63 Hibernia Branches Previously Closed Due to Hurricane Katrina Have Been Reopened.

NEW ORLEANS -- Hibernia (NYSE:HIB) today announced that it has reopened 63 of the locations in the area affected by Hurricane Katrina. Fifty-three locations remain closed. Many of the offices that remain closed have minimal damage and only require electricity to reopen. The company will continue to open branches as conditions permit.

Here is a recap of some previously announced news for Hibernia customers and employees:

--For small businesses: Hibernia's small-business customers in areas affected by the hurricane should call the bank's Customer Service area at 1-800-262-5689 if they have not already been in touch with their bankers so that Hibernia can be of assistance during this challenging time.

Hibernia has announced it has made the following arrangements for the extension of consumer, small-business and mortgage-banking loan payments:

--For Hibernia consumer borrowers in Louisiana and Mississippi zip codes beginning with 700, 701, 703, 704, 394, 395 and 396, Hibernia will defer all payments on consumer loans and lines of credit until January 2006. This policy also will apply to all small-business loans and lines of credit up to $1 million. Individual hardship cases not addressed by this policy will be handled on an individual basis.

--All automatic deduction payments from checking accounts related to these loans will be suspended during the deferment period. If a borrower wishes to continue automatic deductions, payments cannot be deferred. All automatic deduction authorizations will be restored on Jan. 1, 2006.

--For Hibernia customers impacted by the hurricane whose residential first mortgages are held by Hibernia, the bank will suspend up to three months of first-mortgage payments. There will be no credit reporting on these accounts during this period. The bank also will grant up to 18 months of temporary forbearance to repay suspended payments, also with no credit reporting. Customers should contact their applicable mortgage servicer at 1-877-636-4008 or 1-877-636-4013 for details and arrangements. The Department of Housing and Urban Development instituted a moratorium on commencement and/or continuation of foreclosure action on homes in a federally declared disaster area for a period of 90 days from the date of the declaration. Also, government insured mortgages (FHA and VA loans) may also qualify for a variety of assistance options, including special forbearance, late-fee waiver, modification and refinance. The appropriate contact numbers above can guide customers through these processes.

In addition, the bank has set up a customer emergency information hotline. Customers who call 1-877-706-4233 will hear the latest update on the status of Hibernia's customer service recovery efforts. The hotline will be updated on a regular basis.

--For Hibernia employees: Hibernia is making financial assistance available to employees affected by the hurricane. To learn details regarding emergency assistance and housing assistance, as well as a temporary expense policy, employees should go to Hibernia.com and locate the red emergency section at the top and click on the VIEW UPDATES section to reach a Q&A with details. The Q&A also contains information about employee pay.

--Also for employees in the impacted areas: Please call 1-800-707-0489 or go to the same area of Hibernia.com and look for the CHECK-IN form in the emergency section at the top. Operators will help identify a banking location if assistance is needed.

Hibernia is on Forbes magazine's list of the world's 2,000 largest companies and Fortune magazine's list of America's top 1,000 companies according to annual revenue. Hibernia has $22.1 billion in assets and 321 locations in 34 Louisiana parishes and 36 Texas counties.