The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW) 10-K2023 FY Annual report

0000316709schw:OtherAccumulatedOtherComprehensiveIncomeLossMember2021-01-012021-12-31

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES  AND  EXCHANGE  COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM  10-K

THE  CHARLES  SCHWAB  CORPORATION

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒   No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒   No ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐    No ☒

As of June 30, 2023, the aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was $94.1 billion. For purposes of this information, the outstanding shares of Common Stock owned by directors and executive officers of the registrant were deemed to be shares of the voting stock held by affiliates.

As of January 31, 2024, 1,773,475,323 shares of $.01 par value Common Stock and 50,893,695 shares of $.01 par value Nonvoting Common Stock were outstanding.

Part III of this Form 10-K incorporates certain information contained in the registrant’s definitive proxy statement for its annual meeting of stockholders, to be held May 23, 2024, by reference to that document.

PART I

Item 1.     Business

The Charles Schwab Corporation (CSC) is a savings and loan holding company. CSC engages, through its subsidiaries (collectively referred to as Schwab or the Company), in wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services. At December 31, 2023, Schwab had $8.52 trillion in client assets, 34.8 million active brokerage accounts, 5.2 million workplace plan participant accounts, and 1.8 million banking accounts.

Principal business subsidiaries of CSC include the following:

Unless otherwise indicated, the terms “Schwab,” “the Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our” mean CSC together with its consolidated subsidiaries.

Schwab provides financial services to individuals and institutional clients through two segments – Investor Services and Advisor Services. The Investor Services segment provides retail brokerage, investment advisory, and banking and trust services to individual investors, and retirement plan services, as well as other corporate brokerage services, to businesses and their employees. The Advisor Services segment provides custodial, trading, banking and trust, and support services, as well as retirement business services, to independent registered investment advisors (RIAs), independent retirement advisors, and recordkeepers. These services are further described in the segment discussion below.

Effective January 1, 2021, CSC changed the designation of its corporate headquarters from San Francisco, California to Westlake, Texas. The Company maintains a nationwide presence across a network of branches and operations centers, as well as several international locations, and our Westlake location provides a centrally located hub for the Company.

Schwab was founded on the belief that all Americans deserve access to a better investing experience. Although much has changed in the intervening years, our purpose remains clear – to champion every client’s goals with passion and integrity. Guided by this purpose and our vision of creating the most trusted leader in investment services, management has adopted a strategy described as “Through Clients’ Eyes.”

This strategy emphasizes placing clients’ perspectives, needs, and desires at the forefront. Because investing plays a fundamental role in building financial security, we strive to deliver a better investing experience for our clients – individual investors and the people and institutions who serve them – by disrupting longstanding industry practices on their behalf and providing superior service. We also aim to offer a broad range of products and solutions to meet client needs with a focus on transparency, value, and trust. In addition, management works to couple Schwab’s scale and resources with ongoing expense discipline to keep costs low and ensure that products and solutions are affordable as well as responsive to client needs. In combination, these are the key elements of our “no trade-offs” approach to serving investors. We believe that following this strategy is the best way to maximize our market valuation and stockholder returns over time.

Management estimates that investable wealth in the United States (U.S.) (consisting of assets in defined contribution, retail wealth management and brokerage, and registered investment advisor channels, along with bank deposits) currently exceeds $65 trillion, which means the Company’s $8.52 trillion in client assets leaves substantial opportunity for growth. Our strategy is based on the principle that developing trusted relationships will translate into more assets from both new and existing clients, ultimately driving more revenue, and along with expense discipline and thoughtful capital management, will generate earnings growth and build long-term stockholder value.

Within Investor Services, our competition in serving individual investors spans brokerage, wealth management, and asset management firms, as well as banks, trust companies, financial technology companies, and retirement service providers. In the Advisor Services arena, we compete with institutional custodians, wirehouses, regional and independent broker-dealers, banks, and trust companies.

Across both segments, our key competitive advantages are:

Effective October 6, 2020, the Company completed its acquisition of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation, now TD Ameritrade Holding LLC (TDA Holding) and its consolidated subsidiaries (collectively referred to as “TD Ameritrade” or “TDA”). TD Ameritrade provides securities brokerage services, including trade execution, clearing services, and margin lending; and futures and foreign exchange trade execution services. TD Ameritrade has served individual retail investors and RIAs predominantly through the Internet, a national branch network, and relationships with RIAs. TD Ameritrade’s sources of net revenues have primarily consisted of trading revenue, net interest revenue, bank deposit account fees, and asset management and administration fees, which are reflected in our consolidated results. The acquisition of TD Ameritrade supports the Company’s ongoing efforts to enhance the client experience, to provide deeper resources for individual investors and RIAs including more robust trading capabilities, and to continue to improve our operating efficiency.

Over the course of 2023, the Company transitioned approximately $1.6 trillion in client assets across more than 15 million client accounts, including 7,000 RIAs, from TD Ameritrade to the Schwab platform across four transition groups. The Company has now completed the transition of RIAs and approximately 90% of all TD Ameritrade client accounts, and we expect to complete the remaining client transitions from TD Ameritrade to Schwab in a final transition group in May 2024. The Company has made significant progress in its efforts to reduce overlapping or redundant roles across the two firms and has largely completed the rationalization of CS&Co and TD Ameritrade, Inc. branch locations. Integration activities for the final client transition event and selective role reductions are expected to be completed in 2024. The TD Ameritrade broker-dealers, TD Ameritrade, Inc. and TDAC, will continue to serve their remaining clients prior to the final transition event, and the Company plans to subsequently wind-down the operations of the TD Ameritrade broker-dealers in 2024.

See Part II – Item 7 – Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Item 7) – Overview and Part II – Item 8 – Financial Statements and Supplementary Date (Item 8) – Note 15 for additional information on our integration of TD Ameritrade.

Concurrently with the execution of the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of November 24, 2019, as amended (the Merger Agreement), CSC entered into an amended and restated insured deposit account agreement with TD Bank USA, National Association and TD Bank, National Association (together, the TD Depository Institutions) (the 2019 IDA agreement), which became effective October 6, 2020. On May 4, 2023, the Company executed the Second Amended and Restated Insured Deposit Account Agreement (2023 IDA agreement) with the TD Depository Institutions that replaced and superseded the 2019 IDA agreement. Consistent with the 2019 IDA agreement, in accordance with the 2023 IDA agreement, cash held in eligible brokerage client accounts is swept off-balance sheet to deposit accounts at the TD Depository Institutions. Schwab provides recordkeeping and support services to the TD Depository Institutions with respect to the deposit accounts for which Schwab receives an aggregate monthly fee. Under the 2023 IDA agreement, the service fee on client cash deposits held at the TD Depository Institutions remains at 15 basis points, as it was in the 2019 IDA agreement.

See Part II – Item 7 – Capital Management and Item 8 – Note 14 for additional information on the 2023 IDA agreement.

Schwab offers a broad range of products and services through intuitive end-to-end solutions, including robust digital capabilities, to address our clients’ varying investment and financial needs. Examples of these offerings include the following:

These investing products and services are made available through two business segments – Investor Services and Advisor Services. Schwab’s major sources of revenues are generated by both of the reportable segments, based on their respective levels of client assets and activity. Revenue is attributable to a reportable segment based on which segment has the primary responsibility for serving the client. The accounting policies of the reportable segments are the same as those described in Part II – Item 8 – Note 2.

Charles Schwab initially founded the Company 50 years ago to provide individual investors with access to the financial markets at a highly competitive cost. The Company has expanded offerings over time in response to client needs, aiming to provide a compelling and often disruptive solution in the marketplace. The Investor Services segment includes the following business units: Retail Investor; Workplace Financial Services, which includes Stock Plan Services, Retirement Plan Services, and Designated Brokerage Services (formerly included in the Compliance Solutions business unit, a portion of which was sold to a third-party in 2022); Mutual Fund Clearing Services; and Off-Platform Sales.

Through the Retail Investor business unit, we offer individual investors access to a broad set of products, tools, education, trading, and advisory solutions. We provide advice and guidance through various relationship models. And we offer award-winning and 24/7 service to all our clients, regardless of asset levels, via a multi-channel service delivery model, which includes online, mobile, telephone, and branch support.

We believe in the power of investing and the importance of planning in helping clients achieve their financial goals. At the core of our offer is our broad set of relationship models that help personalize the investing journey for our clients and offer them the choice of where, when, and how they do business with us. Financial Consultants, Active Trader Financial Consultants, and Wealth Consultants in Schwab’s branches and regional centers focus on building client relationships. We also have a range of roles to support clients with a broad set of specialized needs, including financial planning, managed investing, estate management, equity compensation and lending. Additionally, we have teams focused on supporting the advice and education needs of all our clients irrespective of asset levels at Schwab. To better meet the differentiated needs of our more affluent clients, we offer Schwab Private Client Services™ for clients with $1 million – $10 million and Schwab Private Wealth Services™ for clients with $10 million or more in total assets. Clients enrolled in these offerings have access to a dedicated relationship and service team, specialists, expedited processing, pricing discounts and product access.

To meet the specific needs of trading clients, Schwab offers integrated web-, mobile-, and software-based trading platforms, real-time market data, options trading, premium research, and multi-channel access, as well as sophisticated account and trade management features, risk management tools, and dedicated service support – all at highly competitive pricing. For example, clients that trade more actively can use these channels to access expert tools and extensive service capabilities – including experienced, knowledgeable teams of trading specialists, and integrated product offerings. In 2023, we introduced Schwab Trading Powered by Ameritrade™, which brings together the best of Schwab and Ameritrade’s trading platforms, comprehensive education and specialized service.

Schwab’s international business offers clients outside the U.S. the ability to invest in U.S. markets. For clients living inside the U.S., it offers multicurrency and foreign exchange trading. For all clients, it offers trading in foreign stocks. In addition, Schwab serves both foreign investors and non-English-speaking U.S. clients who wish to trade or invest in U.S. dollar-based securities.

commission-free through our online channels. We also offer Schwab Investing Themes™, a thematic investing offer that uses proprietary research and technology to identify trends, opportunities, and relevant companies and group them into themes in which clients can invest in just a few clicks.

We also offer equity compensation plan sponsors full-service recordkeeping for stock plans, stock options, restricted stock, performance shares, stock appreciation rights, and a full range of participant support services through our Stock Plan Services business unit. Specialized services for executive transactions and reporting, grant acceptance tracking, and other services are offered to employers to meet the needs of administering the reporting and compliance aspects of an equity compensation plan.

Lastly, Mutual Fund Clearing Services provides open-end mutual fund trading, settlement, and related transactional services to banks, brokerage firms, and trust companies, and Off-Platform Sales offers proprietary mutual funds, ETFs, and collective trust funds (CTFs) outside the Company and not on the Schwab platform. They are included within the Investor Services segment given their leveraging of the products and services offered to individual investors.

