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Text: To access the call on the Internet, please log on to Capital One's website at capitalone.com and follow the links from there.
In the first quarter, Capital One earned $3.3 billion or $7.03 per diluted common share.
Pre-provision earnings increased 1% in the quarter to $3.4 billion, and we recorded a provision benefit of $823 million.
After recognizing $535 million of gains during 2021 on our Snowflake investment, we had a loss on our position in the first quarter of $75 million or $0.12 per share.
We've now fully exited our position with a cumulative gain of $460 million.
Turning to Slide 4, I will cover the quarterly allowance moves in more detail.
In the first quarter, we released $1.6 billion of allowance.
The release was driven by strong credit performance across all of our businesses and a more favorable economic outlook that includes the $1.9 trillion stimulus package passed in March.
Our allowance continues to assume that the relationship between economic metrics and credit performance reverts to historical patterns.
And despite the strong credit performance and more favorable economic outlook, we continue to hold significant qualitative factors to account for a number of remaining uncertainties.
Turning to Slide 5, I'll provide some detail on the allowance coverage by segment.
After the impact of the $1.6 billion allowance release, our coverage levels declined modestly across all segments from the prior quarter and remain well above pre-pandemic levels.
Our domestic card coverage is now 10.5%, down from 10.8% last quarter.
Our branded card coverage is 12.1%.
Recall that the difference between branded and domestic coverage is driven by the law-sharing agreement in our partnership portfolio.
Coverage in our consumer business declined 38 basis points to 3.6%.
And coverage in our commercial banking business fell 23 basis points to 2%.
Moving to Slide 6, I'll discuss liquidity.
You can see our preliminary average liquidity coverage ratio during the first quarter was 139%, well above the 100% regulatory requirement.
Our liquidity reserves from cash, securities, and federal home loan bank capacity ended the quarter at approximately $151 billion.
The $7 billion increase in total liquidity is largely attributable to strong inflows of consumer and commercial deposits in the last few weeks of the quarter.
Turning to Slide 7, I'll discuss our net interest margin.
NIM declined six basis points in the linked quarter due to a 14-basis-point headwind from having two less days in the quarter, as well as a higher mix of cash.
These factors were partially offset by the full quarter effect of deposit pricing actions we took in the fourth quarter and a modest increase in loan yields.
Lastly, turning to Slide 8, I will cover our capital position.
Our common equity Tier 1 capital ratio was 14.6% at the end of the first quarter, up 90 basis points from the fourth quarter and 260 basis points higher than a year ago.
We continue to estimate that our CET1 capital need is around 11%.
Recall that in January, our board of directors authorized a repurchase plan of up to $7.5 billion of the company's common stock.
In the first quarter, we repurchased $400 million of -- $490 million of common stock at an average price of approximately $114 per share.
Based on the Fed's extension of the trailing four-quarter average earnings rule, our share repurchase capacity will be limited to approximately $1.7 billion in the second quarter.
The timing and amount of all future stock repurchase activity will be a function of any regulatory restrictions, stock trading volumes, and our holistic view of our capital position.
I'll begin on Slide 10 with our credit card business.
Year over year, credit card loan balances and revenue declined in the first quarter driven by the continuing impacts of the pandemic.
Purchase volume rebounded compared to the first quarter of 2020.
And the biggest driver of quarterly results was the provision for credit losses, which improved significantly.
Credit card segment results are largely a function of our domestic card results and trends, which we show on Slide 11.
For the third consecutive quarter, the story of our domestic card business continues to be two sides of the same coin.
Historically, high payment rates amplified by the effects of government stimulus continue to put pressure on loan balances.
And on the flip side, the same factors are driving exceptional credit performance.
Looking first at growth.
We continued to see purchase volume rebound from the sharp declines early in the pandemic.
Domestic card purchase volume for the first quarter was up 8.4% year over year, with growth accelerating in March.
Compared to the first quarter of 2019, purchase volume is up 17%.
Most spend categories are now exceeding the pre-pandemic levels we saw in 2019.
T&E spend is still lagging pre-pandemic levels, but it's catching up.
T&E purchase volume is growing faster than overall purchase volume.
The payment rate, which has risen to a historically high level, continues to put pressure on loan balances, even with the pickup in consumer spending.
At the end of the first quarter, domestic card ending loan balances were down $18.5 billion or about 17% year over year.
Excluding the impact of a partnership portfolio moved to held-for-sale last year, first-quarter ending loans declined about 15% year over year.
The year-over-year percentage change in ending loan balances this quarter was approximately the same as it was last quarter.
Strikingly strong credit was the biggest driver of domestic card financial results in the quarter, just as it has been for the prior two quarters.
The domestic card charge-off rate for the quarter was 2.54%, a 214-basis-point improvement year over year.
The 30-plus delinquency rate at quarter end was 2.24%, 145 basis points better than the prior year.
First-quarter provision for credit losses improved by nearly $4 billion year over year.
