UNITED STATES

SECURITIES  AND  EXCHANGE  COMMISSION

Washington, D.C.  20549



FORM 10-Q



QUARTERLY  REPORT  PURSUANT  TO  SECTION  13  OR  15(d)
OF  THE  SECURITIES  EXCHANGE  ACT  OF  1934



For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2016



Commission File Number: 1-9700



THE  CHARLES  SCHWAB  CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)





211 Main Street, San Francisco, CA  94105

(Address of principal executive offices and zip code)



Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:  (415) 667-7000



Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes ⌧  No ☐



Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).

Yes ⌧   No ☐



Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.





Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes ☐ No ⌧



Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.



 1,321,691,068 shares of $.01 par value Common Stock

Outstanding on April 25, 2016





 

---

 











 

---

 

Item 2.Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A)



INTRODUCTION



The Charles Schwab Corporation (CSC) is a savings and loan holding company engaged, through its subsidiaries, in wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, money management, custody, and financial advisory services. Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Schwab) is a securities broker-dealer with over 325 domestic branch offices in 45 states, as well as a branch in each of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and London, England. In addition, Schwab serves clients in Hong Kong through one of CSC’s subsidiaries. Other subsidiaries include Charles Schwab Bank (Schwab Bank), a federal savings bank, and Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (CSIM), the investment advisor for Schwab’s proprietary mutual funds, which are referred to as the Schwab Funds®, and for Schwab’s exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which are referred to as the Schwab ETFs™.



CSC and its subsidiaries (collectively referred to as the Company) operate through two reportable segments – Investor Services and Advisor Services. The Investor Services segment provides retail brokerage and banking services, retirement plan services, and other corporate brokerage services. The Advisor Services segment provides custodial, trading, and support services as well as retirement business services.



This quarterly report on Form 10-Q should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015.





Forward-Looking Statements



In addition to historical information, this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q 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,” “aim,” “target,” “could,” “would,” “continue,” 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 necessarily estimates based on the best judgment of the Company’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 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q 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:



Certain of these factors, as well as general risk factors affecting the Company, are discussed in greater detail in “Part I –Item 1A – Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, and “Part II – Other Information – Item 1A – Risk Factors.”



 

---

 

GLOSSARY OF TERMS



Active brokerage accounts: Brokerage accounts with balances or activity within the preceding eight months.



Asset-backed securities: Debt securities backed by financial assets such as loans or receivables.



Assets receiving ongoing advisory services: Client relationships under the guidance of independent advisors and assets enrolled in one of the Company’s retail or other advisory solutions.



Average client assets: The daily average client asset balance for the period.



Basel III: Global regulatory standards on bank capital adequacy and liquidity issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.



Basis point: One basis point equals 1/100th of 1%, or 0.01%.



Cash and investments segregated and on deposit for regulatory purposes: Client cash or qualified securities balances not used for margin lending are segregated into investment accounts maintained for the exclusive benefit of clients, pursuant to Rule 15c3-3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (commonly referred to as the Customer Protection Rule), by the Company’s broker-dealer subsidiaries.



Client assets: The market value of all client assets custodied at the Company, which includes both cash and securities, at a point in time.  



Client cash as a percentage of client assets: Calculated as money market fund balances, bank deposits, Schwab One® balances, and certain cash equivalents as a percentage of client assets.



Clients’ daily average trades: Includes daily average revenue trades by clients, trades by clients in asset-based pricing relationships, and all commission-free trades.



Commitments to extend credit: Legally binding agreements to extend credit for unused home equity loans and lines of credit (HELOCs), Pledged Asset Lines® (PALs) and other lines of credit.



Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) Capital: The sum of common stock and related surplus net of treasury stock, retained earnings, accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) and qualifying minority interests, less applicable regulatory adjustments and deductions.



Common Equity Tier 1 Risk-Based Capital Ratio: The ratio of CET1 Capital to total risk-weighted assets.



Concentration risk: The potential for loss resulting from holding large positions in financial instruments collateralized by assets with similar economic characteristics or in securities of a single issuer or particular industry or geographical area.