More than thirty years ago, Schwab supported a small group of entrepreneurial advisors who challenged the industry by creating independent firms. Through the Advisor Services segment, Schwab has become one of the largest providers of custodial, trading, banking, and support services to RIAs and their clients. We also provide retirement business services to independent retirement advisors and recordkeepers. Management believes that we can maintain our competitive position primarily through the efforts of our sales, support, technology, and business consulting teams, which are dedicated to helping RIAs grow, compete, and succeed in serving their clients. In addition to focusing on superior service, we utilize technology to provide RIAs with a highly-developed, scalable platform for administering their clients’ assets easily and efficiently. Advisor Services sponsors and hosts a variety of national, regional, local, and virtual events designed to help RIAs of all sizes and complexities identify and implement better ways to expand and efficiently manage their practices.

The Advisor Services website also provides interactive tools, educational content, and thought leadership for advisors turning independent. We offer a variety of services to help RIAs grow and manage their practices, including business, technology, and operations consulting on a range of topics critical to an RIA’s success, as well as an annual RIA benchmarking study to help firms understand key business metrics relative to peers. We also offer an array of services to help advisors establish their own independent practices through a robust prospect consulting offer. To support them throughout their transition, we offer access to business start-up and transition consultants, technology engineers, and dedicated service teams.

Schwab provides extensive educational materials, programs, and events to RIAs seeking to expand their knowledge of industry issues and trends, as well as sharpen their individual expertise and practice management skills. We conduct industry research on an ongoing basis, and hold a series of events and conferences every year to discuss topics of interest to RIAs, including business

RIAs and their clients have access to our broad range of products and services, including individual securities, mutual funds, ETFs, fixed income products, managed accounts, cash products, bank lending, and trust services. By functioning as the custodian, Schwab earns revenue associated with the underlying client assets, predominantly through net interest revenue and asset management and administration fees. In this capacity, we do not charge the RIA or end client a custody fee.

Schwab’s largest sources of net revenues are net interest revenue, asset management and administration fees, trading revenue, and bank deposit account fees. These revenue streams are supported by the combination of our bank, broker-dealer, and asset management operating subsidiaries, each of which brings specific capabilities that enable us to provide clients with the products and services they are seeking.

Net interest revenue is the difference between interest generated on interest-earning assets and interest paid on funding sources. Schwab’s primary funding source for interest-earning assets is uninvested client cash balances held on our balance sheet as part of clients’ overall relationship with the Company. Schwab’s interest-earning assets are primarily comprised of high-quality fixed income securities, margin loans, and bank loans.

Asset management and administration fees are primarily earned from proprietary money market mutual funds, proprietary and third-party mutual funds and ETFs, and fee-based advisory solutions.

Trading revenue includes commissions earned for executing trades for clients in certain individual equities, options, futures, fixed income securities, and certain third-party mutual funds and ETFs; order flow revenue; and principal transactions revenue earned primarily from actions to support client trading in fixed income securities.

Bank deposit account fees are primarily recognized pursuant to the Company’s IDA agreement with the TD Depository Institutions. Under the IDA agreement, uninvested cash within eligible brokerage client accounts is swept off-balance sheet to deposit accounts at the TD Depository Institutions. Schwab provides recordkeeping and support services to the TD Depository Institutions for bank deposit account fees.

As a participant in the securities, banking and financial services industries, Schwab is subject to extensive regulation under both federal and state laws by governmental agencies, supervisory authorities, and self-regulatory organizations (SROs). We are also subject to oversight by regulatory bodies in other countries in which we operate. These regulations affect our business operations and impose capital, client protection, and market conduct requirements.

CSC is a savings and loan holding company and is regulated, supervised, and examined by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve). On March 16, 2021, CSC’s declaration electing to be treated as a Financial Holding Company (FHC) was deemed effective by the Federal Reserve. In addition to the activities that a savings and loan holding

company that has not elected to be treated as an FHC is permitted to conduct, an FHC may also engage in activities that are financial in nature or incidental to a financial activity (FHC Activities), including underwriting, dealing and making markets in securities, various insurance underwriting activities, and making merchant banking investments in non-financial companies.

CSC’s three depository institution subsidiaries are CSB, CSC’s principal depository institution subsidiary, Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB (CSPB), and Trust Bank. CSB and CSPB are Texas-chartered savings banks headquartered in Westlake, Texas, and Trust Bank is a Nevada-chartered savings bank. Effective September 30, 2022, Trust Bank relocated its main office to Westlake, Texas and became a member of the Federal Reserve system. CSB and CSPB are currently regulated, supervised, and examined by the Federal Reserve, the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending (TDSML), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Trust Bank is currently regulated, supervised, and examined by the Federal Reserve, the Nevada Financial Institutions Division, the CFPB, and the FDIC. CSC, CSB, CSPB, and Trust Bank are also subject to regulation and various requirements and restrictions under state and other federal laws.

This regulatory framework is designed to protect depositors and consumers, the safety and soundness of depository institutions and their holding companies, and the stability of the banking system as a whole. This framework affects the activities and investments of CSC and its subsidiaries and gives the regulatory authorities broad discretion in connection with their supervisory, examination and enforcement activities and policies. Below is a discussion of significant regulations.

Banking organizations are subject to the regulatory capital rules issued by the Federal Reserve and other U.S. banking regulators, including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the FDIC. In addition to minimum risk-based capital requirements, banking organizations must hold additional capital, referred to as buffers, to avoid being subject to limits on capital distributions and discretionary bonus payments to executive officers.

The banking regulators have established four risk-based categories for determining the regulatory capital and liquidity requirements applicable to large U.S. banking organizations with $100 billion or more in total consolidated assets based on their total assets, cross-jurisdictional activity, weighted short-term wholesale funding, nonbank assets, and off-balance sheet exposure. CSC is generally subject to the requirements under Category III based on its total consolidated assets of between $250 billion and less than $700 billion and having less than $75 billion in cross-jurisdictional activity. If the average of our total consolidated assets for the four most recent calendar quarters is $700 billion or more, or the average of our cross-jurisdictional activity for the four most recent calendar quarters is $75 billion or more, we will move into Category II. As of December 31, 2023, CSC had total consolidated assets of approximately $493 billion and cross-jurisdictional activity of approximately $25 billion.

Capital requirements for Category III banking organizations include the generally applicable risk-based capital and Tier 1 leverage ratio requirements (the “standardized approach” framework), the minimum 3.0% supplementary leverage ratio, the stress capital buffer (CSC), the capital conservation buffer (banking subsidiaries), and the countercyclical capital buffer, which is currently 0%. As discussed below, starting in 2022, CSC, as a large savings and loan holding company became subject to the stress capital buffer requirement, which applies to risk-based capital ratios (Common Equity Tier 1 Capital, Tier 1 Capital, and Total Capital). Under the currently applicable revised capital requirements, Category III organizations are not subject to the “advanced approaches” regulatory capital framework and are permitted to opt out of including accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) in their regulatory capital calculations. CSC made this opt out election and excludes AOCI from its regulatory

capital. Category II organizations are not permitted to opt out of including AOCI in their regulatory capital calculations and have additional requirements for calculating risk-based capital ratios and risk-weighted assets.

The U.S. Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) rule is designed to promote resiliency of the banking sector by requiring that certain large U.S. banking organizations (Covered Companies) maintain a liquidity risk profile which ensures that they have sufficient High Quality Liquid Assets (HQLA), such as central bank reserves, certain government securities, and eligible corporate debt that can be converted easily and quickly to cash, to survive a significant stress event lasting 30 days. The LCR rule requires Covered Companies, including Schwab, to maintain an amount of HQLA that are unencumbered and controlled by the Covered Company’s liquidity management function sufficient to meet a designated percentage of their total stressed net cash outflows over a prospective 30 calendar-day period, as calculated in accordance with the LCR rule. Schwab is subject to the LCR and public disclosure requirement on a consolidated basis. On a quarterly basis the Company is required to disclose the average daily LCR over the quarter, and the Company also discloses quantitative and qualitative information over certain portions of the Company’s LCR components. Under the LCR rule, Schwab is required to maintain HQLA to cover 100% of the total stressed net cash outflows on a daily basis. In addition, HQLA that are held at the Company’s bank subsidiaries in excess of the subsidiaries’ total net cash outflows, and are not transferable to non-bank affiliates, are excluded by rule from the Company’s eligible HQLA.

The final Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) rule was jointly adopted by the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and FDIC in 2020 to strengthen the resilience of large bank and savings and loan holding companies by requiring them to maintain a minimum level of stable funding based on the liquidity characteristics of the holding company’s assets, commitments, and derivative exposures over a one-year time horizon. The requirement is expressed as a ratio of a banking organization’s available stable funding (ASF) to its required stable funding (RSF). Under the NSFR rule, Schwab is required to maintain ASF in an amount equal to 100% of its RSF on an ongoing, daily basis. Beginning with the first and second quarters of 2023, banking organizations subject to the rule are required to publicly disclose their quarterly NSFRs on a semi-annual basis.

Under the current Federal Reserve capital stress testing rules, savings and loan holding companies that are Category III banking organizations and state member banks with total consolidated assets over $250 billion are required to disclose the results of company-run stress tests in even-numbered years. In the most recent cycle in 2022, CSC and CSB conducted company-run stress tests, reported the results of their stress testing to the Federal Reserve, and published a summary of their stress test results.

Pursuant to the Federal Reserve’s requirements, Category III savings and loan holding companies are also subject to an annual supervisory stress testing requirement in which the Federal Reserve conducts its own stress testing analysis to evaluate the ability of a holding company to absorb losses in specified economic and financial conditions over a nine-quarter planning horizon using such analytical techniques as the agency determines are appropriate. This supervisory stress testing requirement went into effect for CSC beginning with the 2022 stress testing cycle.

Pursuant to the Federal Reserve’s 2021 rule, savings and loan holding companies with total consolidated assets of $100 billion or more, including CSC, are subject to an annual Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR) process, which requires submission of an annual capital plan to the Federal Reserve. The rule also imposes a stress capital buffer requirement, floored at 2.5 percent of risk-weighted assets, that replaced CSC’s 2.5 percent capital conservation buffer. The capital plan requirement became effective for CSC with the 2022 CCAR cycle, and in June 2022, the Company received the results of the Federal

Reserve’s 2022 CCAR. These results included the Federal Reserve’s estimate of CSC’s minimum capital ratios under the supervisory severely adverse scenario for the nine-quarter horizon beginning December 31, 2021 and ending March 31, 2024. Based on these results, CSC’s calculated stress capital buffer was below the 2.5% minimum, resulting in a stress capital buffer at the 2.5% floor. This 2.5% stress capital buffer became applicable on October 1, 2022. Based on the results of the Federal Reserve’s 2023 CCAR, a 2.5% stress capital buffer continues to be applicable to Schwab for the four-quarter period that began October 1, 2023. See Part II – Item 8 – Note 23 for additional information regarding our capital requirements.

In addition to the capital stress testing regime discussed above, the Federal Reserve’s enhanced prudential standards rules also extend the applicability of certain additional enhanced prudential standards to large savings and loan holding companies, with the specific requirements tailored based on the same four-category framework utilized in the interagency regulatory capital and liquidity rules. These additional enhanced prudential standards, applicable to large U.S. bank holding companies under section 165 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), include: risk management and risk committee requirements; liquidity risk management, stress testing, and buffer requirements; and single counterparty credit limits. CSC was required to comply with these risk management and risk committee requirements, as well as the liquidity risk-management, stress testing, and buffer requirements commencing on January 1, 2021. The single counterparty credit limits went into effect for CSC on January 1, 2022.

