Cross sections for neutron capture in the range of unresolved resonances are predicted for more than 140 spin-0 target nuclei with A>50. Allowing the breaking of spherical and axial symmetry in nearly all these nuclei a combined parameterization for both level density and photon strength is obtained which employs with surprisingly few fit parameters only. The strength functions used are based on a global fit to IVGDR shapes by the sum of three Lorentzians. They are based on theoretical predictions for the A-dependence of pole energies and spreading widths and add up to the TRK sum rule. For the small spins reached by capture resonance spacings are well described by a level density parameter close to the nuclear matter value; a significant collective enhancement is apparent due to the deviation from axial symmetry. Reliable predictions for compound nuclear reactions also outside the valley of stability – important for nuclear astrophysics and for the transmutation of nuclear waste – are expected to result from the global parameterization presented.