Core net new client assets: Net new client assets before significant one-time inflows or outflows, such as acquisitions/divestitures or extraordinary (generally, greater than $10 billion) mutual fund clearing transfers.



Credit risk: The potential for loss due to a borrower, counterparty, or issuer failing to perform its contractual obligations.



Daily average revenue trades: Total revenue trades during a certain period, divided by the number of trading days in that period. Revenue trades include all client trades that generate trading revenue (i.e., commission revenue or principal transaction revenue).



Debt to total capital ratio: Calculated as long-term debt divided by stockholders’ equity and long-term debt.



Delinquency roll rates: The rates at which loans transition through delinquency stages, ultimately resulting in a loss. The Company considers a loan to be delinquent if it is 30 days or more past due.

---

 



Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank): Regulatory reform legislation signed into federal law in 2010 containing numerous provisions aimed at promoting financial stability in the United States (U.S.) financial system through enhanced prudential regulation of large financial services companies.



Final Regulatory Capital Rules: Refers to the regulatory capital rules issued by U.S. banking agencies in July 2013 that implemented Basel III and relevant provisions of Dodd-Frank, which apply to savings and loan holding companies, as well as federal savings banks. Implementation began on January 1, 2015.



First Mortgages: Refers to first lien residential real estate mortgage loans, which include two loan classes: first mortgages and purchased first mortgages.



Full-time equivalent employees: Represents the total number of hours worked divided by a 40-hour work week for the following categories: full-time, part-time, and temporary employees and persons employed on a contract basis.



Interest rate risk: The potential for variability in net interest revenue or the fluctuation in the valuation of assets arising from changes in interest rates.



Interest-bearing liabilities: Includes bank deposits, payables to brokerage clients, short-term borrowings, and long-term debt on which the Company pays interest.



Interest-earning assets: Includes cash and cash equivalents, cash and investments segregated, broker-related receivables, receivables from brokerage clients, securities available for sale, securities held to maturity, and bank loans on which the Company earns interest.



Investment grade: Defined as a rating equivalent to a Moody’s rating of “Baa” or higher, or a Standard & Poor’s or Fitch rating of “BBB-” or higher.



Liquidity risk: The potential that the Company will be unable to sell assets or meet cash flow obligations when they come due without incurring unacceptable losses.



Loan-to-value ratio: Calculated as the principal amount of a loan divided by the value of the collateral securing the loan.



Margin loans: Advances made to brokerage clients on a secured basis to purchase securities reflected in receivables from brokerage clients on the Company’s balance sheets.



Market risk: The potential for changes in earnings or the value of financial instruments held by the Company as a result of fluctuations in interest rates, equity prices or market conditions.



Master netting arrangement: An agreement between two counterparties that have multiple contracts with each other that provides for net settlement of all contracts through a single cash payment in the event of default or termination of any one contract.



Mortgage-backed security: A type of asset-backed security that is secured by a mortgage or group of mortgages.



Net interest margin: Net interest revenue divided by average interest-earning assets.



Net new client assets: Total inflows of client cash and securities to the Company less client outflows.



New brokerage accounts: All brokerage accounts opened during the period, as well as any accounts added via acquisition.



Nonperforming assets: The total of nonaccrual loans and other real estate owned.



---

 

Operational risk: Potential for loss due to inadequate or failed internal processes, systems, and firms or exchanges handling client orders, or loss from external events and relationships impacting the Company and/or any of its key business partners and vendors.



Order flow revenue: Net compensation received from markets and firms to which Schwab and optionsXpress, Inc. send equity and options orders. Reflects rebates received for certain types of orders, minus fees paid for execution of orders for which exchange fees or other charges apply.



Pledged Asset Line: A non-purpose revolving line of credit from Schwab Bank secured by eligible assets held in a separate pledged asset account maintained at Schwab.



Return on average common stockholders’ equity: Calculated as net income available to common stockholders annualized divided by average common stockholders’ equity.



