

1.98

$

$

$

$

1.50

0.02

1.52

1.48

0.02

1.50

$

$

$

$

2.00

0.03

2.03

1.97

0.03

2.00

$

$

$

$

1.71

0.05

1.76

1.68

0.05

1.73

$

$

$

$

1.97

(0.08)

1.89

1.94

(0.08)

1.86

$

$

$

$

2.09

(0.02)

2.07

2.06

(0.02)

2.04

$

$

$

$

1.94

0.05

1.99

1.91

0.05

1.96

Basic common shares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Diluted common shares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

530.8

536.3

540.6

546.3

545.6

552.0

550.2

557.2

554.3

561.8

559.9

567.9

567.5

577.6

571.0

580.3

Average balance sheet data:

Loans held for investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$220,052

$211,227

$206,337

$205,194

$203,436

$199,422

$194,996

$193,722

Interest-earning assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

292,054

283,082

276,585

Total assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

323,354

313,822

307,206

Interest-bearing deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

189,885

185,800

183,946

Total deposits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

215,899

210,974

209,143

Borrowings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total stockholders’ equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

48,850

48,712

45,070

48,456

41,650

47,255

278,427

309,401

182,998

207,851

46,082

46,397

273,436

268,890

263,570

262,659

304,153

298,913

294,089

293,551

179,401

179,928

182,053

184,183

205,355

205,199

206,315

205,842

43,479

45,576

40,314

44,827

35,658

43,767

35,978

42,859

__________
(1)  As of January 1, 2015, we changed our accounting principle to move from a gross basis of presentation to a net basis, for presenting qualifying derivative 
assets and liabilities, as well as the related right to reclaim cash collateral or obligation to return cash collateral. See “Note 1—Summary of Significant 
Accounting Policies” for additional information. Prior period results have been recast to conform to this presentation.

(2.)  Dividends and undistributed earnings allocated to participating securities, earnings per share, and preferred stock dividends are computed independently for 

each period. Accordingly, the sum of each quarter may not agree to the year-to-date total.

223

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

None.

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures

Overview

We are required under applicable laws and regulations to maintain controls and procedures, which include disclosure controls and 
procedures as well as internal control over financial reporting, as further described below.

(a) Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Disclosure controls and procedures refer to controls and other procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance that information 
required to be disclosed in our financial reports is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified 
by SEC rules and forms and that such information is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive 
Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding our required disclosure. In designing and 
evaluating our disclosure controls and procedures, we recognize that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed 
and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and we must apply judgment in 
evaluating and implementing possible controls and procedures.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

As required by Rule 13a-15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), our management, including the Chief 
Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures 
(as that term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Exchange Act) as of December 31, 2015, the end of the period 
covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Based upon that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer 
concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2015, at a reasonable level of assurance, 
in recording, processing, summarizing and reporting information required to be disclosed within the time periods specified by the 
SEC rules and forms.

(b) Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

We regularly review our disclosure controls and procedures and make changes intended to ensure the quality of our financial 
reporting. During the fourth quarter of 2015, we implemented a new human resource management system including necessary 
changes to processes, information technology and other components of internal control over financial reporting. There have been 
no other changes in internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the fourth quarter of 2015 which have materially 
affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

(c) Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting 

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting is included in “Part II—Item 8. Financial Statements and 
Supplementary Data” and is incorporated herein by reference. The Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on 
Internal Control Over Financial Reporting also is included in “Part II—Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” 
and incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9B. Other Information

None.

224

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 

PART III

The information required by Item 10 will be included in our Proxy Statement for the 2016 Annual Stockholder Meeting (“Proxy 
Statement”)  under  the  headings  “Corporate  Governance  at  Capital  One”  and  “Section  16(a)  Beneficial  Ownership  Reporting 
Compliance,”  and  is  incorporated  herein  by  reference.  The  Proxy  Statement  will  be  filed  with  the  Securities  and  Exchange 
Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days of the end of our 2015 fiscal year.

Item 11. Executive Compensation 

The  information  required  by  Item  11  will  be  included  in  the  Proxy  Statement  under  the  headings  “Director  Compensation,” 
“Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” “Named Executive Officer Compensation,” “Compensation Committee Interlocks and 
Insider Participation” and “Compensation Committee Report,” and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters 

The information required by Item 12 will be included in the Proxy Statement under the headings “Security Ownership” and “Equity 
Compensation Plans,” and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence 

The information required by Item 13 will be included in the Proxy Statement under the headings “Related Person Transactions” 
and “Director Independence,” and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 

The information required by Item 14 will be included in the Proxy Statement under the heading “Ratification of Selection of 
Independent Auditors,” and is incorporated herein by reference.

