Careful, Cautious, Conservative is Boydstun's Pledge for Hibernia; Paul Candies Elected to Board.

Business Editors

NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 17, 2002

Hibernia (NYSE:HIB) will continue operating in a "careful, cautious and conservative manner," Hibernia President and CEO Herb Boydstun told shareholders today as he described the company's solid 2001 financial performance and goals for the remainder of this year.

"A key objective is to produce consistent, stable earnings over time with no surprises, and we've done that now for five quarters," Boydstun told the audience at Hibernia's annual meeting. "Even in a weak economy, our earnings have grown, mainly due to strong non-interest income growth and a stronger margin."

Also at the meeting, shareholders elected Paul Candies to his first term as a director of the company. Candies, 61, is president of Otto Candies, L.L.C., a marine transportation company with a fleet of more than 100 vessels serving the offshore oil and gas industry worldwide. Candies served for 30 years on the board of ArgentBank, headquartered in Thibodaux, La., which merged with Hibernia in 1998. Since the merger, Candies has served on Hibernia's Thibodaux city board of directors.

Boydstun pointed out that stronger fee-based revenue and a more diversified income stream can better insulate the company from economic cycles. "Along with managing expenses effectively and producing reasonable growth in earnings per share, a key objective for us is to keep building non-interest income.

"Although the net interest margin accounts for close to 70% of total revenue, fees are an important component and rose to 33% last year and 34% in the first quarter. We believe our acquisition earlier this month of Friedler-LaRocca, a New Orleans firm specializing in life insurance and other financial services, will enhance our non-interest income stream."

Among Hibernia's recent accomplishments, Boydstun cited:

-- The 2002 launch of Completely Free Checking, which offers a gift to anyone
who opens a new personal checking account and anyone who makes a successful
referral. "This initiative is off to a promising start," he said, "and that's
significant, because Completely Free Checking can help us achieve two things:
more lower-cost deposits and more revenue through cross-selling."

-- Progress in asset quality. "We're pleased with the strides we've made on the
asset quality front and believe our results reflect that progress. The overall
portfolio should have less risk as we further reduce shared national credits
and tighten underwriting standards."

-- A stronger balance sheet, with improved protection from loan losses and less
reliance on more-costly borrowed funds.

-- Strong capital, which can help the company grow and address any economic
uncertainty.

-- Sales culture improvement. "We're still in the infancy stage," Boydstun
said, "but our sales culture is maturing quickly." He explained that companies
with a strong focus on selling and serving are in the best position to attract
and retain customers, "and that's the foundation for profitable growth in both
good and bad economies."

Boydstun reminded shareholders of the company's commitment to improving value for investors.

"Our stock price rose 39% last year, and with yesterday's close, we've increased 12% so far this year," he said. "The market capitalization of your company has grown almost 60% in the past 15 months. In addition, the cash dividend on common shares, which produces a yield above the average for our peers, has grown at a compound annual rate of 16% since 1994."

In addition to the election of Candies to his first term, shareholders re-elected five directors: Robert T. Holleman, independent geologist (Lafayette, La.); Sidney W. Lassen, chairman of Sizeler Realty Co., Inc., and chairman and CEO of Sizeler Property Investors, Inc., shopping center development firms (New Orleans); William C. O'Malley, chairman and CEO of Tidewater Inc., an offshore marine transportation, shipyard facilities and containerized shipping firm (New Orleans); Ray B. Nesbitt, retired president of Exxon Chemical Company and active in properties and investments (Houston); and Janee M. "Gee" Tucker, president and COO of Tucker and Associates, Inc., a management consulting firm (New Orleans)

Hibernia, a Forbes 500 company, has $16.4 billion in assets and 259 locations in 34 Louisiana parishes and 16 Texas and two Mississippi counties. Hibernia Corporation's common stock (HIB) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.