Risk-weighted assets: Primarily computed by assigning specific risk-weightings as specified by the regulators to assets and off-balance sheet instruments for capital adequacy calculations.



Tier 1 Capital: The sum of CET1 Capital and additional Tier 1 Capital instruments and related surplus, less applicable adjustments and deductions.



Tier 1 Leverage Ratio: Tier 1 Capital divided by adjusted average total consolidated assets at the end of the quarter.



Trading days: Days in which the markets/exchanges are open for the buying and selling of securities. Early market closures are counted as half-days.



U.S. federal banking agencies: Refers to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the FDIC, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).



Uniform Net Capital Rule: Refers to Rule 15c3-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 which specifies minimum capital requirements that are intended to ensure the general financial soundness and liquidity of broker-dealers.









 

---

 

OVERVIEW



Management of the Company focuses on several key client activity and financial metrics in evaluating the Company’s financial position and operating performance. Management believes that net revenue growth, pre-tax profit margin, earnings per common share (EPS), and return on average common stockholders’ equity provide broad indicators of the Company’s overall financial health, operating efficiency, and ability to generate acceptable returns. Expenses excluding interest as a percentage of average client assets are considered by management to be a measure of operating efficiency. Results for the first quarters of 2016 and 2015 are:







The Company continued to experience strong client engagement and demand for the Company’s contemporary, full-service wealth management capabilities during the first quarter of 2016. Investors faced sharp market swings as the major equity indices fell by double-digit percentages and subsequently recovered by quarter-end. Clients turned to the Company for help navigating these market conditions and over 33,000 accounts enrolled in one of the Company’s retail advisory solutions during the quarter. The Company ended the first quarter with 567,000 accounts enrolled in a Schwab® advice program, up 11% year-over-year, bringing the total assets receiving ongoing advisory services to $1.28 trillion at March 31, 2016, an increase of 2% from March 31, 2015. At quarter-end, there were 9.9 million active brokerage accounts, 1.0 million banking accounts and 1.5 million retirement plan participants, up 4%, 6% and 4%, respectively, from the prior year.



Clients brought $32.0 billion of core net new assets to the Company in the first three months of 2016 compared to $34.2 billion in the same period of 2015. Total client assets ended the quarter at $2.56 trillion, up 1% from a year ago despite the challenging environment for equity valuations during the quarter, which negatively affected average asset balances. Also, in the first quarter of 2016, the Company completed a $1.4 billion bulk transfer of brokerage client cash balances to bank deposits, continuing its work to migrate more uninvested client cash to Schwab Bank.

---

 



During the first quarter of 2016, the Company experienced strong earnings growth. The increase in the target federal funds interest rate in December 2015 had a positive impact on the Company’s diversified revenue streams generating strong first quarter revenue growth. Asset management and administration fees rose 9% year-over-year primarily due to a reduction in money fund fee waivers resulting from the increase in short-term interest rates, partially offset by a reduction in average client assets in Mutual Fund OneSource®. Net interest revenue increased 31% year-over-year, reflecting robust interest-earning asset growth during the past several quarters, and the investment portfolios’ positive sensitivity to the rise in short-term interest rates. Altogether, revenues grew approximately 16% from the prior year.



On the expense side, spending increased approximately 6%, in keeping with expectations of reinvesting a portion of improved revenues to support stronger growth. The pre-tax profit margin of approximately 37% was up over five percentage points from first quarter 2015. This produced earnings of $412 million, reflecting a 36% increase from the same period in 2015.



Finally, on March 7, 2016, the Company issued $750 million of non-cumulative perpetual preferred stock at a dividend rate of 5.95%. The $725 million of net proceeds provides capital to support the future transfers of money market fund sweep balances to Schwab Bank as well as incremental Schwab Bank deposit growth as the bank’s sweep feature will be the default option for all new brokerage accounts as of June 1, 2016.