225

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

(a)  Financial Statement Schedules 

PART IV

The following documents are filed as part of this Annual Report in Part II, Item 8 and are incorporated herein by reference. 

(1)  Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on the Consolidated Financial Statements

       Consolidated Financial Statements: 

Consolidated Statements of Income for the Years Ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013  

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the Years Ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 

Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity for the Years Ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 

Selected Quarterly Financial Information

(2)  Schedules: 

None. 

(b)  Exhibits 

 An index to exhibits has been filed as part of this Report and is incorporated herein by reference.

226

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
       
 
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be 
signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

SIGNATURES

Date: February 25, 2016

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION

  By:

  /s/ RICHARD D. FAIRBANK
  Richard D. Fairbank

  Chair, Chief Executive Officer and President

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons 
on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

Signature

Title

Date

/s/ RICHARD D. FAIRBANK

Richard D. Fairbank

/s/ STEPHEN S. CRAWFORD

Stephen S. Crawford

/s/ R. SCOTT BLACKLEY

R. Scott Blackley

/s/ PATRICK W. GROSS

Patrick W. Gross

/s/ ANN F. HACKETT

Ann F. Hackett

/s/ LEWIS HAY, III

Lewis Hay, III

/s/ BENJAMIN P. JENKINS, III

Benjamin P. Jenkins, III

/s/ PIERRE E. LEROY

Pierre E. Leroy

/s/ PETER E. RASKIND

Peter E. Raskind

/s/ MAYO A. SHATTUCK III

Mayo A. Shattuck III

/s/ BRADFORD H. WARNER

Bradford H. Warner

/s/CATHERINE G. WEST

Catherine G. West

Chair, Chief Executive Officer and President

February 25, 2016

(Principal Executive Officer)

Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial Officer)

Controller

(Principal Accounting Officer)

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

February 25, 2016

February 25, 2016

February 25, 2016

February 25, 2016

February 25, 2016

February 25, 2016

February 25, 2016

February 25, 2016

February 25, 2016

February 25, 2016

February 25, 2016

227

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
 
EXHIBIT INDEX 
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION 
ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K 
DATED DECEMBER 31, 2015
Commission File No. 1-13300 

The following exhibits are incorporated by reference or filed herewith. References to (i) the “2002 Form 10-K” are to the Company’s 
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002, filed on March 17, 2003; (ii) the “2003 Form 10-K” are to 
the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003, filed on March 5, 2004; (iii) the “2004 Form 
10-K” are to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, filed on March 9, 2005; (iv) 
the “2008 Form 10-K” are to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, filed on February 
26, 2009; (v) the “2010 Form 10-K” are to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, 
filed on March 1, 2011, as amended on March 7, 2011; (vi) the “2011 Form 10-K” are to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 
10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, filed on February 28, 2012; (vii) the “2012 Form 10-K” are to the Company’s Annual 
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, filed on February 28, 2013; (viii) the “2013 Form 10-K” are to the 
Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, filed on February 27, 2014; and (ix) the “2014 
Form 10-K” are to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, filed on February 24, 
2015.

Exhibit No.

  Description

3.1

3.2

3.3.1

3.3.2

3.3.3

3.3.4

3.3.5

4.1.1

4.1.2

4.1.3

4.2

10.1

10.1.1

10.1.2

10.1.3

10.1.4

10.2.1

10.2.2

Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Capital One Financial Corporation, (as restated April 30, 2015) (incorporated by 
reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on May 4, 2015).

Amended and Restated Bylaws of Capital One Financial Corporation, dated October 5, 2015 (incorporated by reference to 
Exhibit 3.1 of the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on October 5, 2015).

Certificate  of  Designations  of  Fixed  Rate  Non-Cumulative  Perpetual  Preferred  Stock,  Series  B,  dated August 16,  2012 
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on August 20, 2012).

Certificate  of  Designations  of  Fixed  Rate  Non-Cumulative  Perpetual  Preferred  Stock,  Series  C,  dated  June  11,  2014 
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed June 12, 2014).

Certificate  of  Designations  of  Fixed  Rate  Non-Cumulative  Perpetual  Preferred  Stock,  Series  D,  dated  October  29,  2014 
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed October 31, 2014).

Certificate of Designations of Fixed-to-Floating Rate Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series E, dated May 12, 
2015 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed May 14, 2015).