The Dodd-Frank Act codified the Federal Reserve’s long-held position that a depository institution holding company must serve as a source of financial strength for its subsidiary depository institutions, the so-called “source of strength doctrine.” In effect, the holding company may be compelled to commit resources to support the subsidiary depository institution in the event the subsidiary is in financial distress.

The FDIC requires insured depository institutions with total consolidated assets of $50 billion or more to submit to the FDIC periodic plans providing for their resolution by the FDIC in the event of failure (resolution plans or so-called “living wills”) under the receivership and liquidation provisions of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. Under this requirement, CSB has been required to file with the FDIC a periodic resolution plan demonstrating how the bank could be resolved in an orderly and timely manner in the event of receivership such that the FDIC would be able to: ensure that the bank’s depositors receive access to their deposits within one business day; maximize the net present value of the bank’s assets when disposed of; and minimize losses incurred by the bank’s creditors. In June 2021, the FDIC announced a modified resolution plan approach for insured depository institutions with total consolidated assets of $100 billion or more which established a three-year cycle submission frequency, streamlined content requirements, and placed enhanced emphasis on engagement with firms. CSB most recently submitted a resolution plan pursuant to these requirements in November 2022. In August 2023, the FDIC issued a proposal to revise its rule on insured depository institution resolution planning. The proposal would revise the requirements regarding the content and timing of resolution submissions. Covered insured depository institutions would be required to file their respective resolution plans or informational filings biennially with supplemental information to be provided in off-years, starting in 2025 if the rule is finalized as proposed. As a savings and loan holding company, CSC is not subject to a separate holding company resolution plan requirement.

The FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) provides insurance coverage for certain deposits, generally up to $250,000 per depositor per account ownership type, and is funded by quarterly assessments on insured depository institutions. The FDIC uses a risk-based deposit premium assessment system that, for large insured depository institutions with at least $10 billion in total consolidated assets, uses a scorecard method based on a number of factors, including the institution’s regulatory ratings, asset quality and brokered deposits. The deposit insurance assessment base is calculated as average consolidated total assets minus average tangible equity.

In October 2022, the FDIC adopted a final rule to increase the initial base deposit insurance assessment rates by two basis points, which became effective for the first quarterly assessment period of 2023. The FDIC has stated that this change is intended to raise the FDIC’s DIF reserve ratio to the minimum threshold within the FDIC’s established DIF restoration plan, and will remain in effect until the DIF reserve ratio meets the FDIC’s long-term goal of 2%. In November 2023, the FDIC approved a special assessment to recover losses incurred by the DIF in 2023; see Part II – Item 7 – Current Regulatory and Other Developments for additional information regarding the special assessment.

The FDIC’s amended brokered deposits rule became effective April 1, 2021, which established a new framework for determining whether deposits made through arrangements between third parties and depository institutions constitute brokered deposits and more specifically to clarify the circumstances under which broker-dealers that place deposits with depository institutions through brokerage sweep arrangements, such as CS&Co and TDAC, qualify for the “primary purpose exception” from the definition of a deposit broker. Under this framework, the FDIC established a “25 percent” business relationship designated exception where a broker-dealer or other third-party may qualify for the primary purpose exception by filing a notice with the FDIC indicating that less than 25 percent of its customer assets under administration for a particular business line are placed at depository institutions. Funds swept by our broker-dealer subsidiaries to CSB and Schwab’s other depository institution subsidiaries continue to qualify for the primary purpose exception under this framework.

The CFPB has broad rulemaking, supervisory and enforcement authority for a wide range of federal consumer protection laws relating to financial products. The CFPB has examination and primary enforcement authority over depository institutions with $10 billion or more in consolidated total assets.

CSC and its subsidiaries that conduct financial services activities are subject to the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (BSA), as amended by the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, which requires financial institutions to develop and implement programs reasonably designed to achieve compliance with these regulations. The BSA and USA PATRIOT Act include a variety of monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting requirements (such as currency transaction reporting and suspicious activity reporting), as well as identity verification and client due diligence requirements which are intended to detect, report and/or prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism. In addition, CSC and various subsidiaries of the Company are subject to U.S. sanctions programs administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Our principal broker-dealer subsidiaries, CS&Co, TD Ameritrade, Inc., and TDAC, are each registered as a broker-dealer with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission), the fifty states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. CS&Co, CSIM, and certain of our other subsidiaries are registered as investment advisors with the SEC. Charles Schwab Futures and Forex LLC (CSFF) is registered as an FCM and FDM with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Much of the regulation of broker-dealers has been delegated to SROs. Our principal broker-dealers are each members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB). In addition, CS&Co and TDAC are members of Nasdaq Stock Market, Cboe EDGX, and MEMX LLC. In addition to the SEC, the primary regulators of our principal broker-dealers are FINRA and, for municipal securities, the MSRB. The National Futures Association (NFA) is the primary regulator for CSFF’s futures, commodities, and forex trading activities.

The principal purpose of regulating these entities is the protection of clients and securities markets. The regulations cover all aspects of the securities business, including, among other things, sales and trading practices, publication of research, margin lending, uses and safekeeping of clients’ funds and securities, capital adequacy, recordkeeping and reporting, fee arrangements, order flow revenue from securities exchanges and market makers, disclosure to clients, fiduciary duties, and the conduct of directors, officers, and employees.

Our principal broker-dealer entities are subject to Rule 15c3-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Uniform Net Capital Rule) and related SRO requirements. The CFTC and NFA also impose net capital requirements. The Uniform Net Capital Rule specifies minimum capital requirements intended to ensure the general financial soundness and liquidity of broker-dealers. CSC itself is not a registered broker-dealer and it is not subject to the Uniform Net Capital Rule.

The Uniform Net Capital Rule prohibits broker-dealers from paying cash dividends, making unsecured advances or loans or repaying subordinated loans if such payment would result in a net capital amount of less than 5% of aggregate debit balances or less than 120% of its minimum dollar requirement.

In addition to net capital requirements, as a self-clearing broker-dealer, CS&Co, and as a clearing broker-dealer, TDAC, are subject to cash deposit and collateral requirements with clearing houses, such as the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation and Options Clearing Corporation, which may fluctuate significantly from time to time based upon the nature and size of clients’ trading activity and market volatility.

The structure and regulation of the securities markets have a significant impact on the Company’s business and operations, including its sources of net revenues. See Part II – Item 7 – Current Regulatory and Other Developments for proposed regulatory changes, including in regard to equity market structure.

As a result of our operations in countries outside the U.S., we are also subject to rules and regulations issued by certain foreign authorities, including the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong, the Monetary Authority of Singapore in Singapore, and the Ministry of Finance in the People’s Republic of China.

We believe that hiring people who share our corporate purpose of helping clients achieve their financial goals is an essential element of executing our “Through Clients’ Eyes” strategy, and we seek to attract, retain, and motivate the talent Schwab needs to successfully serve our clients and grow our business. As of December 31, 2023, Schwab had full-time, part-time, and temporary employees, and persons employed on a contract basis, that represented the equivalent of approximately 33,000 full-time employees.

Schwab offers a compensation package that rewards both employee and company performance. The package encompasses an array of compensation components in addition to base pay including performance-based incentive pay, equity awards, recognition awards, and a range of health and wellness benefits. We also offer benefits and resources designed to help our employees achieve their financial goals, including a 401(k) plan, an employee stock purchase plan, financial planning consultations, and disability and life insurance options. In addition, Schwab offers programs to help with employee career growth including mentorship, development, and leadership programs as well as reimbursement for qualified business-related education and training. We also encourage and empower employees to volunteer in the communities where we live and work, offering paid time off for every employee to volunteer in his or her community. The Company offers a hybrid work and

flexibility approach to work arrangements that is designed to balance the importance our employees place on workplace flexibility with the benefits of in-person interactions to train and learn from one another, build human connections, and maintain Schwab’s culture as we serve our clients.

We know that through workplace diversity, we gain a wider range of perspectives and experiences, which supports our strategy and helps us better serve our clients. We focus on attracting a diversity of talent by maintaining a strong employer brand and expanding where and how we meet prospective employees. We recruit from underrepresented communities through targeted campus recruiting, scholarship programs, and partnerships with professional organizations. For Schwab employees, we support a number of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) which are employee-driven and provide support, leadership development opportunities, and connection. Our ERGs are centered around employees who share characteristics or life experiences and are committed to enhancing diversity and inclusion at Schwab. Additionally, our leaders are explicitly responsible for creating an environment where all people can do their best work, and for fostering the development of high-performance teams that recognize the value of diverse perspectives, skills, and backgrounds. We regularly request feedback from our employees through surveys.

We face a variety of risks that may affect our operations, financial results, or stock price and many of those risks are driven by factors that we cannot control or predict. The following discussion addresses those risks that management believes are the most significant, although there may be other risks that could arise, or may prove to be more significant than expected, that may affect our operations or financial results.

For a discussion of our risk management governance and processes, including operational risk, compliance risk, credit risk, market risk, and liquidity risk, see Risk Management and Capital Management in Part II – Item 7. For additional information regarding cybersecurity risk, see Item 1C. Cybersecurity.

Our business can be adversely affected by the general environment – economic, corporate, securities market, regulatory, and geopolitical developments all play a role in client asset valuations, trading activity, interest rates, and overall investor engagement, and are outside of our control. Deterioration in the housing and credit markets and decreases in securities valuations negatively impact our results of operations and capital resources.

We rely heavily on client cash balances to generate revenue. Cash awaiting investment in a portion of our client brokerage accounts is swept to our banking subsidiaries and those bank deposits are then used to extend loans to clients and purchase investment securities. We also sweep a portion of such cash to the TD Depository Institutions pursuant to the 2023 IDA agreement, through which we earn bank deposit account fees. A significant reduction in our clients’ allocation to cash, a change in the allocation of that cash, or a transfer of cash away from the Company, would likely reduce our income. As a result of the rapid increases in short-term interest rates in 2022 and 2023, the Company saw a significant decrease in clients’ asset allocation to sweep cash and greater client investment in higher-yielding alternatives at Schwab such as fixed income investments and proprietary purchased money market funds. To help facilitate these changes in client cash allocations, the Company has utilized higher-cost supplemental funding sources, which has negatively impacted the Company’s net income.

The direction and level of interest rates are important factors in our earnings. A decline in interest rates may have a negative impact on our net interest revenue and our bank deposit account fee revenue. The Company’s interest-earning assets include significant holdings of investment securities, which include fixed- and floating-rate debt securities, including substantial holdings of mortgage-backed securities, as well as mortgages. The Company could be adversely affected by a decline in interest rates if the rates that the Company earns on interest-earning assets decline more than the rates that the Company pays on its funding sources, or if prepayment rates increase on the mortgages and mortgage-backed securities that the Company holds. A low interest rate environment may also have a negative impact on our asset management and administration fee revenues when we have to waive a portion of our management fees, as we experienced in 2020 and 2021, for certain Schwab-sponsored money market mutual funds in order to continue providing a positive return to clients. A decline in interest rates may also negatively impact our bank deposit account fee revenue, which is earned primarily pursuant to the 2023 IDA agreement.

