Defense and Compliance Attorneys
Secure Complaint RMAI Certified BrokerSource: site
Capital One Financial is the only Top 10 U.S. bank led by a founder CEO. A relatively small credit-card bank three decades ago that catered partly to subprime borrowers, it is now one of the country’s three largest credit-card and auto lenders. A recent $35 billion deal to buy Discover Financial will give it a payments network to take on giants Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.
Fairbank, 74, was an early believer in technology. Capital One built the first national digital bank and uses technology, including artificial intelligence, to price loans. It is adept at credit-card mailings, and will slice potential customers into dozens of different buckets.
“Capital One is a fintech company disguised as a bank, and no one on Wall Street or in the tech sector gets it,” says Chris Davis, chairman and portfolio manager at Davis Advisors, which counts the stock among its top holdings.
Davis thinks the Discover deal will be a “home run.”
Fairbank earned $33.5 million in 2024 and received a $30 million bonus to mark the closing of the Discover deal. He owns 1% of the stock. He is a minority shareholder in the company that owns the Washington Capitals NHL hockey team and Washington Wizards of the NBA.
Write to Andrew Bary at andrew.bary@barrons.com
Upcoming Events
Secure Complaint RMAI Certified Broker