Certificate  of  Designations  of  Fixed  Rate  Non-Cumulative  Perpetual  Preferred  Stock,  Series  F,  dated August  20,  2015 
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed August 24, 2015).

Specimen certificate representing the common  stock of  Capital One  Financial  Corporation (incorporated  by  reference to 
Exhibit 4.1 of the 2003 Form 10-K).

Warrant Agreement, dated December 3, 2009, between Capital One Financial Corporation and Computershare Trust Company, 
N.A. (incorporated by reference to the Exhibit 4.1 of the Form 8-A, filed on December 4, 2009).

Deposit Agreement, dated August 20, 2012 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed 
on August 20, 2012).

Pursuant to Item 601(b)(4)(iii)(A) of Regulation S-K, copies of instruments defining the rights of holders of long-term debt 
are not filed. The Company agrees to furnish a copy thereof to the SEC upon request.

Amended and Restated Capital One Financial Corporation Executive Severance Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 
10.1 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2015).

Capital One Financial Corporation 2004 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to the Proxy Statement on Definitive 
Schedule 14A, filed on March 17, 2004).

Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Current Report on Form 
8-K, filed on May 3, 2006).

Second Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to the Proxy Statement on Definitive 
Schedule 14A, filed on March 13, 2009).

Third Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to the Proxy Statement on Definitive 
Schedule 14A, filed on March 18, 2014).

Form  of  Nonstatutory  Stock  Option  Agreement  granted  to  Richard  D.  Fairbank  under  the  2004  Stock  Incentive  Plan 
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 of the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on December 23, 2005).

Form of Nonstatutory Stock Option Agreement granted to certain of our executives under the 2004 Stock Incentive Plan 
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.20.3 of the 2004 Form 10-K).

228

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

  
  
Exhibit No.

  Description

10.2.3

10.2.4

10.2.5

10.2.6

10.2.7

10.2.8

10.2.9

10.2.10

10.2.11

10.2.12

10.2.13

10.2.14

10.2.15

10.2.16

10.2.17*

10.2.18*

10.2.19*

10.3.1

10.3.2

10.3.3

10.3.4

10.3.5

10.4

Form of Nonstatutory Stock Option Award Agreement granted to our executive officers, including the Chief Executive Officer, 
under the Second Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive Plan on January 26, 2011 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 
10.18 of the 2010 Form 10-K).

Form of Nonstatutory Stock Option Award Agreements granted to our executive officers, including the Chief Executive Officer, 
under the Second Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive Plan on January 31, 2012 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 
10.2.10 of the 2011 Form 10-K).

Form of Performance Unit Award Agreements granted to our executive officers, including the Chief Executive Officer, under 
the Second Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive Plan on January 31, 2012 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 
10.2.11 of the 2011 Form 10-K).

Form of Nonstatutory Stock Option Award Agreements granted to our executive officers, including the Chief Executive Officer, 
under the Second Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive Plan on January 31, 2013 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 
10.2.14 of the 2012 Form 10-K).

Form of Performance Unit Award Agreements granted to executive officers, including the Chief Executive Officer, under the 
Second Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive Plan on January 31, 2013 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2.15 
of the 2012 Form 10-K).

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreements granted to our executive officers, including the Chief Executive Officer, 
under the Second Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive Plan on January 31, 2013 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 
10.2.16 of the 2012 Form 10-K).

Form of Restricted Stock Award Agreement granted to our executive officers under the Second Amended and Restated 2004 
Stock Incentive Plan on January 31, 2013 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2.17 of the 2012 Form 10-K).

Restricted Stock Award Agreement granted to Stephen S. Crawford under the Second Amended and Restated 2004 Stock 
Incentive Plan on February 2, 2013 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2.18 of the 2012 Form 10-K).

Form of Nonstatutory Stock Option Award Agreements granted to our executive officers, including the Chief Executive Officer, 
under the Second Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive Plan on January 30, 2014 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 
10.2.15 of the 2013 Form 10-K).

Form of Performance Unit Award Agreements granted to executive officers, including the Chief Executive Officer, under the 
Second Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive Plan on January 30, 2014 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2.16 
of the 2013 Form 10-K).

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreements granted to our executive officers, including the Chief Executive Officer, 
under the Second Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive Plan on January 30, 2014 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 
10.2.17 of the 2013 Form 10-K).

Form of Nonstatutory Stock Option Award Agreements granted to our executive officers, including the Chief Executive Officer, 
under the Second Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive Plan on January 29, 2015 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 
10.2.14 of the 2014 Form 10-K).

