8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d) of

The Securities Exchange Act of 1934

April 21, 2004

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported)

CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its chapter)

Delaware	1-13300	54-1719854
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)

1680 Capital One Drive, McLean, Virginia	22102
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (703) 720-1000

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Item 9. Regulation FD Disclosure.

The Company hereby furnishes the information in Exhibit 99.1 hereto, Monthly Charge-off and Delinquency Statistics — March 2004, for the month ended March 31, 2004.

Note: Information in this report (including the exhibit) furnished pursuant to Item 9 shall not be deemed to be “filed” for the purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section. This report will not be deemed an admission as to the materiality of any information in the report that is required to be disclosed solely by Regulation FD.

2

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Company has duly caused this Current Report on Form 8-K to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

	CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
Dated: April 21, 2004	By:	/s/    GARY L. PERLIN
		Gary L. Perlin
		Executive Vice President and
		Chief Financial Officer

3

EXHIBIT INDEX

99.1 Monthly Charge-off and Delinquency Statistics — March 2004

4

EX-99.1

Capital One Financial Corporation

Monthly Charge-off and Delinquency Statistics

As of and for the month ended March 31, 2004

Summary Metrics

	Reported		Managed
Net Charge-Off Rate	3.98	%	4.74	%
30 Days + Delinquency Rate	3.82	%	3.80	%

Reconciliation to GAAP Measures:

The Company's consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") are referred to as its "reported" financial statements. Loans included in securitization transactions which qualified as sales under GAAP have been removed from the Company's "reported" balance sheet. However, interest income, interchange, fees and recoveries generated from the securitized loan portfolio net of charge-offs in excess of the interest paid to investors of asset-backed securitizations are recognized as non-interest income on the "reported" income statement.

The Company's "managed" consolidated financial statements reflect adjustments made related to effects of securitization transactions qualifying as sales under GAAP. The Company generates earnings from its "managed" loan portfolio which includes both the on-balance sheet loans and off-balance sheet loans. The Company's "managed" income statement takes the components of the non-interest income generated from the securitized portfolio and distributes the revenue to appropriate income statement line items from which it originated. For this reason the Company believes the "managed" consolidated financial statements and related managed metrics to be useful to stakeholders.

Metric Calculation Details

(dollars in thousands)

	Reported			Adjustments (1)		Managed (2)
Net Principal Charge-Offs	$	108,204		$	173,207	$	281,411
Average Loans Outstanding	$	32,596,991		$	38,615,299	$	71,212,290
Annualized Net Charge-Off Rate		3.98	%				4.74	%
30 Days + Delinquencies	$	1,266,425		$	1,464,913	$	2,731,338
Period-end Loans Outstanding	$	33,171,517		$	38,645,385	$	71,816,902
30 Days + Delinquency Rate		3.82	%				3.80	%

⁽¹⁾ Includes adjustments made related to effects of securitization transactions qualifying as sales under GAAP and adjustments made to reclassify to "managed" loans outstanding the collectible portion of billed finance charge and fee income on the investors' interest in securitized loans excluded from loans outstanding on the "reported" balance sheet in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board Staff Position, "Accrued Interest Receivable", issued April 2003.

⁽²⁾ The managed loan portfolio does not include auto loans which have been sold in whole loan sale transactions where the Company has retained servicing rights.