April 20, 2000
Securities and Exchange Commission
Judiciary Plaza
450 Fifth Street, N. W.
Washington, D. C. 20549
Re: Hibernia Corporation
Current Report on Form 8-K
Commission File No. 1-10294
Dear Sirs:
Pursuant to rules and regulations adopted under the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended (the "Act"), transmitted hereby for filing, on behalf of
Hibernia Corporation (the "Company"), is a Current Report on Form 8-K.
Pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Act, by copy hereof we are filing with the New
York Stock Exchange, the national securities exchange on which the Common Stock
of the Company is listed and traded, two complete copies, including exhibits.
Pursuant to General Instruction E to Form 8-K, one such complete copy being
filed with the Exchange has been manually signed on behalf of the Company.
Please call the undersigned at (504) 533-2486 if you have any questions
concerning this filing.
Very truly yours,
/s/Patricia C. Meringer
Patricia C. Meringer
Corporate Counsel and
Secretary
PCM/mch
Enclosure
cc: John Kiesel
<PAGE>
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) April 20, 2000
________________
April 5, 2000
Hibernia Corporation
(Exact name of issuer as specified in its charter)
Louisiana 1-10294 72-0724532
(State or other (Commission (IRS Employer
jurisdiction of File Number) Identification No.)
organization)
313 Carondelet Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code (504) 533-5333
<PAGE>
Item 5. Other Events.
On April 5, 2000, Hibernia Corporation's board of directors authorized
the company to begin a buyback of up to 7.5 million common shares over the next
12 months. The press release announcing the purchase is attached to this Report
as an Exhibit.
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit Page
Number Description Number
99.5 News Release issued by the Registrant
on April 5, 2000 1
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
HIBERNIA CORPORATION
(Registrant)
Date: April 18,2000 By: /s/Patricia C. Meringer
Patricia C. Meringer
Corporate Counsel and
Secretary
<PAGE>
EXHIBIT 99.5
N E W S R E L E A S E
For IMMEDIATE Release April 5, 2000
MEDIA INQUIRIES: INVESTOR INQUIRIES:
Jim Lestelle - Senior Vice President Trisha Voltz--Vice President
and Manager, Corporate Communications and Manager, Investor Relations
Office: (504) 533-5482; Office: (504) 533-2180;
Home: (504) 488-8826 Home: (504) 738-9852
E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]
Hibernia Announces 7.5-Million-Share Buyback
Concurs with First-Quarter StreetEstimate of $0.31, up 72%;
Net Income Expected To Be A Record $50.1 million
NEW ORLEANS - Hibernia Corporation's board of directors has authorized
the company to begin a buyback of up to 7.5 million common shares over the next
12 months, the company announced today. The action was taken after considering
the value of reinvesting in the company in light of the currently under-valued
banking sector.
At the same time, the company provided first-quarter earnings guidance,
saying it expects to report record net income of $50.1 million. Earnings per
common share are expected to total $0.31, up 72% from the year-ago quarter, or
$0.33 per common share on a cash basis. Cash-basis net income per common share
excludes amortization of purchase accounting intangibles.
"A capital management strategy centered on a buyback makes good sense
at this time," said Stephen A. Hansel, Hibernia's president and chief executive
officer. The result of completing the program at current stock prices would be
to lower the company's leverage ratio to a range of 7.60% to 7.75%. This range
would continue to be well above the 7.21% recent average for bank holding
companies larger than $10 billion. The 7.5-million-share buyback would represent
4.7% of current shares outstanding, if completed.
In its earnings guidance, the company noted $0.31 per common share
for the first quarter is in line with investment analysts' projections and is
72% higher than the $0.18 per common share reported in the year-ago quarter and
3% higher than fourth-quarter 1999. A complete first-quarter earnings release is
scheduled for Thursday, April 13.
For the first quarter, Hibernia expects to report a provision for loan
loss expense of $16.3 million, exceeding net charge-offs by $5.2 million and
resulting in a 1.42% ratio of reserves to loans.
"We also expect to see modestly better coverage and non-performing-asset
ratios tha at year-end," Hansel said. After completing the purchase of three
offices from Compass Bank in Central Texas, Hibernia would be a $15.8-billion-
asset organization with 253 offices in 33 Louisiana parishes and 15 Texas
counties. It is the leading bank in Louisiana with 22.3% statewide market share
and is either first, second or third in 31 Louisiana parishes and seven Texas
counties. Eighty percent of Louisiana's population and 84% of its deposits are
in Hibernia markets. The company's common stock (HIB) is listed on the New York
Stock Exchange.
