Capital One Offers Disaster Planning Guidelines for Businesses and Employees

With the 2008 hurricane season now under way, Capital One Bank, the Bank business of Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF), is providing an updated disaster-planning checklist for its commercial and small business customers that is available on www.capitalonebank.com/disasterplanning. The checklist emphasizes the following points: Develop a continuity plan that addresses post-disaster recovery procedures; Consider alternative operational locations; Equip backup operations sites with critical equipment, data files and supplies; Safeguard property; Gather current contact information for employees, vendors and customers; Develop multiple and reliable communication methods to reach employees; Communicate details of the plan to employees; Let customers and vendors know the business’ plan and what to expect from the business; Develop a detailed action plan in the event of a mandatory evacuation; and Prepare for emergency cash management to handle cash flow. "It’s critically important for businesses in areas along or near our coastlines to prepare in advance for hurricanes – well before a storm threatens land,” said David Frady, Capital One’s executive vice president of commercial and small business products and services. "For several years, Capital One has developed a disaster-planning checklist to help businesses plan for various hurricane scenarios, including evacuation from the area. We’re pleased to issue our updated checklist to help businesses prepare for the 2008 hurricane season.” In the event of an emergency, chief concerns for many businesses include meeting payroll obligations, paying bills, restoring critical technology and communicating with employees, customers and suppliers. "Our Internet-based banking service was tested by hurricanes Katrina and Rita and successfully supported payroll and other operational needs critical to the bank’s commercial and small business clients,” said Frady. The Capital One Bank Web site contains additional information and links to other technology solutions that allow a business to operate more effectively and efficiently in normal circumstances, or from a remote location in the event of evacuation. For example, Capital One’s Internet-based check deposit system, called Remote Deposit, allows businesses to make digital images of checks and transmit them to the bank via the Internet so that deposits are accomplished with clicks of a computer mouse instead of requiring trips to the bank. "Remote Deposit checks can be deposited later than traditional bank deposits, and deposits can be made remotely as many times as necessary,” said Frady. Direct deposit and corporate credit cards are additional tools that businesses can explore. "Every business should have a disaster plan in place that is tailored to its specific type of operations,” Frady explained. "Specific needs can vary. Businesses that carry an extensive inventory might have one set of issues, while a service business might face different challenges. But access to money and records is critical to everyone.” Capital One also offers the following planning recommendations to help businesses plan and prepare for potential emergencies: Transport physical records when a business evacuates. Records should always be kept where they can be removed quickly and easily to a safe location. Conduct a disaster-plan-building exercise with key employees. Identify which aspects of operations can be suspended temporarily and which must be maintained. List the business tools they will need to perform operations essential to sustaining business during a disaster and the recovery period that follows. Review communications capabilities for maintaining contact with employees. E-mail and text messaging should play a large role in employee communications planning. For more information on emergency planning and preparedness for your business, visit the Capital One Web site at www.capitalonebank.com/disasterplanning. Editor's Note: Checklist located at bottom of press release. About Capital One Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries collectively had $87.7 billion in deposits and $148.0 billion in managed loans outstanding as of March 31, 2008. Headquartered in McLean, VA, Capital One has 745 locations in Louisiana, Texas, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. It is a diversified bank whose principal subsidiaries, Capital One, N.A., Capital One Bank (USA), N.A., and Capital One Auto Finance, Inc., offer a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index. Business Disaster Planning Checklist Develop a business continuity / disaster recovery plan. Establish a disaster-recovery team of employees who know your business best, and assign responsibilities for specific tasks. Identify your risks (kinds of disasters you’re most likely to experience). Prioritize critical business functions and how quickly these must be recovered. Establish a disaster-recovery location where employees may work off-site and access critical back-up systems, records and supplies. Obtain temporary housing for key employees, their families and pets. Update and test your plan at least annually. Alternative operational locations. Determine which alternatives are available: A satellite or branch office of your business. The office of a business partner or even an employee. Home or hotel. Backup site. Equip your backup operations site with critical equipment, data files and supplies: Power generators. Computers and software. Critical computer data files (payroll, accounts payable and receivable, customer orders, inventory). Phones/radios/TVs. Equipment and spare parts. Vehicles, boats and spare parts. Digital cameras. Common supplies. Supplies unique to your business (order forms, contracts, etc.). Basic first aid/sanitary supplies, potable water and food. Safeguard your property. Is your property prepared to survive a hurricane or other disaster: Your building? Your equipment? Your computer systems? Your company vehicles? Your company records? Other company assets? Contact information. Do you have current and multiple contact information (e.g., home and cell phone numbers, personal email addresses) for: Employees? Key customers? Important vendors, suppliers, business partners? Insurance companies? Is contact information accessible electronically for fast access by all employees? Communications. Do you have access to multiple and reliable methods of communicating with your employees: Emergency toll-free hotline? Web site? Cell phones? Satellite phones? Pagers? BlackBerryTM? Two-way radios? Internet? Email? Employee preparation. Make sure your employees know: Company emergency plan. Where they should relocate to work. How to use and have access to reliable methods of communication, such as satellite/cell phones, email, voice mail, Internet, text messages, BlackBerryTM, PDAs. Their user IDs and passwords for critical company systems. How to perform multiple job functions to help ensure adequate support coverage during a disaster. How they will be notified to return to work. Benefits of direct deposit of payroll and subscribe to direct deposit. Emergency company housing options available for them and their family. Customer preparation. Make sure your key customers know: Your emergency contact information for sales and service support (publish on your Web site). Your backup business or store locations (publish on your Web site). What to expect from your company in the event of a prolonged disaster displacement. Alternate methods for placing orders. Alternate methods for sending invoice payments in the event of mail disruption. Evacuation order. When a mandatory evacuation is issued, be prepared to grab and leave with critical office records and equipment: Company disaster-recovery plan and checklist. Insurance policies and company contracts. Company checks, plus a list of all bank accounts, credit cards, ATM cards. Employee payroll and contact information. Desktop/laptop computers. Customer records, including orders in progress. Photographs/digital images of your business property. Post disaster contact info inside your business to alert emergency workers how to reach you. Secure your building and property. Cash management. Be prepared to meet emergency cash-flow needs: Fund bank accounts and keep enough cash on hand to handle immediate needs. Take your checkbook and credit cards in the event of an evacuation. Release direct deposit of payroll, if necessary. Use Internet banking services to monitor account activity, manage cash flow, initiate wires, pay bills. Issue corporate cards to essential personnel to cover emergency business expenses. Reduce dependency on paper checks and postal service to send and receive payments (consider using direct-deposit/direct-debit electronic payments and remote deposit banking services). Contact your branch for any special coin/currency needs, if a threat is imminent. Make night depository drops as early as possible, if a threat is imminent. Be prepared to safeguard your own deposits in the event you are unable to reach a branch that can process your transactions (consider using remote deposit banking services). Post-disaster recovery procedures. Consider how your post-disaster business may differ from today. Plan whom you will want to contact and when. Assign specific tasks to responsible employees. Track progress and effectiveness. Document lessons learned and best practices. For more business continuity planning tips, visit the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Web site at www.ready.gov/business. To access a copy of this business disaster planning checklist, go to www.capitalonebank.com/disasterplanning.