63 Hibernia Branches Previously Closed Due to Hurricane Katrina Have Been Reopened

Hibernia (NYSE:HIB) today announced that it has reopened
63 of the locations in the area affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Fifty-three locations remain closed. Many of the offices that remain
closed have minimal damage and only require electricity to reopen. The
company will continue to open branches as conditions permit.
   Here is a recap of some previously announced news for Hibernia
customers and employees:

   --  For small businesses: Hibernia's small-business customers in
        areas affected by the hurricane should call the bank's
        Customer Service area at 1-800-262-5689 if they have not
        already been in touch with their bankers so that Hibernia can
        be of assistance during this challenging time.

   Hibernia has announced it has made the following arrangements for
the extension of consumer, small-business and mortgage-banking loan
payments:

   --  For Hibernia consumer borrowers in Louisiana and Mississippi
        zip codes beginning with 700, 701, 703, 704, 394, 395 and 396,
        Hibernia will defer all payments on consumer loans and lines
        of credit until January 2006. This policy also will apply to
        all small-business loans and lines of credit up to $1 million.
        Individual hardship cases not addressed by this policy will be
        handled on an individual basis.

   --  All automatic deduction payments from checking accounts
        related to these loans will be suspended during the deferment
        period. If a borrower wishes to continue automatic deductions,
        payments cannot be deferred. All automatic deduction
        authorizations will be restored on Jan. 1, 2006.

   --  For Hibernia customers impacted by the hurricane whose
        residential first mortgages are held by Hibernia, the bank
        will suspend up to three months of first-mortgage payments.
        There will be no credit reporting on these accounts during
        this period. The bank also will grant up to 18 months of
        temporary forbearance to repay suspended payments, also with
        no credit reporting. Customers should contact their applicable
        mortgage servicer at 1-877-636-4008 or 1-877-636-4013 for
        details and arrangements. The Department of Housing and Urban
        Development instituted a moratorium on commencement and/or
        continuation of foreclosure action on homes in a federally
        declared disaster area for a period of 90 days from the date
        of the declaration. Also, government insured mortgages (FHA
        and VA loans) may also qualify for a variety of assistance
        options, including special forbearance, late-fee waiver,
        modification and refinance. The appropriate contact numbers
        above can guide customers through these processes.

   In addition, the bank has set up a customer emergency information
hotline. Customers who call 1-877-706-4233 will hear the latest update
on the status of Hibernia's customer service recovery efforts. The
hotline will be updated on a regular basis.

   --  For Hibernia employees: Hibernia is making financial
        assistance available to employees affected by the hurricane.
        To learn details regarding emergency assistance and housing
        assistance, as well as a temporary expense policy, employees
        should go to Hibernia.com and locate the red emergency section
        at the top and click on the VIEW UPDATES section to reach a
        Q&A with details. The Q&A also contains information about
        employee pay.

   --  Also for employees in the impacted areas: Please call
        1-800-707-0489 or go to the same area of Hibernia.com and look
        for the CHECK-IN form in the emergency section at the top.
        Operators will help identify a banking location if assistance
        is needed.

   Hibernia is on Forbes magazine's list of the world's 2,000 largest
companies and Fortune magazine's list of America's top 1,000 companies
according to annual revenue. Hibernia has $22.1 billion in assets and
321 locations in 34 Louisiana parishes and 36 Texas counties.