A rise in interest rates may cause our funding costs to increase if market conditions or the competitive environment induces us to raise our interest rates to avoid losing deposits, or replace deposits with higher-cost funding sources without offsetting increases in yields on interest-earning assets, which can reduce the benefit of higher market interest rates to our net interest revenue, as we experienced in 2022 and 2023. The rapid increases in market interest rates recently experienced have also contributed to increased unrealized losses on our investment securities portfolios. Increased unrealized losses on investment securities or other assets on our balance sheet can reduce market or client confidence in us, which could limit our ability to attract new client assets and accounts or result in the transfer of client assets and accounts from the Company.

A rise in interest rates may also reduce our bank deposit account fee revenue, as clients may reallocate assets out of bank deposit account balances and into higher-yielding investment alternatives, as we experienced in 2022 and 2023. The 2023 IDA agreement involves certain commitments, including the maintenance of prescribed minimum and maximum IDA balances, that limit our ability to respond to changes in interest rates and may impact our profitability and bank deposit account fee revenue. The bank deposit account fee revenue that we earn related to the IDA agreement may be less than the net interest revenue that we could have earned if the deposit balances were swept to our banking subsidiaries rather than the TD Depository Institutions. When we are permitted to reduce the IDA balances, we can only move the balances to our banking subsidiaries if we have sufficient capital.

Concerns regarding the soundness or creditworthiness of other financial institutions can cause substantial disruption within the financial markets and have negative impacts for us and our industry, including reductions in availability of liquidity, higher borrowing costs, and higher costs of capital. Such concerns regarding one or more financial institutions may also advance public concerns regarding Schwab or the financial services industry more broadly, which could harm our reputation and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition, even if underlying matters impacting other financial institutions are of limited or no direct applicability to us. Financial institutions are interrelated through trading, clearing, or other relationships, and, as a result, concerns about the financial condition of one or more institutions could lead to significant market-wide liquidity and credit problems, losses, or defaults by other institutions. This risk may adversely affect financial intermediaries, such as broker-dealers, banks, clearing houses, securities exchanges, market makers, and others, with which we interact on a daily basis, and therefore, could adversely affect us.

Events affecting the financial services industry may also result in potentially adverse changes to laws or regulations governing banks and savings and loan holding companies or result in the imposition of restrictions through supervisory or enforcement activities, including higher capital or liquidity requirements, which could have a material impact on our business. Following the failure of several U.S. banks in 2023, the U.S. federal banking agencies proposed rules that would significantly impact our regulatory capital requirements, including requiring us to include AOCI in regulatory capital, as well as rules that would require minimum levels of eligible long-term debt at CSC and our banking subsidiaries. As a result of increased regulatory expectations regarding capital requirements applicable to the Company, we have been taking, and continue to take, measures to increase our capital, including the cessation of share repurchases. In addition, the cost of resolving the recent bank failures has resulted in increased FDIC costs and may prompt the FDIC to further increase its premiums or to issue additional special assessments, which could have a material negative impact on our profitability and our business.

Maintaining adequate liquidity is crucial to our business operations, including transaction settlement, custody requirements, and lending commitments, among other liquidity needs. We meet our liquidity needs primarily from working capital and cash generated by client activity as well as external financing. Fluctuations in client cash or deposit balances, as well as market conditions or changes in regulatory treatment of client deposits, may affect our ability to meet our liquidity needs. A reduction in our liquidity position could reduce client confidence in us, which could result in the transfer out of client assets and accounts, or could cause us to fail to satisfy our liquidity requirements, including the LCR. In addition, if our broker-dealer or depository institution subsidiaries fail to meet regulatory capital guidelines, or if a depository institution subsidiary is unable to obtain regulatory approval, when required, to declare a dividend, regulators could limit the subsidiaries’ ability to upstream funds to CSC or limit their operations, which could reduce CSC’s liquidity and adversely affect its ability to repay debt, pay dividends on CSC’s preferred stock and common stock, repurchase its shares, or redeem its preferred stock. In addition, CSC may need to provide additional funding to such subsidiaries.

Factors which may adversely affect our liquidity position include CS&Co and TDAC having temporary liquidity demands due to timing differences between brokerage transaction settlements and the availability of segregated cash balances, fluctuations in cash held in banking or brokerage client accounts, such as the significant client reallocation from sweep cash to higher-yielding investments that we experienced in 2022 and 2023 in response to rapid interest rate increases, a dramatic increase in our lending activities (including margin, mortgage-related, and personal lending), increased capital requirements, changes in regulatory guidance or interpretations, other regulatory changes, or a loss of market or client confidence in us resulting in unanticipated withdrawals of client funds. As a member firm of securities and derivatives clearing houses, we are required to deposit cash, stock and/or government securities for margin requirements and to clearing funds. The margin requirements may fluctuate significantly from time to time based upon the nature and size of clients’ trading activity and market volatility, and member firms like us have been required to deposit additional funds. Clearing houses could also require additional funds from member firms if a clearing member defaults on its obligations to the clearing house in an amount larger than its own margin and clearing fund deposits.

When available cash is not sufficient for our liquidity needs, we may be required to seek external financing. During periods of disruptions in the credit and capital markets, potential sources of external financing could be reduced, and borrowing costs could increase. Although CSC, CS&Co, and TDAC maintain uncommitted, unsecured bank credit lines and CSC has a commercial paper issuance program, as well as a universal shelf registration statement filed with the SEC which can be used to sell securities, financing may not be available on acceptable terms or at all due to market conditions or disruptions in the credit markets. In addition, a downgrade in the Company’s credit ratings could increase its borrowing costs and limit its access to the capital markets.

When short-term interest rates rapidly increase, as they did in 2022 and 2023, client movement of certain cash balances out of our sweep features and into higher-yielding alternatives generally increases. When these outflows outpace excess cash on hand and cash generated by maturities and paydowns on our investment and loan portfolios, as they did in 2022 and 2023, we may need to rely on temporary supplemental funding, such as advances under Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) secured credit facilities, borrowings under repurchase agreements with external financial institutions, issuances of brokered certificates of deposit (CDs), or other sources of funding, which have higher costs and could be subject to limitations on availability. In addition, to access new FHLB advances or roll over existing advances, our banking subsidiaries must maintain positive tangible capital, as defined by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Larger unrealized losses on our available for sale (AFS) portfolio due to higher market interest rates negatively impact our capital position inclusive of AOCI, including our tangible capital.

Regulators have broad discretion in connection with their supervisory and enforcement activities and examination policies, and could prevent us from pursuing our business strategy. Regulators could also limit our ability to grow, including adding assets, launching new products, making acquisitions, and undertaking strategic investments. Our banking regulators could require CSC and/or our banking subsidiaries to hold more capital, increase liquidity, or limit their ability to pay dividends or CSC’s ability to repurchase or redeem shares. Despite our efforts to comply with applicable legal requirements, there are a number of risks, particularly in areas where applicable laws or regulations may be unclear or where regulators could revise their previous guidance. Any enforcement actions or other proceedings brought by our regulators against us or our affiliates, officers or employees could result in fines, penalties, cease and desist orders, enforcement actions, suspension, disqualification or expulsion, or other disciplinary sanctions, including limitations on our business activities, any of which could harm our reputation and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

While we maintain systems and procedures designed to ensure that we comply with applicable laws and regulations, violations could occur. In addition, some legal/regulatory frameworks provide for the imposition of fines or penalties for noncompliance even though the noncompliance was inadvertent or unintentional and even though systems and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violations were in place at the time. There may be other negative consequences resulting from a finding of noncompliance, including restrictions on certain activities. Such a finding may also damage our reputation and our relationships with our regulators and could restrict the ability of institutional investment managers to invest in our securities.

New legislation, rules, regulations and guidance, or changes in the interpretation or enforcement of existing federal, state, foreign and SRO rules, regulations and guidance, including changes relating to mutual funds, money market funds, standards of conduct with clients, conflicts of interest, regulatory treatment of deposit accounts, CRA, changes in required minimum capital and capital structure, and changes in equity market structure, including rules relating to order routing and order-related revenues, may directly affect our operations and profitability or our specific business lines. Recently, the SEC has proposed or adopted a number of new rules, and these new or proposed rules involve sweeping changes that could require significant shifts in industry operations and practices, thereby increasing uncertainty for markets and investors. The U.S. federal banking agencies have recently proposed rules regarding regulatory capital and long-term debt, and compliance with these proposed rules may result in increased costs and reduce our net income. In addition, the U.S. Department of Labor recently proposed rules to significantly broaden the definition of “fiduciary” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, which, among other requirements, would subject broker-dealers who provide non-discretionary investment advice to retirement plans to a “best interest” standard. Our profitability could also be affected by rules and regulations that impact the business and financial communities generally, including changes to the laws governing taxation, electronic commerce, client privacy and security of client data. In addition, the rules and regulations could result in limitations on the lines of business we conduct, modifications to our business practices, more stringent capital and liquidity requirements, increased deposit insurance assessments or additional costs and could limit our ability to return capital to stockholders. These changes may also require us to invest significant management attention and resources to evaluate and make necessary changes to our compliance, risk management, treasury, and operations functions.

CSC, together with its banking, broker-dealer, and FCM/FDM subsidiaries, must meet certain capital and liquidity standards, subject to qualitative judgments by regulators about the adequacy of our capital and our internal assessment of our capital needs. The Uniform Net Capital Rule limits the ability of our broker-dealer entities to transfer capital to CSC and other affiliates. New regulatory capital, liquidity, capital planning, and stress testing requirements may limit or otherwise restrict how we utilize our capital, including paying dividends, stock repurchases, and redemptions, and may require us to increase our capital and/or liquidity or to limit our growth. Failure by either CSC or its banking subsidiaries to meet minimum capital requirements could

result in certain mandatory and additional discretionary actions by regulators that, if undertaken, could have a negative impact on us. In addition, failure by CSC or our banking subsidiaries to maintain a sufficient amount of capital to satisfy their stress capital buffer (CSC) or capital conservation buffer (banking subsidiaries) and countercyclical capital buffer requirements would result in restrictions on our ability to make capital distributions and discretionary cash bonus payments to executive officers. Any requirement that we increase our regulatory capital, replace certain capital instruments which presently qualify as Tier 1 Capital, or increase regulatory capital ratios or liquidity, could require us to liquidate assets, deleverage or otherwise change our business and/or investment plans, which may adversely affect our financial results. Issuing additional common stock would dilute the ownership of existing stockholders.

CSC is subject to the CCAR process, which requires submission of an annual capital plan, and determination of CSC’s stress capital buffer. The plan must include a description of all planned capital actions, including dividends or stock repurchases, over a nine-quarter planning horizon beginning with the first quarter of the calendar year the capital plan is submitted. CSC’s risk-based capital ratios must exceed the regulatory minimum plus the stress capital buffer. The stress capital buffer could make us subject to progressively more stringent constraints on capital actions if we approach our minimum ratios. This could lead to restrictions on our ability to pay or increase dividends or otherwise return capital to stockholders.

