IMGCAP(1)]
Capital One Financial Corp. today reported that its U.S. card segment's net charge-off rate broke the 8% threshold last month. The rate increased to 8.06% of card receivables in February from 7.82% in January. Cap One's 30-day delinquency rate rose to 5.1% in February from 5.02% a month earlier, according to a company filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The charge-off rate increase is in line with company expectations, which project it to increase to 8.1% during the first quarter (CardLine, 2/18). During a January conference call with analysts, Richard D. Fairbank, Cap One founder, chairman and CEO, said he expects the company's charge-offs to continue to increase throughout this year if unemployment continues to rise. The current unemployment rate is 8.1%, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
