Capital One's U.S. Delinquency Rate Rises in January From December

   By Saabira Chaudhuri 
 

Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) said delinquencies at its U.S. credit-card business rose during January, while auto-loan delinquencies also edged up.

The lender, which transformed from a credit-card lender to a bank just before the financial crisis hit, has mostly benefited from improving credit quality and has been working to expand through acquisitions.

However for January, Capital One's 30-day delinquency rate for U.S. credit cards rose to 3.72% last month from 3.61% in December, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

At its international credit-card business the rate was 3.87% compared with 3.58% during December.

Auto-loan delinquencies edged up to 7.06% from 7%.

Charge-offs--loans banks don't expect to be able to collect--at the U.S. card business were 4.36% from 4.35% in December.

Internationally, the rate was 4.38% from negative 0.88%. Auto financing charge-offs were 2.48%, down a hair from 2.49%.

In January, Capital One reported that its fourth-quarter earnings surged amid strong revenue growth, though earnings and revenue missed analysts' expectations owing to higher loan-loss provisions and operating expenses.

Shares closed Thursday at $55.59 and were inactive premarket. The stock has risen 13% in the past 12 months.

Write to Saabira Chaudhuri at [e-mail]

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires