Capital One
Capital One Group is a ‘top ten’ credit card issuer in both the UK and the USA, and its claim to fame is that it invented the ‘balance transfer’ concept in 1992 which revolutionised the United States, and subsequently UK, credit card markets.
Although based in the USA, Capital One is very much a dedicated UK player with a £30m Operations Centre in Nottingham opened in 1997 where applications and payments are processed.
Compare Capital One Credit Cards
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Capital One World MasterCard | 5% cash back in 1st 3 months + unlimited cash back of 1.25% on all future spending | N/A | 19.9% APR |
5% cash for 1st 3 months up to £100 1.25 % cashback on all purchases thereafter No longer has an annual fee Capital One Identity Alert
Only available to those with perfect credit No balance transfer or purchases deal |
Capital One Click Credit Card | Low long term rate of 9.9% on purchases, balance transfers & cash withdrawals | NONE | 9.9% APR |
Low overall interest rate Great retail discounts Online fraud guarantee No balance transfers or purchases 0% promotion |
Capital One Classic Credit Card | For those wanting to build or establish a credit rating | 3% | 34.9% APR |
Easy to manage credit limits Will help rebuild credit rating For people with poor credit history High APR No promotional balance transfer rate No promotional purchases rateCapital One – Credit Card Guide
Capital One’s products focus on innovation in the credit card market and the bank has won numerous awards for its dynamic product set which include credit cards for consumers with both excellent and poor credit ratings.
What to expect from Capital One cards
All Capital One credit cards feature:-
- FREE purchase protection insurance for up to 100 days
- Online acceptance – a decision within 60 seconds
- Identity theft assistance
- Online account management
- Capital One eXtras – Simple discounts and special offers on everyday items
- Capital One eXtras Plus – Exclusive online discounts on top brands (Click Card only)
- Up to 3 supplementary card holders free of charge
Capital One Corporate Information
Capital One Financial Corporation was established in 1988 by Nigel Morris and Richard Fairbank as an offshoot of Signet Banking Corporation, based in Richmond, VA. Capital One was subsequently bought out 1997 by First Union Corp.
In June 2011 Capital One made a bid to acquire the US credit card operations of HSBC. The bank has agreed to sell its $30bn (£19.4bn) portfolio of credit card loans for a premium of about $2.6bn. The credit card division was originally acquired back in 2003 when the HSBC bought the US consumer lending firm Household, a deal that landed HSBC with enormous losses.
Once the deal has passed regulatory approval, it will leave Capital One with a $30bn (£19.4bn) credit card portfolio, and make the company the 4th largest credit card issuer in America.
On June 16th 2011 ING Group N.V. announced it reached an agreement to sell ING Direct USA for $9.0 billion (£6 billion) to Capital One. The deal would make Capital One the 5th largest bank in the USA.
Under the terms of the deal, ING will receive $6.2bn (£4bn) in cash and $2.8 (£1.8bn) billion in the form of 55.9 million shares in Capital One. With its resulting 9.9% stake, ING will be the largest individual shareholder in Capital One.
During the 2007 to 2009 financial meltdown Capital One responded to the sub-prime mortgage crisis by ditching its mortgage arm, GreenPoint Mortgage, mainly due to investor pressure.