If the average of CSC’s total consolidated assets for four consecutive calendar quarters reaches $700 billion, or if the average of cross-jurisdictional activity for four consecutive calendar quarters reaches $75 billion, CSC will become subject to more stringent Category II requirements, including annual stress testing, the advanced approaches framework, and the inability to opt out of including AOCI in regulatory capital calculations. At December 31, 2023, CSC had approximately $493 billion in total assets and cross-jurisdictional activity of approximately $25 billion. See also Part II – Item 7 – Current Regulatory and Other Developments for discussion of regulatory proposals that could, among other things, require the Company to include AOCI in its regulatory capital calculations.

The financial services industry faces significant litigation and regulatory risks. We are subject to claims and lawsuits in the ordinary course of business, including arbitrations, class actions and other litigation, some of which include claims for substantial or unspecified damages. We are also the subject of inquiries, investigations, and proceedings by regulatory and other governmental agencies.

Litigation and arbitration claims include those brought by our clients and the clients of third-party advisors whose assets are custodied with us. Claims from clients of third-party advisors may allege losses due to investment decisions made by the third-party advisors or the advisors’ misconduct. Litigation claims also include claims from third parties alleging infringement of their intellectual property rights (e.g., patents). Such litigation can require the expenditure of significant company resources. If we were found to have infringed on a third-party patent, or other intellectual property rights, we could incur substantial damages, and in some circumstances could be enjoined from using certain technology, or providing certain products or services.

Actions brought against us may result in settlements, awards, injunctions, fines, penalties or other results adverse to us, including reputational harm. Even if we are successful in defending against these actions, the defense of such matters may result in us incurring significant expenses. We may also determine that it is in the Company’s best interests to settle a matter, such as to avoid protracted litigation, even though the Company may have strong defenses. A substantial judgment, settlement, fine, or penalty could be material to our operating results or cash flows for a particular future period, depending on our results for that period. In market downturns and periods of heightened volatility, the volume of legal claims and amount of damages sought in litigation and regulatory proceedings against financial services companies have historically increased.

result in unauthorized access, misuse, loss or destruction of data (including confidential client information), account takeovers, unavailability of service or other events. Despite our efforts to ensure the integrity of our systems, we may not be able to anticipate or to implement effective preventive measures against all security breaches of these types, especially because the techniques used change frequently or are not recognized until launched, and because security attacks can originate from a wide variety of sources. Data security breaches may also result from non-technical means, for example, employee misconduct.

Given the high volume of transactions that we process, the large number of clients, counterparties and third-party service providers with which we do business, including cloud service providers, and the increasing sophistication of cyber attacks, a cyber attack could occur and persist for an extended period of time before being detected. The extent of a particular cyber attack and the steps we may need to take to investigate the attack may not be immediately clear, and it may take a significant amount of time before an investigation is completed and full and reliable information about the attack is known. During such time we would not necessarily know the extent of the harm or how best to remediate it, and certain errors or actions could be repeated or compounded before they are discovered and remediated, all or any of which would further increase the costs and consequences of a cyber attack.

Security breaches, including breaches of our security measures or those of our third-party service providers or clients, could result in a violation of applicable privacy and other laws and could subject us to significant liability or loss that may not be covered by insurance, actions by our regulators, damage to our reputation, or a loss of confidence in our security measures which could harm our business. We may be required to expend significant additional resources to modify our protective measures or to investigate and remediate vulnerabilities or other exposures. We may also be required to pay ransom to threat actors to restore or prevent dissemination of data.

We also face risk related to external fraud involving the misappropriation and use of clients’ user names, passwords or other personal information to gain access to our clients’ financial accounts. This could occur from the compromise of clients’ personal electronic devices or as a result of a data security breach at an unrelated company where clients’ personal information is taken and then made available to fraudsters. Additionally, data exposure can result from a failure to adequately destroy data during system or asset decommissioning, which might result in client or Company information being made available to external parties in error. Such risks have grown in recent years due to the increased sophistication and activities of organized crime and other external parties, including foreign state-sponsored parties. Losses reimbursed to clients under our guarantee against unauthorized account activity could have a negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We must process, record and monitor a large number of transactions and our operations are highly dependent on the integrity of our technology systems and our ability to make timely enhancements and additions to our systems. System interruptions, errors or downtime can result from a variety of causes, including changes in client use patterns, technological failure, changes to our systems, linkages with third-party systems and power failures and can have a significant impact on our business and operations. Our systems are vulnerable to disruptions from human error, execution errors, errors in models such as those used for asset management, capital planning and management, risk management, stress testing and compliance, employee misconduct, unauthorized trading, external fraud, computer viruses, distributed denial of service attacks, cyber attacks, terrorist attacks, natural disaster, extreme weather, power outage, capacity constraints, software flaws, events impacting key business partners and vendors, and similar events. For example, we and other financial institutions have been the target of various denial of service attacks that have, in certain circumstances, made websites, mobile applications and email unavailable for periods of time. Cloud technologies are critical to the operation of our systems and platforms and our reliance on cloud technologies is growing. Cloud service disruptions may lead to delays in accessing data that is important to our businesses and may hinder our clients’ access to our platforms. It could take an extended period of time to restore full functionality to our technology or other operating systems in the event of an unforeseen occurrence, which could affect our ability to process and settle client transactions. Despite our efforts to identify areas of risk, oversee operational areas involving risk, and implement policies and procedures designed to manage these risks, there can be no assurance that we will not suffer unexpected losses, reputational damage or regulatory action due to technology or other operational failures or errors, including those of our vendors or other third parties.

While we devote substantial attention and resources to the reliability, capacity and scalability of our systems, we occasionally experience extraordinary trading volumes, which have caused and could cause our computer systems to operate at unacceptably slow speeds or even fail, affecting our ability to process client transactions and potentially resulting in some clients’ orders being executed at prices they did not anticipate. Disruptions in service and slower system response times could result in substantial losses, decreased client satisfaction, reputational damage, and regulatory inquiries. We are also dependent on the integrity and performance of securities exchanges, clearing houses, market makers, dealers, and other intermediaries to which client orders are

routed for execution and settlement. System failures and constraints and transaction errors at such intermediaries could result in delays and erroneous or unanticipated execution prices and cancelled orders, cause substantial losses for us and for our clients, and subject us to claims from our clients for damages, and cause reputational harm.

Certain events could increase our client service and processing times due to staffing shortages, remote work or the temporary loss of services from outsourced service providers, such as occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. We consider service quality to be an important part of the client experience and our failure to meet client expectations could result in decreased client satisfaction.

We take steps to prevent and detect fraud but the ways that fraudulent activity is attempted is continuously evolving. Although we monitor for new types of fraud, there may be a delay in recognizing the fraud is happening. Besides potential losses, shutting down fraudulent activity often requires a balance with client experience. Instances of fraud might negatively impact our reputation and client confidence in the Company, in addition to any direct losses that might result from such instances.

Fund and trust management and administration are complex activities and include functions such as recordkeeping and accounting, security pricing, corporate actions, compliance with investment restrictions, daily net asset value computations, account reconciliations, and required distributions to fund shareholders. Failure to properly perform operational tasks, or the misrepresentation of our services and products could subject us to regulatory sanctions, penalties, or litigation, and result in reputational damage, liability to clients, and the termination of investment management or administration agreements, and the withdrawal of assets under our management.

In the management and administration of funds and client accounts, we use quantitative models and other tools and resources to support investment decisions and processes, including those related to risk assessment, portfolio management, trading and hedging activities and product valuations. Errors in the design, function, or underlying assumptions used in these models and tools, particularly if we fail to detect the errors over an extended period, could subject us to claims of a breach of fiduciary duty and potentially large liabilities for make-whole payments, litigation, and/or regulatory fines.

We rely on external service providers to perform certain key technology, cloud infrastructure, processing, servicing, and support functions. These service providers face technology, operating, business, and economic risks, and any significant failures by them, including the improper use or disclosure of our confidential client, employee, or company information, could cause us to incur losses and could harm our reputation. An interruption in or the cessation of service by any external service provider as a result of systems failures, capacity constraints, financial difficulties, natural disasters, extreme weather, power outage, public health crises, political developments, war, international disputes, or for any other reason, and our inability to make alternative arrangements in a timely manner could disrupt our operations, impact our ability to offer certain products and services, and result in financial losses to us. We temporarily lost the services from some of our outsourced service providers during the COVID-19 pandemic which contributed to increased client service response and processing times. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we had to replace certain vendor resources which added incremental complexity in earlier phases of our TD Ameritrade conversion work. Switching to an alternative service provider may require a transition period and result in less efficient operations.

We rely on market makers, dealers, securities exchanges, clearing houses, and other financial intermediaries to execute and settle our clients’ orders. In addition, payments received from market makers and exchanges in connection with the execution of client equity and options trades, and from dealers and other counterparties in connection with securities lending, account for significant revenue. The unwillingness or inability of any of these parties to perform their usual functions coupled with the unavailability of alternative arrangements could result in our clients’ orders not getting executed or settled. This may be due to market volatility, uneconomic trading conditions, capacity constraints, financial constraints, system failures, unanticipated trading halts invoked by securities exchanges, market closures, or other reasons. Our inability to get client orders executed or settled because of the unwillingness or inability of these parties to perform their usual functions could result in client dissatisfaction and reputational harm and expose us to client claims for damages.

Our businesses are subject to the risk that a client, counterparty or issuer will fail to perform its contractual obligations, or that the value of collateral held to secure obligations will prove to be inadequate. While we have policies and procedures designed to manage this risk, the policies and procedures may not be fully effective. Our exposure mainly results from margin lending, clients’ options and futures trading, securities lending, mortgage lending, pledged asset lending, our role as a counterparty in financial contracts and investing activities, and indirectly from the investing activities of certain of the proprietary funds that the Company sponsors.

We have exposure to credit risk associated with our investments. Those investments are subject to price fluctuations. Loss of value of securities can negatively affect earnings if management determines that such loss of value has resulted from a credit loss. The evaluation of whether a credit loss exists is a matter of judgment, which includes the assessment of multiple factors. If management determines that a security’s decline in fair value is the result of a credit loss, an allowance for credit losses on the security will be recorded and a corresponding loss will be recognized in current earnings. Even if a decline in fair value of a security is not determined to have resulted from a credit loss, if we were ever forced to sell the security sooner than intended prior to maturity due to liquidity needs, we would have to recognize any unrealized losses at that time.

Our bank loans primarily consist of First Mortgages, PALs, and HELOCs. Increases in delinquency and default rates, housing and stock price declines, increases in the unemployment rate, and other economic factors, can result in increases in allowances for credit losses and related credit loss expense, as well as write downs on such loans.