Current Regulatory Environment and Other Developments



In May 2016, the Federal Reserve, the OCC and the FDIC jointly issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would impose a minimum net stable funding ratio (NSFR) on certain banking organizations, including CSC. The NSFR is intended to measure an organization’s “available” amount of stable funding relative to its “required” amount of stable funding over a one-year time horizon. The effective date of the rule would be January 1, 2018. The comment period for the proposed rule ends on August 5, 2016 and the rule is subject to further modification. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the proposed rule.



In April 2016, the Department of Labor published a final rule that significantly broadens the definition of “fiduciary” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Among other things, the new rule subjects broker-dealers who provide non-discretionary investment advice to retirement plans and accounts to a “best interest” standard, as well as other conditions and requirements. Based on the Company’s evaluation of the final rule to date, the Company does not expect the rule to have a material impact on the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations.



In March 2016, the FDIC issued a final rule that will impose a surcharge on insured depository institutions with total consolidated assets of $10 billion or more in order to increase the reserve ratio of the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF). Based on expected reductions in the Company’s regular FDIC insurance assessments combined with the surcharge, the Company anticipates that its overall FDIC assessment, relative to its regular assessment base, will increase by a net of approximately 2 to 2.5 basis points annually, beginning as early as the third quarter of 2016 and likely running through the end of 2018. 



In December 2015, the OCC issued proposed guidelines to establish standards for recovery planning by national banks and federal savings banks with total consolidated assets of $50 billion or more. The proposed guidelines would require each bank to develop and maintain a recovery plan that sets forth the bank’s plan for how it will remain a going concern when it is experiencing considerable financial or operational stress. The comment period for the proposed guidelines ended on February 16, 2016 and the guidelines are subject to further modification. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the proposed guidelines.



In October 2015, the Federal Reserve issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would require certain financial institutions that are subject to the Federal Reserve’s capital rules to apply a regulatory capital deduction treatment to their investments in unsecured debt issued by U.S. bank holding companies identified as global systemically important banking organizations. The comment period for the rule proposal ended on February 19, 2016 and the rule proposal is subject to further modification. The proposed effective date of the rule would be January 1, 2019. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the proposed rule.





---

 



Results of Operations



The following discussion presents an analysis of the Company’s results of operations for the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015.



Net Revenues







Asset Management and Administration Fees



Asset management and administration fees include mutual fund and ETF service fees and fees for other asset-based financial services provided to individual and institutional clients. The Company earns mutual fund and ETF service fees for shareholder services, administration, and investment management provided to its proprietary funds, and recordkeeping and shareholder services provided to third-party funds. These fees are based upon the daily balances of client assets invested in these funds.



The Company also earns asset management fees for advice solutions, which include managed portfolios, specialized strategies and customized investment advice.  



The fair values of client assets included in proprietary and third-party mutual funds and ETFs are based on quoted market prices and other observable market data.



Other asset management and administration fees include various asset-based fees, such as trust fees, 401(k) recordkeeping fees, mutual fund clearing fees, collective trust fund 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. For a discussion of the impact of current market conditions on asset management and administration fees, see “Item 3 – Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.”



---

 

The following table presents a roll forward of client assets for the Schwab money market funds, Schwab equity and bond funds and ETFs, and Mutual Fund OneSource®:



 

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





Note: Certain changes have been made to the above categorizations. Prior period information has been recast to reflect these changes.



Asset management and administration fees increased by $55 million, or 9%, in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015. The increase in mutual fund and ETF service fees is primarily due to higher net yields on money market fund assets, partially offset by a reduction in average client assets in Mutual Fund OneSource. 



Net Interest Revenue



Net interest revenue is the difference between interest earned on interest-earning assets and interest paid on funding sources. The Company’s interest-earning assets are primarily funded through bank deposits and brokerage client account balances.



Interest-earning assets primarily include cash and cash equivalents, segregated cash and investments, margin loans included in receivables from brokerage clients, investment securities and bank loans on which the Company earns interest. Revenue on interest-earning assets is affected by various factors such as the distribution and composition of assets, prevailing interest rates when purchased, and changes in prepayment levels. Fees earned on securities borrowed and loaned are included in other

---

 

interest revenue and expense. The rates on the majority of the Company’s investment securities and loans re-price or reset based on short-term interest rates and the remainder is invested in fixed-rate loans and securities.



