[e-mail] Exceeds 200,000 Customers; Internet Banking Service Marks Five-Year Anniversary.

Business Editors

NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 23, 2004

A lot can change in five years - just ask the more than 200,000 customers who use [e-mail].

This week, Hibernia (NYSE: HIB) celebrates the five-year anniversary of Bank Online's introduction, a debut that changed the way many customers handle their financial-services needs. The anniversary comes as Hibernia celebrates a major achievement for Bank Online: there are now more than 200,000 customers actively using the free service.

"We're proud to mark both the anniversary of Bank Online and the growth of its popularity, as reflected in this milestone of more than 200,000 customers now using it for their financial-services needs," says President and CEO Herb Boydstun.

Bank Online is the service that allows customers to set their own banking hours, manage their accounts from any desktop or portable computer with Internet access and pay bills without stamps or envelopes, among other features.

Hibernia was the first Louisiana-based bank to offer an online banking service. Since that introduction, the company has made many enhancements and added features to ensure Bank Online is in step with the needs and preferences of customers.

"The wide range of online services available at Hibernia.com gives customers the power to accomplish many banking tasks whenever and wherever they have Internet access, and as a result it has become a highly effective tool for consumers and businesses alike," says Randy Bryan, Hibernia's executive vice president for Marketing and Delivery Channel Management. "Over the years, we've invested in technology that helps us manage the increasing demand among customers for instant access to financial information and offer new and better services to our growing customer base."

For instance, in September 2003 Hibernia offered its popular Bill Pay feature for free, waiving the monthly fee customers had previously paid for the convenience. Another important enhancement came when the company introduced My Alerts, a service which provides Bank Online customers with timely notification through e-mail or alphanumeric pager about financial events that take place in their accounts, such as payroll deposits, minimum balances or interest payments.

Hibernia's commitment to improving its online offerings was recognized earlier this year by the Customer Respect Group, an international research and consulting firm based in Bellevue, Wash., that analyzes the online customer experience of the nation's largest companies. In January, the group ranked Hibernia eighth among the nation's 76 largest financial-services companies in its independent Online Customer Respect Study.

Bank Online is just one of the features available on Hibernia.com that make banking easier and more convenient for customers. Other site features include online consumer, small-business and mortgage-loan applications; online financial calculators and articles on personal and small-business financial issues to help visitors make informed decisions; and the ability to open an "e-storefront" that can sell items, accept credit-card payments and display merchandise or services.

"We're very pleased with the progress of Bank Online in the past few years," says Jennifer Weed, senior vice president and manager of Hibernia's Online Business Solutions. "We've been on the cutting edge of online technologies, our clients are pleased with our service and our base is growing rapidly."

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 $18.7 billion in assets and 258 locations in 34 Louisiana parishes and 18 Texas counties. Following a merger with Coastal Bancorp, Inc., assets would exceed $21 billion, and the company would have more than 300 locations in 34 Louisiana parishes and 33 Texas counties. Hibernia Corporation's common stock (HIB) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.