Heightened credit exposures to specific counterparties or instruments can increase our risk of loss. Examples include:

The Company sponsors a number of proprietary money market mutual funds and other proprietary funds. Although the Company has no obligation to do so, the Company may decide for competitive or other reasons to provide credit, liquidity or other support to our funds in the event of significant declines in valuation of fund holdings or significant redemption activity that exceeds available liquidity. Such support could cause the Company to take significant charges, could reduce the Company’s liquidity and, in certain situations, could, with respect to proprietary funds other than money market mutual funds, result in the Company having to consolidate one or more funds in its financial statements. If the Company were to choose not to provide credit, liquidity or other support in such a situation, the Company could suffer reputational damage and its business could be adversely affected.

As part of our integration of TD Ameritrade, the Company expects to complete the remaining client transitions from TD Ameritrade to Schwab in a final transition group in May of 2024. This final transition group includes our most active trader accounts which drive significant revenue for TD Ameritrade and are, therefore, important to the revenue of the combined company. Although we have undertaken extensive planning and testing, the account transitions are complicated and we could experience issues which cause the final transition group or the remaining integration work to be delayed, or negatively impact the client experience. Such issues could adversely impact client retention, integration-related costs, the timing for realizing synergies including those dependent on the wind-down of the operations of the TD Ameritrade broker-dealers, our reputation, and compliance with regulatory requirements.

We have experienced unanticipated issues earlier in the integration process that added complexity to our conversion work, including a need to increase capacity of our systems earlier in the integration process beyond our original technology build-out plan and other complexities of technology development. Though technology development to support the remaining client account transitions is now substantially complete, unanticipated issues could arise, including in relation to the wind-down of certain technology used by our broker-dealer subsidiaries.

In connection with the completed 2023 transitions, the Company experienced attrition in client assets from former TD Ameritrade retail accounts and RIAs that was within our initial estimates when we announced the acquisition. It is possible that the remaining integration process could result in the loss of clients, including to a greater degree than previously planned or experienced in relation to the 2023 client account conversions.

We expect to continue to incur significant costs in 2024 to finish combining the operations of Schwab and TD Ameritrade, including workforce, technology-related, and facilities consolidation costs. Additional unanticipated costs may be incurred in the integration process. If we are not able to successfully transition the remaining client accounts, and complete planned technology wind-down activities, within the anticipated time frames, the anticipated cost savings and other benefits of the merger may not be realized fully or may take longer to realize than expected.

We evaluate potential strategic transactions, including business combinations, acquisitions, and dispositions. Any such transaction could have a material impact on our financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. The process of evaluating, negotiating, effecting, and integrating any such strategic transaction may divert management’s attention from other business concerns, and might cause the loss of key clients, employees, and business partners. Moreover, integrating businesses and systems may result in unforeseen expenditures as well as numerous risks and uncertainties, including the need to integrate operational, financial, and management information systems and management controls, integrate relationships with clients and business partners, and manage facilities and employees in different geographic areas. The integration process could result in the disruption of ongoing businesses or changes to inconsistent standards, controls, procedures and policies that could adversely affect our ability to maintain relationships with clients, employees, outsourced service providers and vendors. In addition, an acquisition may cause us to assume liabilities or become subject to litigation or regulatory proceedings or require the amortization of a large amount of acquired intangible assets. Further, we may not realize the anticipated benefits from an acquisition (including without limitation the acquisition of TD Ameritrade) in a timely manner or at all, and any future acquisition could be dilutive to our current stockholders’ percentage ownership or to earnings per common share (EPS).

Our acquisitions and dispositions are typically subject to closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and the absence of material adverse changes in the business, operations or financial condition of the entity or part of an entity being acquired or sold. To the extent we enter into an agreement to buy or sell an entity or part of an entity, there can be no guarantee that the transaction will close when expected, or at all. If a material transaction does not close, our stock price could decline.

We operate in a highly competitive environment with a broad array of competitors from large integrated banks to venture-capital backed private companies. We continually monitor our pricing in relation to competitors and periodically adjust interest rates on deposits and loans, fees for advisory services, expense ratios on mutual funds and ETFs, trade commission rates, and other pricing and incentives to sustain our competitive position. Increased price competition from other financial services firms to attract clients, such as reduced commissions, higher deposit rates, reduced mutual fund or ETF expense ratios, or the increased use of incentives, could impact our results of operations and financial condition.

The market for qualified personnel in our business is highly competitive. At various times, different functions and roles are in especially high demand in the market, compelling us to pay more to attract talent. Our ability to continue to compete effectively will depend upon our ability to attract new employees and retain existing employees while managing compensation costs.

Our stock price can be volatile. Among the factors that may affect the volatility of our stock price are the following:

Changes in the stock market generally, or as it concerns our industry, as well as geopolitical, corporate, regulatory, business, and economic factors may also affect our stock price.

CSC’s certificate of incorporation authorizes CSC’s Board of Directors, among other things, to issue additional shares of common or preferred stock or securities convertible or exchangeable into equity securities, without stockholder approval. CSC may issue additional equity or convertible securities to raise additional capital or for other purposes. The issuance of any additional equity or convertible securities could be substantially dilutive to holders of CSC’s common stock and may adversely affect the market price of CSC’s common stock.

Although our acquisition of TD Ameritrade was structured such that completion of the merger would not result in CSC either (i) being deemed to be “controlled” (as that term is interpreted by the Federal Reserve under the BHC Act or HOLA) by The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD Bank) or (ii) being deemed to be in “control” of any of TD Bank’s depository institutions, changes in circumstances could trigger presumptions of control under the Federal Reserve’s regulations. This could occur if TD Bank and its affiliates own more than 9.9% of Schwab common stock, as interpreted in accordance with the applicable rules of the Federal Reserve. While the Stockholder Agreement between CSC and TD Bank prohibits TD Bank and its affiliates from exceeding the 9.9% threshold, it could happen unintentionally. This presumption of control could also be triggered if the revenue generated to either us or to any of the TD Bank depository institutions exceeds a certain percentage. The Stockholder Agreement contains provisions to address such situations.

None.

Item 1C.     Cybersecurity

Information security, including cybersecurity, is the risk of unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, recording or destruction of the firm’s information or systems. As a large company in the financial services industry, we do business with a large number of clients, counterparties, and third-party service providers, and the nature of Schwab’s business involves the secure processing, storage, and transmission of confidential information about our clients and us. We process, record, and monitor a high volume of transactions, and our operations are highly dependent on the integrity of our technology systems. As a result, we face extensive cybersecurity risks. It is through a combination of specialized internal and external teams, coupled with security software tools, that Schwab identifies, assesses, and manages material cybersecurity risk, and implements and enhances over time our cybersecurity policies, procedures, and strategies to reduce risk. We also maintain processes and procedures for identifying and investigating cybersecurity threats and remediation should an incident occur. Though the impact of prior cybersecurity events experienced by the Company has not been material to the Company’s strategy, results of operations, or financial condition, we continue to face increasing cybersecurity risks.

CSC’s Board of Directors oversees management’s processes for risk management, and the Risk Committee of the Board of Directors assists the Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities with respect to managing risks, including cybersecurity risks. Integrated within the Company’s overall enterprise risk management program, Schwab has an established information security program that knits together complementary tools, controls, and technologies to protect systems, client accounts and data. We continuously monitor the systems and work collaboratively with government agencies, law enforcement, and other financial institutions to address potential threats. We deploy advanced monitoring systems to identify suspicious activity and deter unauthorized access by internal or external actors. We also maintain policies, standards, and procedures, which apply to employees, contractors, and third parties, regarding the standard of care expected with all data, whether the data is internal company information, employee information, or non-public client information. This includes limiting the number of employees who have access to clients’ personal information and internal authentication measures enforced to protect against the unauthorized use of employee credentials. All employees who handle sensitive information are trained in privacy and security. Schwab also engages with external firms specializing in discrete areas of cybersecurity to assess the Company’s practices, vulnerabilities, and overall cyber risk posture.

Schwab’s corporate cybersecurity program is led by our Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), who reports to our Chief Information Officer (CIO). The current CISO has been in his role for several years, and is responsible for our overall cybersecurity strategy, security engineering, security operations, cyber threat detection and incident response, and technology risk and compliance. Our CISO has extensive experience assessing and managing cybersecurity risk, and is supported by a cybersecurity organization comprised of hundreds of professionals, many of whom hold various certifications such as Certified Information Systems Security Professional, Certified Information Security Manager, and Certified in Risk and Information System Control. Our CISO and CIO attend meetings of and present to the Risk Committee of CSC’s Board of Directors on our prevention, detection, mitigation, and remediation efforts of our cybersecurity program. We also have an escalation process in place to inform senior management and the Board of Directors of material cybersecurity incidents in a timely manner.

See Item 1A. Risk Factors for additional information on cybersecurity risk. See also Part II – Item 7 – Risk Management for additional information on the Company’s Enterprise Risk Management Framework, including further discussion of the Company’s risk governance and the management of related risks.

Item 2.     Properties

As part of our real estate energy management program, Schwab incorporates sustainable practices and procedures to guide our facilities’ design, materials, and building technologies. A summary of Schwab’s significant locations is presented in the following table.

The square footage amounts presented in the table above are net of space that has been subleased to third parties. Our corporate headquarters, data centers, offices, and service centers support both of our segments.

During 2023, the Company continued its integration of TD Ameritrade and engaged in certain other cost reduction efforts, including to decrease its real estate footprint. As part of these actions, the Company’s use of certain of the above locations was decreased in 2023, including Jersey City, NJ and San Francisco, CA, and certain additional reductions in the Company’s real estate footprint are expected in 2024. See Part II – Item 8 – Notes 7, 13, and 15 for additional information.

As of December��31, 2023, the Company had more than 380 domestic branch offices in 48 states and the District of Columbia, as well as locations in Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Substantially all branch offices are located in leased premises.

For a discussion of legal proceedings, see Part II – Item 8 – Note 14.

Item 4.     Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

PART II

CSC’s common stock is listed on The New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SCHW. The number of common stockholders of record as of January 31, 2024, was 5,045. The closing market price per share on that date was $62.92.

For information relating to compensation plans under which our equity securities are authorized for issuance, see Item 8 – Note 21 and Part III – Item 12.

On July 27, 2022, CSC publicly announced that its Board of Directors terminated its prior repurchase authorization and replaced it with a new authorization to repurchase up to $15.0 billion of common stock. The authorization does not have an expiration date. See also Item 8 – Note 19.

In addition to historical information, this Annual Report on Form 10-K contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “will,” “may,” “estimate,” “appear,” “could,” “would,” “expand,” “aim,” “maintain,” “continue,” “seek,” and other similar expressions. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections, or other characterizations of future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements, which reflect management’s beliefs, objectives, and expectations as of the date hereof, are estimates based on the best judgment of Schwab’s senior management. These statements relate to, among other things:

Achievement of the expressed beliefs, objectives and expectations described in these statements is subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expressed beliefs, objectives, and expectations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or, in the case of documents incorporated by reference, as of the date of those documents.