The Company’s interest-bearing liabilities include bank deposits, payables to brokerage clients, short-term borrowings and long-term debt. Interest-bearing liabilities are primarily sensitive to short-term interest rates and the Company establishes the rates paid on most of these liabilities. The Company expects that the rate paid on these liabilities will generally adjust at some fraction of the movement in short-term interest rates.



The Company expects that net interest revenue will increase as short-term interest rates increase and decline should rates fall below current levels. When interest rates fall, the Company may attempt to mitigate some of this negative impact by lowering rates paid to clients on interest-bearing liabilities. The current low interest rate environment limits the extent to which the Company can reduce interest expense on funding sources. The Company may also alter the amount and type of fixed rate loans and securities that are added to the portfolio. Generally, modest increases in the percentage of fixed-rate assets will reduce the rate at which net interest revenue changes if rates move.



Non-interest bearing funding sources include non-interest bearing cash balances, stockholders’ equity and other miscellaneous assets and liabilities.



---

 

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









Net interest revenue increased $184 million, or 31%, in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015, primarily due to higher average balances of interest-earning assets, and higher average interest rates on securities available for sale and cash and investments segregated. The growth in average balances in bank deposits resulted from an increase in amounts swept to Schwab Bank of uninvested cash balances in certain client brokerage accounts.



Trading Revenue



Trading revenue includes commission and principal transaction revenues. Commission revenue is affected by the number of revenue trades executed and the average revenue earned per revenue trade. Principal transaction revenue is primarily comprised of revenue from trading activity in fixed income securities with clients. To accommodate clients’ fixed income trading activity, the Company maintains positions in fixed income securities, including U.S. state and municipal debt obligations, U.S. Government and corporate debt, and other securities. The difference between the price at which the Company buys and sells securities to and from its clients and other broker-dealers is recognized as principal transaction revenue. Principal transaction revenue also includes adjustments to the fair value of these securities positions.  

---

 





Trading revenue increased by $5 million, or 2%, in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the first quarter of 2015. Daily average revenue trades increased in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the first quarter of 2015, primarily due to a higher volume of equity, mutual funds, and fixed income trades. Average revenue per revenue trade decreased 5% in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the first quarter of 2015.



Other Revenue



Other revenue includes order flow revenue, nonrecurring gains, software fees from the Company’s portfolio management services, exchange processing fees, and other service fees. Order flow revenue was $27 million during the first quarters of both 2016 and 2015.



Expenses Excluding Interest



The following table shows a comparison of expenses excluding interest:









Compensation and Benefits



Compensation and benefits expense includes salaries and wages, incentive compensation, and related employee benefits.  Incentive compensation includes variable compensation, discretionary bonuses, and stock-based compensation. Variable compensation includes payments to certain individuals based on their sales performance. Discretionary bonuses are based on the Company’s overall performance as measured by EPS. Stock-based compensation primarily includes employee and board of director stock options and restricted stock.



---

 

The following table shows a comparison of certain compensation and benefits components and employee data:





Salaries and wages increased in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015 primarily due to higher employee headcount and annual salary increases.



Incentive compensation increased in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015 primarily due to higher discretionary bonus and stock compensation expense.



Employee benefits and other expenses increased in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015 due to increases in healthcare costs and higher employee headcount.



Expenses Excluding Compensation and Benefits



Occupancy and equipment expense increased in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015, primarily due to an increase in software maintenance expense relating to the Company’s information technology systems and increases in property taxes and rent attributable to the changes in the Company’s geographic footprint.



Taxes on Income



The Company’s effective income tax rate on income before taxes was 37.1% and 37.6% for the first quarters of 2016 and 2015, respectively. The decrease in the first quarter of 2016 from the first quarter of 2015 was primarily due to an increase in tax exempt income from U.S. state and municipal securities.