We had a large allowance release in the first quarter of this year versus a large allowance build in the first quarter last year.
Strong credit and purchase volume growth were also key drivers of domestic card revenue margin, which was up 229 basis points year over year to 17.2%.
Total company marketing was up modestly compared to the first quarter of 2020.
Our choices in card marketing are the biggest driver of total company marketing trends.
In the midst of the pandemic, we're finding opportunities to continue to build the business, and we continue to lean into marketing.
Pulling up, our domestic card business is delivering significant value and building momentum.
Slide 12 summarizes first-quarter results for our consumer banking business.
Auto growth continued strength in retail deposits and exceptional auto credit are the main themes in the first-quarter consumer banking results.
Driven by auto, first-quarter ending loans increased 10% year over year in the consumer banking business.
Average loans grew 9%.
Auto originations were up 16% year over year, and up 20% from the linked quarter.
We've seen competitive intensity increase through the second half of 2020 and in the first quarter of 2021.
And with most competitors holding excess deposits, we expect that competitive intensity will continue to increase going forward.
First-quarter ending deposits in the consumer banking were up $36.4 billion, or 17% year over year.
Average deposits were up 16%.
On a linked-quarter basis, ending deposits were up 2% and average deposits were flat.
Elevated consumer savings rates, fueled by continuing government stimulus, are driving year-over-year deposit growth.
First-quarter consumer banking revenue increased 22% from the prior-year quarter, driven by growth in auto loans and retail deposits.
First-quarter provision for credit losses improved by $986 million year over year, driven by an allowance release and lower charge-offs in our auto business.
Credit results in our auto business are strikingly strong and continue to benefit from historically high auction values and government stimulus.
Year over year, the first-quarter charge-off rate improved 104 basis points to 0.47%, and the delinquency rate improved 217 basis points to 3.12%.
A sharp uptick in used car values, coupled with a stimulus-driven surge in customer payments, resulted in a negative net charge-off rate in March.
We expect the auto charge-off rate to increase from its unusually low level as auction prices normalize and stimulus impact play out.
The consumer banking business continues to deliver resilient growth in auto loans and retail deposits.
Moving to Slide 13.
I'll discuss our commercial banking business.
First-quarter ending loan balances were down 9% year over year.
Average loans were down 3%.
In C&I, we've seen a reduction in commercial line utilization, which peaked early in the pandemic as customers facing elevated uncertainty drew down their lines.
That behavior has since diminished.
In our commercial real estate business, originations were down, and pay downs increased compared to the first quarter of 2020.
Quarterly average deposits increased 24% from the first quarter of 2020 and 4% from the linked quarter as middle market and government customers continued to hold elevated levels of liquidity.
First-quarter revenue was up 4% from the prior-year quarter.
Higher loan and deposit spreads and growth in average deposits were partially offset by lower average loan balances.
Provision for credit losses improved significantly compared to the first quarter of 2020, driven by a swing from an allowance build to an allowance release and lower net charge-offs.
For the first quarter, the commercial banking annualized charge-off rate was nine basis points.
The criticized performing loan rate was 9.2%, and the criticized nonperforming loan rate was 0.9%.
Our commercial banking business is delivering solid performance as we continue to navigate the pandemic and build our commercial capabilities.
I'll close tonight with some thoughts on our results and our strategic positioning.
Three key themes are evident in our first-quarter results.
High payment rates continue to put near-term pressure on loan balances and revenue growth, particularly in our domestic card business.
On the flip side, strikingly strong credit drove a third consecutive quarter of record earnings per share.
And our investments to transform our technology and transform how we work are paying off.
Our modern technology is powering our response to the pandemic and putting us in a strong position for opportunities that emerge as sweeping digital change transforms banking.
Pulling way up, we continue to focus on the things that create enduring value when delivered and sustained over the long term, continuing to transform our technology from the ground up, capitalizing on our transformation to drive innovation and growth, generating positive operating leverage, and improving efficiency over time, and managing capital efficiently and effectively, including significant planned capital distribution.
We'll now start the Q&A session.
As a courtesy to other investors and analysts who may wish to ask a question, please limit yourself to one question plus a single follow-up.
And if you have follow-up questions after the Q&A session, the investor relations team will be available after the call.
Keith, please start the Q&A.

user
compname reports q1 2021 net income of $3.3 bln, or $7.03 per share.
compname reports first quarter 2021 net income of $3.3 billion, or $7.03 per share.
q1 revenue fell 3 percent to $7.1 billion.
qtrly earnings per share $7.03.
common equity tier 1 capital ratio under basel iii standardized approach of 14.6 percent at march 31, 2021.
qtrly benefit for credit losses $823 million versus provision for credit losses of $5,423 million.
qtrly net interest income $5,822 million, down 3%.
capital one financial qtrly earnings per share $7.03.
q1 revenue fell 3% to $7.1 billion versus q4 2020 .

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