Important factors that may cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to:

 

Management focuses on several client activity and financial metrics in evaluating Schwab’s financial position and operating performance. We believe that metrics relating to net new and total client assets, as well as client cash levels and utilization of advisory services, offer perspective on our business momentum and client engagement. Data on new and total client brokerage accounts provides additional perspective on our ability to attract and retain new business. Total net revenue growth, pre-tax profit margin, EPS, return on average common stockholders’ equity, and the Consolidated Tier 1 Leverage Ratio provide broad indicators of Schwab’s overall financial health, operating efficiency, and ability to generate acceptable returns. Total expenses excluding interest as a percentage of average client assets is a measure of operating efficiency.

Results for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 are as follows:

Through an uneven environment in 2023, with shifting views on the trajectory of the U.S. economy, persistent geopolitical unrest, and turmoil beginning early in the year within the banking sector, our “no trade-offs” value proposition continued to

resonate with investors. The Federal Reserve raised the Federal Funds rate four times in the first three quarters of 2023 for a total of 100 basis points before holding rates unchanged since July. Although equity markets were volatile during 2023,

Despite this mixed sentiment, our clients remained engaged with the markets and with Schwab. Clients entrusted us with $305.7 billion in core net new assets in 2023. Total client assets reached $8.52 trillion as of December 31, 2023, rising 21% from year-end 2022 as a result of asset gathering and market gains, partially offset by some expected deal-related attrition from clients originating at TD Ameritrade. Trading volume declined somewhat from the prior year, as DATs were 5.4 million in 2023, down 9% from 2022. Clients opened 3.8 million new brokerage accounts, bringing active brokerage accounts to 34.8 million at year-end, up 3% year-over-year. Clients sought to take advantage of higher market interest rates in 2023, and we saw significant client cash reallocation from our sweep products into higher-yielding alternatives offered by Schwab. While bank sweep deposits and payables to brokerage clients decreased by a total of $126.1 billion during 2023, client assets invested in Schwab’s proprietary money market funds and fixed income securities increased by a total of $383.8 billion.

Total net revenues were $18.8 billion in 2023, down 9% from the prior year as client cash realignment activity impacted our net interest revenue. Net interest revenue was $9.4 billion in 2023, down 12% from the prior year, as the benefits of rising rates were more than offset by increased utilization of higher-cost supplemental funding and lower interest-earning assets. Asset management and administration fees totaled $4.8 billion in 2023, rising 13% from 2022, primarily as a result of growth in money market funds, as well as improvement in equity markets and growth in our other proprietary fund products, partially offset by lower balances of certain third-party funds. Trading revenue was $3.2 billion in 2023, down 12% from 2022, due primarily to mix of client trading activity and overall lower trading volume. Bank deposit account fee revenue was $705 million in 2023, down 50% from the prior year due to lower average BDA balances and lower net yields, as well as $97 million in one-time breakage fees related to ending our arrangements with certain third-party banks in the first quarter of 2023. BDA balances totaled $97.5 billion at December 31, 2023, down 23% from year-end 2022 due primarily to client cash allocation decisions.

Throughout 2023, the Company continued its diligent approach to balance sheet management and sought to prioritize flexibility. During 2023, we issued $6.2 billion in senior notes to prepare for upcoming maturities as well as provide additional liquidity during the larger TD Ameritrade conversion weekends. Total balance sheet assets decreased 11% from year-end 2022 to $493.2 billion at December 31, 2023, due primarily to client cash realignment amid the higher interest rate environment. To assist in facilitating these client cash movements from sweep products to high-yielding cash and fixed income alternatives, the

Company utilized supplemental funding sources, including FHLB borrowings and issuances of brokered CDs. As realignment activity significantly decreased in the second half of the year, by year-end, we reduced the total outstanding balance of such supplemental sources by approximately 18% from the peak balances reached in May 2023. Driven by a combination of the Company’s net income and also a smaller balance sheet in 2023, our consolidated Tier 1 Leverage Ratio increased to 8.5% as of year-end.

Through these challenges, clients continued to turn to Schwab for help in achieving their financial goals. Core net new assets in 2022 totaled $427.7 billion, representing an organic growth rate of 5%, which included significant tax-related outflows in April. Total client assets were $7.05 trillion at December 31, 2022, down 13% from year-end 2021, as market value declines of approximately $1.5 trillion in client assets more than offset the Company’s continued asset gathering during the year. DATs in 2022 were 5.9 million, down 9% from the prior year, as trading volume subsided from the extraordinary levels seen in 2021. New brokerage accounts were also down from the prior year, as clients opened 4.0 million new brokerage accounts in 2022; active brokerage accounts totaled 33.8 million at December 31, 2022, up 2% from year-end 2021.

Total net revenues rose 12% year-over-year to $20.8 billion in 2022. Net interest revenue increased to $10.7 billion, rising 33% from 2021 as significantly higher market rates more than offset the impact of balance sheet contraction due to client cash allocation decisions. Asset management and administration fees totaled $4.2 billion in 2022, down 1% year-over-year as lower market valuations throughout the year offset the benefit of lower money market fund fee waivers. Trading revenue declined by 12% to $3.7 billion in 2022, due to lower DATs relative to the extraordinary trading volume seen in 2021 and changes in mix of client trading activity. Bank deposit account fee revenue was $1.4 billion in 2022, up 7% from 2021 as higher average net yields more than offset lower average BDA balances. BDA balances totaled $126.6 billion at December 31, 2022, down 20% from year-end 2021, reflecting client cash allocation decisions and migrations to our balance sheet.

The Company continued its diligent approach to balance sheet management in 2022, maintaining appropriate capital and liquidity to support client activity and returning excess capital to stockholders. As market rates rose from near-zero levels at the

beginning of the year, clients allocated a growing portion of their assets to higher-yielding cash and fixed income alternatives.

Total balance sheet assets decreased 17% year-over-year to $551.8 billion at December 31, 2022 as a result of these client cash allocation decisions and unrealized losses on AFS securities, both resulting primarily from higher market interest rates. To facilitate these client cash movements, we took steps to enhance our liquidity by limiting new portfolio investments to help build available cash and utilizing supplemental funding sources including FHLB advances and brokered CDs.

We increased our common stock dividend by 22% during 2022, and implemented a $15 billion share repurchase authorization in July. Repurchases under this new authorization totaled 47 million shares for $3.4 billion in 2022. The Company issued $750 million in preferred stock in the first quarter of 2022, and redeemed a total of $1.0 billion of preferred stock during the second half of the year. Inclusive of these actions, the Company’s Tier 1 Leverage Ratio finished the year at 7.2%.

The Company has made significant progress in its integration of TD Ameritrade. Over the course of 2023, the Company transitioned approximately $1.6 trillion in client assets across more than 15 million client accounts, including 7,000 RIAs, from TD Ameritrade to the Schwab platform across four transition groups. The Company has now completed the transition of RIAs and approximately 90% of all TD Ameritrade client accounts. In connection with the completed 2023 transitions, we have experienced some deal-related attrition of client assets from retail accounts and RIAs, which have been below our initial estimates when we announced the acquisition. The Company expects to complete the remaining client transitions from TD Ameritrade to Schwab in a final transition group in May 2024.

The Company continues to expect total acquisition and integration-related costs and capital expenditures will be between $2.4 billion and $2.5 billion. The Company’s estimates of the nature, amounts, and timing of recognition of acquisition and integration-related costs remain subject to change based on certain factors, including the duration and complexity of the remaining integration process and the continued uncertainty of the economic environment. More specifically, factors that could cause variability in our expected acquisition and integration-related costs as we prepare for the last transition group and remaining integration work include the level of employee attrition, the complexity to wind-down the operations of the TD Ameritrade broker-dealers and related technology, and real estate-related exit cost variability.

Acquisition and integration-related costs, which are inclusive of related exit costs, totaled $401 million, $392 million, and $468 million in 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively, and the Company expects to incur acquisition and integration-related costs of approximately $200 million in 2024. Over the course of the integration, we continue to expect to realize annualized cost synergies of between $1.8 billion and $2.0 billion, and, through December 31, 2023, we have achieved approximately 80% of this amount on an annualized run-rate basis. The Company expects to achieve the vast majority of the remaining estimated cost synergies by the end of 2024, with anticipated full year synergy realization beginning in 2025. The estimated timing and amounts of synergy realization remain subject to change as we progress through the remaining stages of the integration. See also Results of Operations – Total Expenses Excluding Interest, Non-GAAP Financial Measures, and Item 8 – Note 15.

In addition to cost synergies directly related to the integration of TD Ameritrade, the Company has taken incremental actions to streamline its operations to prepare for post-integration, including through position eliminations and decreasing its real estate footprint. Through these actions, the Company expects to realize at least $500 million of incremental run-rate cost savings in addition to integration synergies. In order to achieve these cost savings, the Company expects to incur total exit and related costs, primarily related to employee compensation and benefits and facility exit costs of approximately $500 million, inclusive of costs recognized through December 31, 2023 of $495 million. The Company anticipates the remaining costs, primarily related to real estate, will be incurred during 2024. Refer to Results of Operations – Total Expenses Excluding Interest and Item 8 – Note 15 for additional information.

In November 2023, the FDIC approved a final special assessment to recover losses incurred by the DIF to protect uninsured depositors due to the March 2023 closures of two banks. The pre-tax impact of the final rule was $172 million. This special assessment is tax deductible and was recognized fully in earnings in the fourth quarter of 2023. The special assessment will be paid over eight quarters beginning in the first quarter of 2024, subject to potential extension and a potential one-time final special assessment for any shortfall in the DIF.

In October 2023, following previous attempts to expand fiduciary regulation for broker-dealers, the U.S. Department of Labor released another proposed rule to significantly broaden the definition of “fiduciary” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Among other requirements, the rule would subject broker-dealers who provide non-discretionary investment advice to retirement plans and accounts to a “best interest” standard. The rule could significantly impact the products, services, and support that firms can make available to retirement investors, and the Company continues to evaluate such impacts and the related implementation and operational issues, pending final adoption.

In October 2023, the U.S. federal banking agencies issued a final rule that makes extensive revisions to the regulations implementing the CRA. These revisions include the delineation of assessment areas, the overall evaluation framework and performance standards and metrics, the definition of community development activities and data collection and reporting, and requires significant new lending by banks to low-and-moderate income communities. The new rule generally becomes effective on January 1, 2026, with its additional data collection and reporting requirements effective January 1, 2027. The Company has begun to prepare for complying with the requirements included in the new rule by the applicable effective dates. We do not expect the new rule will have a material impact on the Company’s business, financial condition, or results of operations.

In August 2023, the U.S. federal banking agencies issued a proposed rulemaking on long-term debt requirements for certain large banking organizations. Among other things, the proposed rule would require CSC to maintain outstanding minimum levels of eligible long-term debt, as defined by the proposed rule, issued externally. The proposed rule would also require our banking subsidiaries to maintain outstanding minimum levels of eligible long-term debt, which our banking subsidiaries would be required to issue internally to CSC. The proposed rule would be phased-in over a three-year transition period. The comment period for the proposed rule ended on January 16, 2024 and the rule proposal is subject to further modification. The proposed rule could have a significant impact on the amount of debt that CSC and our banking subsidiaries are required to maintain.

