The New York Times-20080124-Profit Falls 42- at Capital One

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Profit Falls 42% at Capital One

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The Capital One Financial Corporation, the credit card issuer, said Wednesday that fourth-quarter profit fell 42 percent as more borrowers failed to repay their debts.

Net income of $226.6 million, or 60 cents a share, compared with $390.7 million, or $1.14 a share, a year earlier, the company, based in McLean, Va., said Wednesday.

Capital One, American Express and Citigroup have increased reserves for failed loans in the fourth quarter by more than $4 billion.

Capital One is the No. 4 issuer of Visa and MasterCard credit cards by volume of purchases and cash advances, according to The Nilson Report, an industry newsletter. Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup are larger.