Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2021

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

NOTE 1—SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The Company

Capital One Financial Corporation, a Delaware Corporation established in 1994 and headquartered in McLean, Virginia, is a diversified financial services holding company with banking and non-banking subsidiaries. Capital One Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) offer a broad array of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients through digital channels, branches, Cafés and other distribution channels. As of June 30, 2021, our principal subsidiaries included:

•Capital One Bank (USA), National Association (“COBNA”), which offers credit and debit card products, other lending products and deposit products; and

•Capital One, National Association (“CONA”), which offers a broad spectrum of banking products and financial services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients.

The Company is hereafter collectively referred to as “we,” “us” or “our.” COBNA and CONA are collectively referred to as the “Banks.”

We also offer products outside of the United States of America (“U.S.”) principally through Capital One (Europe) plc (“COEP”), an indirect subsidiary of COBNA organized and located in the United Kingdom (“U.K.”), and through a branch of COBNA in Canada. COEP has authority, among other things, to provide credit card loans. Our branch of COBNA in Canada also has the authority to provide credit card loans.

Our principal operations are organized for management reporting purposes into three major business segments, which are defined primarily based on the products and services provided or the types of customer served: Credit Card, Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking. We provide details on our business segments, the integration of recent acquisitions, if any, into our business segments and the allocation methodologies and accounting policies used to derive our business segment results in “Note 12—Business Segments and Revenue from Contracts with Customers.”

Basis of Presentation and Use of Estimates

The accompanying unaudited interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. (“U.S. GAAP”). The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and in the related disclosures. These estimates are based on information available as of the date of the consolidated financial statements. While management makes its best judgments, actual amounts or results could differ from these estimates. In the opinion of management, all normal, recurring adjustments have been included for a fair statement of this interim financial information. Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation.

These unaudited interim consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements, and related notes thereto, included in Capital One Financial Corporation’s 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K (“2020 Form 10-K”).

Newly Adopted Accounting Standards During the Six Months Ended June 30, 2021

Standard	Guidance	Adoption Timing and Financial Statement Impacts
Income Tax Accounting Simplification ASU No. 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes Issued December 2019	Simplifies various aspects of the guidance on accounting for income taxes.	We adopted this guidance in the first quarter of 2021 using the modified retrospective and prospective methods of adoption. Our adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.