Form of Performance Unit Award Agreements granted to executive officers, including the Chief Executive Officer, under the 
Second Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive Plan on January 29, 2015 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2.15 
of the 2014 Form 10-K).

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreements granted to our executive officers, including the Chief Executive Officer, 
under the Second Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive Plan on January 29, 2015 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 
10.2.16 of the 2014 Form 10-K).

Form of Nonstatutory Stock Option Award Agreements granted to our executive officers, including the Chief Executive Officer, 
under the Second Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive Plan on February 4, 2016.

Form of Performance Unit Award Agreements granted to executive officers, including the Chief Executive Officer, under the 
Second Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive Plan on February 4, 2016.

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreements granted to our executive officers, including the Chief Executive Officer, 
under the Second Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive Plan on February 4, 2016.

Capital One Financial Corporation 1999 Non-Employee Directors Stock Incentive Plan, as amended (incorporated by reference 
to Exhibit 10.4 of the 2002 Form 10-K).

Form of 1999 Non-Employee Directors Stock Incentive Plan Nonstatutory Stock Option Agreement between Capital One 
Financial Corporation and certain of its Directors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the Quarterly Report on Form 
10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2004).
Form of 1999 Non-Employee Directors Stock Incentive Plan Deferred Share Units Award Agreement between Capital One 
Financial Corporation and certain of its Directors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 of the Quarterly Report on Form 
10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2004).
  Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement granted to our directors under the Second Amended and Restated 2004 Stock 
Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3.4 of the 2011 Form 10-K).

Form of Stock Option Award Agreement granted to our directors under the Second Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive 
Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3.5 of the 2011 Form 10-K).

Amended and Restated Capital One Financial Corporation Executive Severance Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 
10.4 of the 2011 Form 10-K).

229

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Exhibit No.

  Description

10.5

10.6.1

10.6.2

10.7.1

10.7.2

10.7.3

10.8.1

10.8.2

10.9

Capital  One  Financial  Corporation  Non-Employee  Directors  Deferred  Compensation  Plan  (incorporated  by  reference  to 
Exhibit 10.5 of the 2011 Form 10-K).

Amended  and  Restated  Capital  One  Financial  Corporation  Voluntary  Non-Qualified  Deferred  Compensation  Plan 
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 of the 2011 Form 10-K).

First  Amendment  to  the  Amended  and  Restated  Capital  One  Financial  Corporation  Voluntary  Non-Qualified  Deferred 
Compensation Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6.2 of the 2012 Form 10-K).

Form  of  Change  of  Control  Employment Agreement between  Capital  One  Financial  Corporation  and  each  of  its  named 
executive officers, other than the Chief Executive Officer (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8.2 of the 2011 Form 10-
K).

Form of 2011 Change of Control Employment Agreement between Capital One Financial Corporation and certain executive 
officers (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8.3 of the 2012 Form 10-K).

Change of Control Employment Agreement between Capital One Financial Corporation and Richard D. Fairbank (incorporated 
by reference to Exhibit 10.7.3 of the 2013 Form 10-K).

Form  of  Non-Competition Agreement between  Capital  One  Financial  Corporation  and  certain  named  executive  officers 
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.9 of the 2012 Form 10-K).

Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation of Customer Agreement between Capital One Financial Corporation and Jonathan W. 
Witter (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8.2 of the 2013 Form 10-K).

Offer Letter to Stephen S. Crawford dated January 31, 2013 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.10.2 of the 2012 Form 
10-K).

12.1*

  Computation of Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges and Earnings to Combined Fixed Charges and Preferred Stock Dividends.

21*

23*

31.1*

31.2*

32.1*

32.2*

  Subsidiaries of the Company.

  Consent of Ernst & Young LLP.

  Certification of Richard D. Fairbank.

  Certification of Stephen S. Crawford.

  Certification** of Richard D. Fairbank.

  Certification** of Stephen S. Crawford.

101.INS*

  XBRL Instance Document.

101.SCH*

  XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.

101.CAL*

  XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.

101.DEF*

  XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.

101.LAB*

  XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document.

101.PRE*

  XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.

__________

*  

** 

Indicates a document being filed with this Form 10-K. 

Information in this Form 10-K furnished herewith shall not be deemed to be “filed” for the purposes of Section 18 of the 1934 Act or otherwise subject to 
the liabilities of that section.

