NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) March 7, 2005--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today affirmed its ratings on Capital One Financial Corp. (Capital One), including its 'BBB- counterparty rating and those of its subsidiaries. At the same time, Capital One's outlook was revised to positive from stable. Standard&Poor's also placed its ratings on Hibernia Corp. (Hibernia), including its 'BBB+' counterparty rating and those of its subsidiaries, on CreditWatch with negative implications. "The actions follow Capital One's announcement that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Hibernia," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst John K. Bartko. "Standard&Poor's views the combination as an incremental step to Capital One's longer term business strategy that includes becoming a well-diversified leader
