Capital One Warns of Earnings Shortfall

Capital One Financial Corp., McLean, Va., has lowered its estimate of 2007 earnings, citing among other factors costs associated with GreenPoint Mortgage, which the company has shut down. Capital One said it now expects to post earnings of about $3.97 per share for the full year, down from a previous estimate of "about $5.00." Capital One said its fourth-quarter provision for credit losses was $1.9 billion, consisting of $1.3 billion of chargeoffs and an allowance for future loan losses of $650 million. The company said the increase in loss provisioning was necessitated by "continued deterioration" in its $700 million portfolio of home equity lines of credit originated by GreenPoint and expectations for a weaker U.S. economy in 2008.