230

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
COMPUTATION OF RATIOS OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES AND 
EARNINGS TO COMBINED FIXED CHARGES AND PREFERRED STOCK DIVIDENDS(1)(2)

Exhibit 12.1

(Dollars in millions)

Ratios (including interest expense on deposits):

Earnings:

Year Ended December 31,

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

Income from continuing operations before income taxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

5,881

$

6,569

$

6,578

$

5,184   $

4,688

Adjustments:

Fixed charges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,632

1,586

1,796

2,377   

2,251

Equity in undistributed (gain) loss of unconsolidated subsidiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(19)

(1)

(16)

(22)   

4

Earnings available for fixed charges, as adjusted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

7,494

$

8,154

$

8,358

$

7,539   $

6,943

Fixed charges:

Interest expense on deposits and borrowings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

1,625

$

1,579

$

1,792

$

2,375   $

2,246

Interest factor in rent expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total fixed charges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Preferred stock dividend requirements(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total combined fixed charges and preferred stock dividends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ratio of earnings to fixed charges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ratio of earnings to combined fixed charges and preferred stock dividends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7

1,632

232

7

1,586

100

4

1,796

77

2   

5

2,377   

2,251

20

—

$

1,864

$

1,686

$

1,873

$

2,397

$

2,251

4.59

4.02

5.14

4.84

4.65

4.46

3.17

3.15   

3.08

3.08

Ratios (excluding interest expense on deposits):

Earnings:

Income from continuing operations before income taxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

5,881

$

6,569

$

6,578

$

5,184   $

4,688

Adjustments:

Fixed charges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Equity in undistributed (gain) loss of unconsolidated subsidiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

541

(19)

498

(1)

555

(16)

974   

1,064

(22)   

4

Earnings available for fixed charges, as adjusted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

6,403

$

7,066

$

7,117

$

6,136   $

5,756

Fixed charges:

Interest expense on borrowings(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Interest factor in rent expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total fixed charges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Preferred stock dividend requirements(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total combined fixed charges and preferred stock dividends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

Ratio of earnings to fixed charges, excluding interest on deposits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ratio of earnings to combined fixed charges, excluding interest on deposits, and preferred
stock dividends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

534

$

491

$

551

$

972   $

1,059

7

541

232

773

$

7

498

100

598

4

555

77

2   

5

974   

1,064

20

—

$

632

$

994

$

1,064

11.84

14.19

12.82

6.30

5.41

8.28

11.82

11.26

6.17   

5.41

_________
(1)  As of January 1, 2014, we adopted the proportional amortization method of accounting for Investments in Qualified Affordable Housing Projects. See “Note 

1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” for additional information. Prior periods have been recast to conform to this presentation.

(2)  We acquired ING Direct on February 17, 2012. On May 1, 2012, we closed the 2012 U.S. card acquisition. Each of these transactions was accounted for 

under the acquisition method of accounting.

(3) 

Preferred stock dividends represent pre-tax earnings that would be required to cover any preferred stock dividends requirements, computed using our effective 
tax rate, whenever there is an income tax provision, for the relevant periods

(4)  Represents total interest expense reported on our consolidated statements of income, excluding interest on deposits of $1.1 billion for the years ended 

December 31, 2015 and 2014, and $1.2 billion, $1.4 billion and $1.2 billion for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

231

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
   
Corporate Information

Corporate Office
1680 Capital One Drive, McLean, VA 22102
Tel: (703) 720-1000
www.capitalone.com

Annual Meeting
Thursday, May 5, 2016
10:00 a.m. Eastern Time
Capital One Headquarters
1680 Capital One Drive, McLean, VA 22102

Principal Investor Contact
Jeff Norris
Senior Vice President,
Global Finance
Capital One Financial Corporation
1680 Capital One Drive, McLean, VA 22102
Tel: (703) 720-2455

Common Stock
Listed on New York Stock Exchange®
Stock Symbol COF
Member of S&P 500®

Corporate Registrar/Transfer Agent
Computershare Investor Services
P.O. Box 43078, Providence, RI 02940-3078
Tel: (888) 985-2057
Outside the U.S., Canada, & Puerto Rico 
Tel: (781) 575-2725
Hearing impaired: (800) 952-9245
Email: shareholder@computershare.com
Internet: www.computershare.com

By Overnight Courier to:
Computershare Investor Services
250 Royall Street, Canton, MA 02021

Independent Auditors
Ernst & Young LLP

Copies  of  Form  10-K  filed  with  the  Securities  and  Exchange  Commission  are  available  without  charge  at  www.capitalone.com.  The 
most  recent  certifications  by  our  Chief  Executive  Officer  and  Chief  Financial  Officer  pursuant  to  Section  302  of  the  Sarbanes-Oxley 
Act of 2002 are filed as exhibits to the Form 10-K. We have also filed with the New York Stock Exchange the most recent Annual CEO 
Certification as required by Section 303A.12 (a) of the New York Stock Exchange Listed Company Manual.

