Schwab Posts Strong Second Quarter; SI Assets Up to $556 B

Charles Schwab Corp. on July 17 reported a 16% jump in net income to $292 million for its second quarter ended June 30, on revenue that rose 10% to $1.205 billion. In the same quarter last year, Schwab had $251 million in net income on revenue of $1.09 billion. For the six months ended June 30, net income was $565 million on revenue of $2.35 billion. Schwab CFO Joe Martinetto credited the improved results with the company's "ongoing emphasis on combining the company's more predictable revenue with sustained expense discipline," noting that non-trading revenues set a new record at $1.0 billion, up 14% compared to 2006′s second quarter.

As for Schwab Institutional, client assets grew 25% in the quarter compared to 2006, to $556 billion, or 6% from the $524 billion in client assets recorded at the end of the first quarter of 2007.

In remarks made during a conference call on July 19 announcing the results, Charles Schwab first acknowledged all the "changes over the past three years" with the company, said he was "so pleased" to have sold U.S. Trust to Bank of America, since it "wasn't a fit for where Schwab was going in the next 15-20 years," and pledged that Schwab was "for the common man in America and for advisors who help the common man do a better job of investing. That will be our focus going forward."