Segment Information



The Company provides financial services to individuals and institutional clients through two segments – Investor Services and Advisor Services. The Investor Services segment provides retail brokerage and banking services, retirement plan services, and other corporate brokerage services. The Advisor Services segment provides custodial, trading, and support services as well as retirement business services. Revenues and expenses are allocated to the Company’s two segments based on which segment services the client. The Company evaluates the performance of its segments on a pre-tax basis, excluding items such as restructuring and other charges. Segment assets and liabilities are not used for evaluating segment performance or in deciding how to allocate resources to segments.



---

 

Financial information for the Company’s reportable segments is presented in the following tables:









Investor Services

Net revenues increased by $120 million, or 10%, in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015 primarily due to increases in net interest revenue and asset management and administration fees. Net interest revenue increased primarily due to higher balances of interest-earning assets, and higher interest rates on securities available for sale and cash and investments segregated.  Asset management and administration fees increased primarily due to higher net yields on money market fund assets, partially offset by a reduction in client assets in Mutual Fund OneSource®.



Expenses excluding interest increased by $51 million, or 6%, in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015, primarily due to increases in compensation and benefits and occupancy and equipment expenses.



Advisor Services

Net revenues increased by $118 million, or 32%, in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015 primarily due to increases in net interest revenue, asset management and administration fees and trading revenue. Net interest revenue increased primarily due to higher balances of interest-earning assets. This growth was bolstered by the decision to migrate more uninvested client cash balances in the segment to the Schwab Bank sweep feature through further alignment of client account eligibility rules across the Company. Net interest revenue also improved due to higher interest rates on securities available for sale and cash and investments segregated. Asset management and administration fees increased primarily due to higher net yields on money market fund assets. Trading revenue increased due to higher daily average revenue trades, partially offset by lower commissions per revenue trade.



Expenses excluding interest increased by $16 million, or 6%, in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015, primarily due to increases in compensation and benefits and occupancy and equipment expenses.





Risk Management



The Company’s business activities expose it to a variety of risks, including operational, credit, market, liquidity, compliance and legal risk. The Company has a comprehensive risk management program to identify and manage these risks and their associated potential for financial and reputational impact. Despite the Company’s efforts to identify areas of risk and implement risk management policies and procedures, there can be no assurance that the Company will not suffer unexpected losses due to these risks.



For a discussion on risks that the Company faces and the Company’s process of risk identification and assessment, risk measurement, risk monitoring and reporting and risk mitigation, see “Item 7 – Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Risk Management” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. For updated information on the Company’s credit risk and concentration risk exposures, see

---

 

below. See “Item 3 – Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” for additional information relating to market risk.



Credit Risk Exposures



The Company’s exposure to credit risk mainly results from margin lending and client option and futures activities, securities lending activities, mortgage lending activities, pledged asset lending, its role as a counterparty in financial contracts and other investing activities. To manage the risks of such losses, the Company has established policies and procedures which include: establishing and reviewing credit limits, monitoring of credit limits and quality of counterparties, and adjusting margin, PAL, option, and futures requirements for certain securities. Collateral arrangements relating to margin loans, PALs, option positions, securities lending agreements, and resale agreements include provisions that require additional collateral in the event market fluctuations result in declines in the value of collateral received. Additionally, for margin loan, PAL and securities lending agreements, collateral arrangements require that the fair value of such collateral exceeds the amounts loaned.



Schwab performs clearing services for all securities transactions in its client accounts. Schwab has exposure to credit risk due to its obligation to settle transactions with clearing corporations, mutual funds, and other financial institutions even if Schwab’s clients or a counterparty fail to meet their obligations to Schwab.



The Company’s bank loan portfolio includes First Mortgages, HELOCs, PALs and other loans. The credit risk exposure related to loans is actively managed through individual and portfolio reviews. Management regularly reviews asset quality, including concentrations, delinquencies, nonaccrual loans, charge-offs, and recoveries. All are factors in the determination of an appropriate allowance for loan losses.



