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Commitments and Contingencies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2018
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
Commitments and Contingencies

Loan Portfolio: CSB provides a co-branded loan origination program for CSB clients (the Program) with Quicken Loans, Inc. (Quicken Loans®). Pursuant to the Program, Quicken Loans originates and services First Mortgages and HELOCs for CSB clients. Under the Program, CSB purchases certain First Mortgages and HELOCs that are originated by Quicken Loans. CSB purchased First Mortgages of $513 million and $665 million during the first quarters of 2018 and 2017, respectively. Schwab purchased HELOCs with commitments of $107 million and $118 million during the first quarters of 2018 and 2017, respectively.
The Company’s commitments to extend credit on bank lines of credit and to purchase First Mortgages are as follows:
 
March 31, 2018
 
December 31, 2017

Commitments to extend credit related to unused HELOCs, PALs, and other lines of credit
$
10,555

 
$
10,060

Commitments to purchase First Mortgage loans
377

 
308

Total
$
10,932

 
$
10,368


Guarantees and indemnifications: Schwab has clients that sell (i.e., write) listed option contracts that are cleared by the Options Clearing Corporation – a clearing house that establishes margin requirements on these transactions. We partially satisfy the margin requirements by arranging unsecured standby letter of credit agreements (LOCs), in favor of the Options Clearing Corporation, which are issued by several banks. At March 31, 2018, the aggregate face amount of these LOCs totaled $225 million. There were no funds drawn under any of these LOCs at March 31, 2018. In connection with its securities lending activities, Schwab is required to provide collateral to certain brokerage clients. The Company satisfies the collateral requirements by providing cash as collateral.
Schwab also provides guarantees to securities clearing houses and exchanges under standard membership agreements, which require members to guarantee the performance of other members. Under the agreements, if another member becomes unable to satisfy its obligations to the clearing houses and exchanges, other members would be required to meet shortfalls. Schwab’s liability under these arrangements is not quantifiable and may exceed the cash and securities it has posted as collateral. The potential requirement for the Company to make payments under these arrangements is remote. Accordingly, no liability has been recognized for these guarantees.
Legal contingencies: Schwab is 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. The Company is also the subject of inquiries, investigations, and proceedings by regulatory and other governmental agencies.

Predicting the outcome of a litigation or regulatory matter is inherently difficult, requiring significant judgment and evaluation of various factors, including the procedural status of the matter and any recent developments; prior experience and the experience of others in similar cases; available defenses, including potential opportunities to dispose of a case on the merits or procedural grounds before trial (e.g., motions to dismiss or for summary judgment); the progress of fact discovery; the opinions of counsel and experts regarding potential damages; potential opportunities for settlement and the status of any settlement discussions; and potential insurance coverage and indemnification. It may not be reasonably possible to estimate a range of potential liability until the matter is closer to resolution – pending, for example, further proceedings, the outcome of key motions or appeals, or discussions among the parties. Numerous issues may have to be developed, such as discovery of important factual matters and determination of threshold legal issues, which may include novel or unsettled questions of law. Reserves are established or adjusted or further disclosure and estimates of potential loss are provided as the matter progresses and more information becomes available.

Schwab believes it has strong defenses in all significant matters currently pending and is contesting liability and any damages claimed. Nevertheless, some of these matters may result in adverse judgments or awards, including penalties, injunctions or other relief, and the Company may also determine to settle a matter because of the uncertainty and risks of litigation. Described below are certain matters in which there is a reasonable possibility that a material loss could be incurred or where the matter may otherwise be of significant interest to stockholders. Unless otherwise noted, the Company is unable to provide a reasonable estimate of any potential liability given the stage of proceedings in the matter. With respect to all other pending matters, based on current information and consultation with counsel, it does not appear reasonably possible that the outcome of any such matter would be material to the financial condition, operating results, or cash flows of the Company.

Total Bond Market Fund Litigation: On August 28, 2008, a class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of investors in the Schwab Total Bond Market Fund. The lawsuit, which alleged violations of state law and federal securities law in connection with the fund’s investment policy, named CSIM, Schwab Investments (registrant and issuer of the fund’s shares), and certain current and former fund trustees as defendants. Allegations include that the fund improperly deviated from its stated investment objectives by investing in collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and investing more than 25% of fund assets in CMOs and mortgage-backed securities without obtaining a fundholder vote. Plaintiff seeks unspecified compensatory and rescission damages, unspecified equitable and injunctive relief, costs, and attorneys’ fees on behalf of a putative class of investors who held shares as of August 31, 2007, and a putative class of investors who purchased the shares between September 1, 2017 and February 27, 2009. Plaintiff’s federal securities law claim and certain of plaintiff’s state law claims were dismissed. On August 8, 2011, the court dismissed plaintiff’s remaining claims with prejudice. Plaintiff appealed to the Ninth Circuit, which issued a ruling on March 9, 2015 reversing the district court’s dismissal of the case and remanding the case for further proceedings. Plaintiff filed a fourth amended complaint on June 25, 2015, and in decisions issued October 6, 2015 and February 23, 2016, the court dismissed all claims with prejudice. Plaintiff has appealed to the Ninth Circuit, where the case remains pending.

Crago Order Routing Litigation: On July 13, 2016, a securities class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of a putative class of customers executing equity orders through CS&Co. The lawsuit names CS&Co and CSC as defendants and alleges that an agreement under which CS&Co routed orders to UBS Securities LLC between July 13, 2011 and December 31, 2014 violated CS&Co’s duty to seek best execution. Plaintiffs seek unspecified damages, interest, injunctive and equitable relief, and attorneys’ fees and costs. After a first amended complaint was dismissed with leave to amend, plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint on August 14, 2017. Defendants again moved to dismiss, and in a decision issued December 5, 2017, the court denied the motion. Defendants have answered the complaint to deny all allegations, and intend to vigorously contest the lawsuit.