Schwab Falls as CEO Flags Most Challenging Time Since 2000

  • No one at firm is ‘kidding themselves,’ CEO Bettinger says
  • Brokerage faced tough quarters after rate hikes eroded assets

A Charles Schwab location in New York.

Photographer: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg
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Charles Schwab Corp. reported declines in profit, new assets and deposits as it navigated a tumultuous year of interest rate hikes that dented the firm’s balance sheet — a set of results that initially sent its shares tumbling.

Schwab said net new assets fell 48% to $66.3 billion in the fourth quarter while net income also dropped by almost half. Bank deposits in the period declined 21% to $290 billion and the company’s total retail brokerage accounts fell short of analyst estimates at 34.8 million.