DFS Discover Financial Services

The following communication was sent to certain domestic issuers of Discover Financial Services on February 19, 2024.

We announced that Discover has agreed to merge into Capital One, which will benefit Discover Network and our issuers. You can read the press release we issued here.

We expect that bringing together two industry leaders with strong brands and a shared commitment to the customer experience will open new opportunities by uniting our proven credit card business franchises.

Most importantly, we believe this transaction will help our global network better support your business. By coming together with Capital One, we will have new capabilities, significantly enhanced scale and scope, and more resources available to continue building a unique, diversified global payments platform. We expect to expand our network’s reach and relevance with consumers, driving more spending and increasing value for issuers, merchants, and cardholders alike. In short, this transaction is an investment in our ability to enhance the services that help you grow your business.

As far as next steps, the transaction is expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and approval by the shareholders of each company. Until then, Discover and Capital One will continue to operate as independent companies. As we move forward, we expect this to be a seamless transition for all our stakeholders.

We greatly appreciate your business and the [longstanding] relationship that we have had with your company [over the years]. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to [me / your usual Discover contact]. We will keep you informed as we have updates to share.

Sincerely,

Forward Looking Statements

Information in this communication, other than statements of historical facts, may constitute forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of the proposed transaction between Discover Financial Services (“Discover”) and Capital One Financial Corporation (“Capital One”), including future financial and operating results (including the anticipated impact of the transaction on Discover’s and Capital One’s respective earnings and tangible book value), statements related to the expected timing of the completion of the transaction, the combined company’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements may be identified by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “targets,” “scheduled,” “plans,” “intends,” “goal,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “believes,” “forecasts,” “outlook,” “estimates,” “potential,” or “continue” or negatives of such terms or other comparable terminology.

All forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Discover or Capital One to differ materially from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, (1) the risk that the cost savings and any revenue synergies from the transaction may not be fully realized or may take longer than anticipated to be realized, (2) disruption to the parties’ businesses as a result of the announcement and pendency of the transaction, (3) the risk that the integration of each party’s operations will be materially delayed or will be more costly or difficult than expected or that the parties are otherwise unable to successfully integrate as a result of unexpected factors or events, (4) the failure to obtain the necessary approvals by the stockholders of Discover or Capital One, (5) the ability by each of Discover and Capital One to obtain required governmental approvals of the transaction on the timeline expected, or at all, and the risk that such approvals may result in the imposition of conditions that could adversely affect the combined company or the expected benefits of the transaction, (6) reputational risk and the reaction of each company’s customers, suppliers, employees or other business partners to the transaction, (7) the failure of the closing conditions in the merger agreement to be satisfied, or any unexpected delay in closing the transaction or the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement, (8) the possibility that the transaction may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events, (9) risks related to management and oversight of the expanded business and operations of the combined company due to the increased size and complexity, (10) the possibility of increased scrutiny by, and/or additional regulatory requirements of, governmental authorities as a result of the transaction or the size, scope and complexity of the combined company’s business operations, (11) the outcome of any legal or regulatory proceedings that may be currently pending or later instituted against Capital One or Discover or the combined company before or after the transaction, and (12) general competitive, economic, political and market conditions and other factors that may affect future results of Discover and Capital One including changes in asset quality and credit risk; the inability to sustain revenue and earnings growth; changes in interest rates and capital markets; inflation; customer borrowing, repayment, investment and deposit practices; the impact, extent and timing of technological changes; capital management activities; and other actions of the Federal Reserve Board and legislative and regulatory actions and reforms. Additional factors which could affect future results of Discover and Capital One can be found in Discover’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K, and Capital One’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K, in each case filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Discover and Capital One disclaim any obligation and do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this communication, which speak only as of the date hereof, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by federal securities laws.

Important Information About the Transaction and Where to Find It

Capital One intends to file a registration statement on Form S-4 with the SEC to register the shares of Capital One’s common stock that will be issued to Discover stockholders in connection with the proposed transaction. The registration statement will include a joint proxy statement of Capital One and Discover that also constitutes a prospectus of Capital One. The definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus will be sent to the stockholders of each of Discover and Capital One in connection with the proposed transaction. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE (AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE TRANSACTION OR INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE INTO THE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS) BECAUSE SUCH DOCUMENTS WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION AND RELATED MATTERS. Investors and security holders may obtain free copies of these documents and other documents filed with the SEC by Discover or Capital One through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov or by contacting the investor relations department of Discover or Capital One at:

Before making any voting or investment decision, investors and security holders of Discover and Capital One are urged to read carefully the entire registration statement and joint proxy statement/prospectus when they become available, including any amendments thereto, because they will contain important information about the proposed transaction. Free copies of these documents may be obtained as described above.

Participants in Solicitation

Discover, Capital One and certain of their directors and executive officers may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of each of Discover and Capital One in connection with the transaction. Information regarding the directors and executive officers of Discover and Capital One and other persons who may be deemed participants in the solicitation of the stockholders of Discover or of Capital One in connection with the transaction will be included in the joint proxy statement/prospectus related to the proposed transaction, which will be filed by Capital One with the SEC. Information about the directors and executive officers of Discover and their ownership of Discover common stock can also be found in Discover’s definitive proxy statement in connection with its 2023 annual meeting of stockholders, as filed with the SEC on March 17, 2023, and other documents subsequently filed by Discover with the SEC. Information about the directors and executive officers of Capital One and their ownership of Capital One common stock can also be found in Capital One’s definitive proxy statement in connection with its 2023 annual meeting of stockholders, as filed with the SEC on March 22, 2023, and other documents subsequently filed by Capital One with the SEC. Additional information regarding the interests of such participants will be included in the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents regarding the proposed transaction filed with the SEC when they become available.