Charles Schwab profits tumble after taking a $78m hit from waived fees
US BROKER Charles Schwab said yesterday its quarterly profits plunged by a third due to waived fees and lower levels of trading by cash-strapped clients.
The firm waived $78m (£47.9m) in fees from its money market mutual funds in the third quarter of the year as US interest rates lingered near zero, though this was less than the $80m in waivers it forecast last month.
Chief financial officer Joe Martinetto said he was hopeful of seeing interest rates begin to come up relatively soon if the economy continues to improve. He added Charles Schwab is on track to waive around $200m over the full year, in line with previous estimates.
The firm earned $200m in the three months to end of September, down from $304m last year. Asset management fees over the period were down 24.3 per cent, while revenue dropped 19 per cent to $1.01bn.