The Company’s residential loan underwriting guidelines include maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratios, cash out limits, and minimum Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) credit scores. The specific guidelines are dependent on the individual characteristics of a loan (for example, whether the property is a primary or secondary residence, whether the loan is for investment property, whether the loan is for an initial purchase of a home or refinance of an existing home, and whether the loan size is conforming or jumbo).



The Company does not originate or purchase residential loans that allow for negative amortization and does not purchase subprime loans (generally defined as extensions of credit to borrowers with a FICO score of less than 620 at origination), unless the borrower has compensating credit factors.



Among other items, the Company monitors the following information in evaluating the First Mortgage and HELOC portfolios and in the determination of an appropriate allowance for loan losses:





A portion of the Company’s HELOC portfolio is secured by second liens on the associated properties. Second lien mortgage loans possess a higher degree of credit risk given the subordination to the first lien holder in the event of default. At March 31, 2016, $2.1 billion, or 79%, of the HELOC portfolio was in a second lien position. In addition to the credit monitoring activities described above, the Company also monitors credit risk on second lien HELOC loans by reviewing the delinquency status of the first lien loan on the associated property. At March 31, 2016, approximately 27% of the HELOC borrowers that had a balance only paid the minimum amount of interest due.



---

 

The following table presents certain of the Company’s bank loan quality metrics as a percentage of total outstanding bank loans:







For more information on the Company’s credit quality indicators relating to its First Mortgage and HELOC portfolios, including delinquency characteristics, borrower FICO scores at origination (Origination FICO), updated borrower FICO scores (Updated FICO), LTV ratios at origination (Origination LTV), and estimated current LTV ratios (Estimated Current LTV), see “Item 1 – Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited) – 4. Bank Loans and Related Allowance for Loan Losses.”



The Company has exposure to credit risk associated with its available for sale and securities held to maturity securities which include U.S. agency and non-agency mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, corporate debt securities, U.S. agency notes, U.S. Treasury securities, certificates of deposit, and U.S. state and municipal securities.  



At March 31, 2016, substantially all securities in the available for sale and held to maturity portfolios were rated investment grade. U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities do not have explicit credit ratings; however, management considers these to be of the highest credit quality and rating given the guarantee of principal and interest by the U.S. government-sponsored enterprises.



Concentration Risk Exposures



The Company has exposure to concentration risk when holding large positions in financial instruments collateralized by assets with similar economic characteristics or in securities of a single issuer or within a particular industry or geographical area.



The fair value of the Company’s investments in mortgage-backed securities totaled $81.6 billion at March 31, 2016. Of these, $80.3 billion were issued by U.S. agencies and $1.3 billion were issued by private entities (non-agency securities). These U.S. agency and non-agency securities are included in securities available for sale and securities held to maturity.



The fair value of the Company’s investments in asset-backed securities totaled $21.6 billion at March 31, 2016. The Company holds $10.9 billion floating rate Federal Family Education Loan Program Asset-Backed Securities (FFELP ABS). Two Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations have placed a portion of FFELP ABS on review for downgrade. Both agencies have indicated that some classes could be downgraded below investment grade due to the risk that some remainder of the securities could be outstanding after their legal final maturity dates. The timing of FFELP ABS principal payment is inherently uncertain given the variety of payment options available to student loan borrowers. Loans collateralizing these securities continue to be covered by a guarantee from the Department of Education of at least 97% of principal and interest. The Company holds only senior class notes that have additional credit enhancement of 3% or more that, together with the Department of Education guarantee, provide 100% or more credit enhancement. The Company has an independent credit assessment function and it does not rely on rating agencies. The Company does not consider these securities to be impaired because it expects full payment of principal and interest. Therefore, the Company continues to assign them the highest internal credit rating.



The fair value of the Company’s investments in corporate debt securities and commercial paper totaled $11.2 billion at March 31, 2016, with the majority issued by institutions in the financial services industry. These securities are included in securities available for sale, cash and cash equivalents, and other securities owned in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets. Issuer, geographic, and sector concentrations are controlled by established credit policy limits to each concentration type.

---