Charles Schwab calls itself a 'safe port in a storm' as it took in billions in new assets the past week
By Tomi Kilgore
Schwab added$16.5 billion in core net new assets in the past week
Charles Schwab Corp. looked to reassure investors amid the crisis of investor confidence in the banking sector, saying it remained "a safe port in a storm."
The financial services and discount brokerage giant (SCHW) said Friday that it has seen "strong" inflows from clients, as it added $16.5 billion in core net new assets over the past five trading days.
"Charles Schwab remains a safe port in a storm, driven by its conservative balance sheet, strong liquidity position, and diversified base of over 34 million account holders who invest with Charles Schwab every day," Schwab said in a statement.
The stock dropped 3.2% in afternoon trading Friday, but had been down as much as 7.1% earlier in the session.
The comments comes as Schwab has been caught up in the selloff triggered by the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature BankSBNY, which led to SVB Financial Group's (SIVB)bankruptcy on Friday.
While the Schwab's stock has rallied 8.0% off the 2 1/2-year closing low of $51.91 on March 10, it has still plunged 26.5% since SVB's troubles became public after the March 8 close. Over the same time, the Financials Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund (XLF) has tumbled 11.4% while the S&P 500 index has lost 2.2%.
A number of Schwab's executives and directors have put their money behind the company's comments, as they have bought a total of nearly $7 million worth of shares over the past week.
-Tomi Kilgore
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March 17, 2023 14:58 ET (18:58 GMT)
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