Capital One says its customers still paying bills

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Capital One Financial Corp (COF.N) has not seen any impact from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis on its customers, and sees the U.S. economy as still basically strong, the company's chief executive said on Thursday.

Speaking on a conference call, Capital One CEO Richard Fairbank said that the company's rising write-offs are just a matter of returning to historical averages, and that increasing is happening at the pace the company planned.

But there is some uncertainty regarding the economy, and Capital One is being "extra-careful in underwriting," Fairbank said.

(Reporting by Dan Wilchins)