Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF) is among the nation's top 10 banking institutions. It's known best as a credit card issuer, and that exposure to unsecured loans makes it potentially vulnerable to a slowing economy.
Recently, growing recession worries, lackluster earnings growth, and signs of deteriorating credit conditions have weighed on Capital One's stock, which hasn't hit a record high in two years. Investors are concerned that a possible recession that would lead to job losses, greater dependence on credit cards for everyday spending, and a greater incidence of bad-loan write-offs could have an outsized effect on Capital One. With that in mind, let's take a look at how Capital One has done in past periods of economic stress and what that suggests about its current prospects.
Image source: Capital One.