ABOUT CAPITAL ONE

Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A., and Capital One Bank (USA), 
N.A., had $217.7 billion in deposits and $334.0 billion in total assets as of December 31, 2015. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum 
of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses, and commercial clients through a variety of channels. Capital One, N.A., has branches located primarily 
in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500® company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange 
under the symbol “COF” and is included in the S&P 100® index.

Capital One cautions readers that any forward-looking statement is not a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained 
in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors including, but not limited to: general economic and business conditions in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, 
or  Capital  One’s  local  markets,  including  conditions  affecting  employment  levels,  interest  rates,  collateral  values,  consumer  income,  credit  worthiness  and  confidence, 
spending, and savings that may affect consumer bankruptcies, defaults, charge-offs, and deposit activity; an increase or decrease in credit losses (including increases 
due  to  a  worsening  of  general  economic  conditions  in  the  credit  environment),  including  the  impact  of  inaccurate  estimates  or  inadequate  reserves;  financial,  legal, 
regulatory, tax, or accounting changes or actions, including the impact of the Dodd-Frank Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder, and other regulatory reforms 
and regulations governing bank capital and liquidity standards, including Basel-related initiatives and potential changes to financial accounting and reporting standards; 
developments, changes, or actions relating to any litigation, governmental investigation, or regulatory enforcement action or matter involving Capital One; the inability to 
sustain revenue and earnings growth; increases or decreases in interest rates; Capital One’s ability to access the capital markets at attractive rates and terms to capitalize 
and  fund  Capital  One’s  operations  and  future  growth;  the  success  of  Capital  One’s  marketing  efforts  in  attracting  and  retaining  customers;  increases  or  decreases  in 
Capital One’s aggregate loan balances or the number of customers and the growth rate and composition thereof, including increases or decreases resulting from factors 
such as shifting product mix, amount of actual marketing expenses Capital One incurs, and attrition of loan balances; the level of future repurchase or indemnification 
requests Capital One may receive, the actual future performance of mortgage loans relating to such requests, the success rates of claimants against Capital One, any 
developments in litigation, and the actual recoveries Capital One may make on any collateral relating to claims against Capital One; the amount and rate of deposit growth; 
changes in the reputation of, or expectations regarding, the financial services industry or Capital One with respect to practices, products, or financial condition; changes in 
retail distribution strategies and channels, including in the behavior and expectations of Capital One’s customers; any significant disruption in Capital One’s operations or 
technology platform, including security failures or breaches on Capital One’s business; Capital One’s ability to maintain a compliance and technology infrastructure suitable 
for the nature of Capital One’s business; Capital One’s ability to develop digital technology that addresses the needs of Capital One’s customers, including the challenges 
relating to rapid significant technological changes; Capital One’s ability to control costs; the effectiveness of Capital One’s risk management strategies; the amount of, and 
rate of growth in, Capital One’s expenses as Capital One’s business develops or changes or as it expands into new market areas; Capital One’s ability to execute on Capital 
One’s strategic and operational plans; any significant disruption of, or loss of public confidence in, the United States mail service affecting Capital One’s response rates and 
consumer payments; any significant disruption of, or loss of public confidence in, the internet affecting the ability of Capital One’s customers to access their accounts and 
conduct banking transactions; Capital One’s ability to recruit and retain talented and experienced personnel to assist in the development, management, and operation of 
new products and services; changes in the labor and employment markets; fraud or misconduct by Capital One’s customers, employees, or business partners; competition 
from providers of products and services that compete with Capital One’s businesses; and other risk factors listed from time to time in reports that Capital One files with the 
SEC, including, but not limited to, the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. 

All Capital One service marks are owned by Capital One. All rights reserved. All third-party trademarks used herein are owned by the respective entity. All rights reserved. 
© Copyright 2016 Capital One Services, Inc.

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Created and produced by Capital One and the following:
Elevation, Design and Production
Vedros and Associates, Photography
Allied Printing Services, Inc., Printing

1680 Capital One Drive
McLean, VA 22102
(703) 720-1000

www.capitalone.com

2015 ANNUAL REPORT