Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Charles Schwab Corp., the largest online brokerage by client assets, decided to forgo funds from the U.S. Treasury's $700 billion financial bailout program saying it has enough cash to maintain a ``strong'' business.

``We possess a strong and flexible balance sheet with multiple sources of liquidity and strong credit ratings,'' Chairman Charles Schwab said today in a statement. The company's ``history of conservative fiscal management allow us to continue to maintain the strength, safety and soundness of our business without the need for government capital.''

Charles Schwab, based in San Francisco, runs a bank with $22 billion in client deposits. Rival E*Trade Financial Corp., which has posted losses for five consecutive quarters because of bad loans, applied for $800 million from Treasury's bank bailout. The deadline for applications is today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Edgar Ortega in New York at ebarrales@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 14, 2008 15:50 EST