In July 2023, the U.S. federal banking agencies issued a notice of proposed rulemaking with amendments to the regulatory capital rules. Among other things, the proposed rules would require us to include AOCI in regulatory capital and to calculate our risk-weighted assets using a revised risk-based approach, a component of which is based on operational risk, phased in over a three-year transition period beginning July 1, 2025 and ending July 1, 2028. The comment period for the proposed rules ended on January 16, 2024. The impact of the proposal would be significant to Schwab, as the proposed rules could increase regulatory capital requirements for consolidated CSC and our banking subsidiaries. In anticipation of the rules being adopted, the Company’s capital management for consolidated CSC and our banking subsidiaries now incorporates measures that are inclusive of AOCI. See Capital Management for additional information.

In December 2022, the SEC proposed a set of four related equity market structure rules that would make significant changes to how national market system (NMS) stock orders are priced, executed and reported. The four proposed rules are described below.

The comment periods for the proposed rules ended on March 31, 2023. While the impacts to Schwab of the proposed rules cannot be fully assessed until final rules are released, as proposed, the rules would have a significant impact to numerous aspects of critical equity market structure and the execution of orders for retail investors. Among other impacts, certain of the proposed rules would likely result in increased transaction costs for retail investors which could affect client investment and trading decisions, and would require substantial operational changes for financial intermediaries including the Company.

In November 2022, the SEC proposed a rule that would require substantial changes to the liquidity risk management programs for open-end mutual funds other than money market funds (funds) and require them to implement “swing pricing” and impose a “hard close” on the acceptance of purchase and redemption orders. Swing pricing would require funds that are not exchange-traded funds or money market funds to adjust the fund’s current net asset value (NAV) per share by a “swing factor” if the fund has either (i) net redemptions (no threshold) or (ii) net purchases that exceed a specified threshold (2% of the fund’s net assets). To implement the swing pricing requirements, the proposed rule also would require that a fund, its transfer agent, or a registered clearing agency receive purchase and redemption orders prior to the time the fund has established for determining the NAV, typically market close, in order to receive a given day’s NAV (a “hard close”). Current practices permit fund orders received by a financial intermediary prior to the fund cut-off time to be transmitted to the fund after the fund cut-off time and still receive that day’s NAV. Under the proposed rule, orders received by the fund, its transfer agent or registered clearing agency after the fund cut-off time would receive the next day’s NAV. The comment period for the proposed rule ended on February 14, 2023. While the impacts to Schwab of the proposed rule cannot be fully assessed until the final rule is released, we believe the proposed rule could impact investor interest in mutual funds, which could lead to changes in investor behavior. In addition, implementation of the proposed rule would require that financial intermediaries, including the Company, modify order entry systems and operational workflow to comply with the requirements.

The following table presents a comparison of revenue by category:

Schwab’s primary interest-earning assets include cash and cash equivalents; cash and investments segregated; margin loans, which constitute the majority of receivables from brokerage clients; investment securities; and bank loans. Fees earned and expenses incurred on securities lending and borrowing activities are conducted by our broker-dealer subsidiaries using assets held in client brokerage accounts. Schwab’s interest-bearing liabilities are comprised of bank deposits, which include brokered

CDs issued by CSB; payables to brokerage clients; FHLB borrowings, other short-term borrowings (e.g., commercial paper, repurchase agreements, other secured borrowings); and long-term debt. Schwab deploys the funds from these sources into the assets outlined above.

As Schwab builds its client base, we attract new client sweep cash, which is a primary driver of funding balance sheet growth. We do not use short-term, wholesale borrowings to support our long-term investment activity, but may use such funding for short-term liquidity purposes or to provide temporary funding as we have in 2022 and 2023. Non-interest-bearing funding sources include stockholders’ equity, certain client cash balances, and other miscellaneous liabilities.

Revenue on interest-earning assets is affected by various factors, such as the composition of assets, prevailing interest rates and spreads at the time of origination or purchase, changes in interest rates on cash and cash equivalents, floating-rate securities and loans, and changes in prepayment levels for mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities and loans. Schwab establishes the rates paid on client-related liabilities, and management expects that it will generally adjust the rates paid on these liabilities at some fraction of any movement in short-term rates. Interest expense on long-term debt, FHLB borrowings, other short-term borrowings, and other funding sources is impacted by market interest rates at the time of borrowing and changes in interest rates on floating-rate liabilities. See also Risk Management – Market Risk.

Interest rates increased significantly beginning late in the first quarter of 2022 through the third quarter of 2023. Short-term rates were near zero until the Federal Reserve began an aggressive tightening cycle in March 2022 in response to rising inflation, ultimately increasing the federal funds target overnight rate eleven times between March 2022 and July 2023 for a total increase of 525 basis points and maintaining the upper bound of the target overnight rate at 5.50% through year-end 2023. Long-term rates increased throughout 2022 and 2023, generally at a slower pace, thus leading to an inverted yield curve.

Schwab’s average interest-earning assets in 2023 were lower compared with 2022, primarily due to clients’ reallocation of cash from sweep products to higher-yielding investment solutions in the second half of 2022 and during 2023, which resulted primarily from the rapid increases to the federal funds overnight rate. These changes in client cash allocations reduced average balances of bank deposits and payables to brokerage clients. To support this client cash allocation activity, the Company has been utilizing temporary supplemental funding beginning in the fourth quarter of 2022 and throughout 2023, including drawing upon FHLB secured lending facilities and issuing brokered CDs. The average pace of client cash allocation out of sweep products into higher-yielding investment solutions decreased significantly beginning in the second quarter of 2023, and, apart from an increase in August following the Federal Reserve’s July rate increase, continued to decline during the second half of 2023. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the Company saw bank deposits and payables to brokerage clients increase by a total of $17.5 billion, or 5%, due in part to typical seasonal cash inflows near year-end.

Schwab saw strength in net new client assets during 2022, which, along with transfers of BDA balances to the Company’s balance sheet (see Bank Deposit Account Fees), drove growth in Schwab’s average interest-earning assets in 2022 relative to 2021. Partially offsetting this growth, we experienced significant seasonal tax outflows in the second quarter of 2022, and, due to the rapid increases to the federal funds overnight rate, changes in client cash allocations increased in the second half of 2022 which resulted in a total decrease in bank deposits and payables to brokerage clients of 18% since year-end 2021. During 2022, the Company increased its cash holdings and reduced the duration of incremental investment securities purchases to provide flexibility to help support such changes in client cash allocations associated with higher short-term interest rates.

The following table presents net interest revenue information corresponding to interest-earning assets and funding sources on the consolidated balance sheets:

Net interest revenue decreased $1.3 billion, or 12%, in 2023 from 2022 primarily due to increased utilization of higher-cost supplemental funding sources to support client cash allocations in the rising rate environment, and lower average interest-earning assets, which more than offset the benefits of higher average yields on interest-earning assets. Net premium amortization of investment securities decreased to $830 million in 2023 from $1.4 billion in 2022 as a result of increases in market interest rates and a smaller investment securities portfolio. Average interest-earning assets for 2023 were lower by 21% compared to 2022, which was primarily due to lower bank deposits and payables to brokerage clients as a result of clients allocating cash out of sweep products into higher-yielding investment solutions due to higher market interest rates.

Net interest margin increased to 1.98% in 2023, from 1.78% in 2022, as higher market interest rates improved yields on interest-earning assets, which more than offset the higher rates paid across interest-bearing funding sources.

The Company’s higher average balances in 2023 relative to 2022 of FHLB borrowings, repurchase agreements, and brokered CDs resulted in higher funding costs. The Company prioritizes repayment of the outstanding balances of its supplemental funding sources, and during the second half of 2023, the total outstanding balance of these funding sources decreased by $17.5 billion. Our use and the financial impacts of such supplemental funding is dependent on several factors, including the volume and pace of clients’ cash allocation activity, which is driven primarily by changes in market interest rates, as well as asset gathering. While client cash realignment activity has slowed significantly since the second quarter of 2023, continued uncertainty remains, including in regard to the path of market interest rates and client behavior, which will significantly impact our utilization of supplemental funding sources. The impacts to net interest revenue of using supplemental funding sources also depend on the type of funding source used and levels of interest rates. The Company currently expects its outstanding balances of supplemental funding sources to decrease over time. Certain amounts outstanding at December 31, 2023 will require rollover into new borrowings, the amount and costs of which will depend on the above noted factors. See also Risk Management –

Liquidity Risk, Item 8 – Note 11 Bank Deposits, and Item 8 – Note 12 Borrowings for additional information on these and other funding sources.

Net interest revenue increased $2.7 billion, or 33%, in 2022 from 2021 primarily due to higher average yields on interest-earning assets as a result of higher market interest rates. Net premium amortization of investment securities decreased to $1.4 billion in 2022 from $2.3 billion in 2021. These benefits were partially offset by higher rates paid on funding sources, higher average FHLB borrowings and long-term debt outstanding, and lower balances of margin loans and lower securities lending revenue due to decreased market demand.

Average interest-earning assets for 2022 were higher by 8%, compared to 2021. This increase was primarily due to higher average balances of bank deposits and payables to brokerage clients, which resulted from net new client asset inflows as well as transfers of BDA balances to our balance sheet during 2022. These year-over-year increases in average balances were offset by client cash allocation decisions in response to higher short-term market interest rates during 2022, as clients moved certain cash balances out of bank deposits and payables to brokerage clients.

Net interest margin increased to 1.78% in 2022, from 1.45% in 2021. Higher market interest rates improved yields on interest-earning assets, which more than offset the higher rates paid across interest-bearing funding sources.

Asset management and administration fees include mutual fund, ETF, and CTF service fees and fees for other asset-based financial services provided to individual and institutional clients. Schwab earns mutual fund, ETF, and CTF service fees for shareholder services, administration, and investment management provided to its proprietary funds, and recordkeeping and shareholder services provided to third-party funds. Asset management and administration fees are based upon the daily balances of client assets invested in these funds and do not include securities lending revenues earned by proprietary mutual funds, ETFs, and CTFs, as those amounts, net of program fees, are credited to the fund shareholders. Proprietary CTFs may, but generally do not, directly participate in securities lending. The fair values of client assets included in proprietary and third-party mutual funds, ETFs, and CTFs are based on quoted market prices and other observable market data.

We also earn asset management fees for advice solutions, which include managed portfolios, specialized strategies, and customized investment advice. Other asset management and administration fees include various asset-based fees such as trust fees, 401(k) recordkeeping fees, mutual fund clearing fees, and non-balance based service and transaction fees.

Asset management and administration fees vary with changes in the balances of client assets due to market fluctuations and client activity.

The following table presents asset management and administration fees, average client assets, and average fee yields:

Trading revenue includes commissions, order flow revenue, and principal transaction revenues. Commission revenue is affected by volume and mix of trades executed. Order flow revenue is comprised of payments received from trade execution venues to which our broker-dealer subsidiaries send equity and option orders. Order flow revenue is affected by volume and mix of client trades, as well as pricing received from trade execution venues. Principal transactions revenue is recognized primarily as a result of accommodating clients’ fixed income trading activity, and includes adjustments to the fair value of securities positions

held to facilitate such client trading activity. Principal transactions revenue also includes unrealized gains and losses on cash and investments segregated for regulatory purposes.