Hibernia Announces Branch Closings in Advance of Hurricane Rita; ATMs, Online Banking Ready to Assist Customers

        5:15 p.m. CT Hurricane Rita Update, Thursday, Sept. 22

   Hibernia Bank (NYSE:HIB) today announced the following news
regarding its operations in Louisiana, Southern Texas and East Texas
in advance of Hurricane Rita:

   In Louisiana:

   --  All Hibernia branch and non-branch locations in the southwest
        corner of the state will be closed Friday and through the
        weekend. The affected parishes are: St. Mary, Iberia,
        Vermilion, Lafayette, Cameron, Jeff Davis, Calcasieu and
        Allen.

   --  Also closed Friday and through the weekend are all branch and
        non-branch locations in Lafourche, Assumption and Terrebonne
        parishes.

   In Southern Texas:

   --  All branch and non-branch locations in the southern part of
        the state, except for the Rio Grande Valley, will be closed
        Friday and will remain closed through the weekend.

   In East Texas:

   --  Because of the predicted inland effects of Hurricane Rita, the
        following branches will close at 3 p.m. Friday and remain
        closed through the weekend: Lufkin, Elysian Fields, Marshall,
        Longview Judson, Longview Loop, Gladewater, Mineola, Lindale,
        Hide-a-Way, Tyler Loop, Tyler South Broadway, Jacksonville,
        Palestine Sycamore, Palestine Loop and Chireno.

   Customers in all of these markets have the option of using
Hibernia ATMs and the bank's Internet banking service at
www.hibernia.com.
   All other Hibernia branch and non-branch locations are open for
business as usual. Employees in mission-critical functions should be
in touch with their managers for instructions. Branch and non-branch
employees who have temporarily relocated to Houston from markets
impacted by Hurricane Katrina should follow the lead of Hibernia's
local management in Houston regarding any openings and closings, and
they should heed the instructions of local authorities.
   Hibernia employees in areas that could be affected by Hurricane
Rita should call the bank's Employee Emergency Information Line
frequently for updates on any impact on Hibernia's offices and
operations. Customers may call 1-877-706-4233 for a recorded update on
storm impact or 1-800-262-5689 to reach Hibernia's customer service
agents.

   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 $22.2 billion in assets and
318 locations in 35 Texas counties and 34 Louisiana parishes. Hibernia
Corporation's common stock (HIB) is listed on the New York Stock
Exchange.