Financial Instruments Subject to Off-Balance Sheet Risk, Credit Risk, or Market Risk	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
Financial Instruments Subject to Off-Balance Sheet Risk, Credit Risk, or Market Risk	16. Financial Instruments Subject to Off-Balance Sheet Risk, Credit Risk, or Market Risk Securities lending: The Company loans client securities temporarily to other brokers in connection with its securities lending activities and receives cash as collateral for the securities loaned. Increases in security prices may cause the fair value of the securities loaned to exceed the amount of cash received as collateral. In the event the counterparty to these transactions does not return the loaned securities or provide additional cash collateral, the Company may be exposed to the risk of acquiring the securities at prevailing market prices in order to satisfy its client obligations. The Company mitigates this risk by requiring credit approvals for counterparties, by monitoring the fair value of securities loaned, and requiring additional cash as collateral when necessary. The fair value of client securities pledged in securities lending transactions to other broker-dealers was $783 million and $1.2 billion at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Additionally, the Company borrows securities from other broker-dealers to fulfill short sales by clients. The fair value of these borrowed securities was $44 million and $113 million at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Client trade settlement: The Company is obligated to settle transactions with brokers and other financial institutions even if the Company’s clients fail to meet their obligations to the Company. Clients are required to complete their transactions on settlement date, generally three business days after the trade date. If clients do not fulfill their contractual obligations, the Company may incur losses. The Company has established procedures to reduce this risk by requiring deposits from clients in excess of amounts prescribed by regulatory requirements for certain types of trades, and therefore the potential for Schwab to make payments under these client transactions is remote. Accordingly, no liability has been recognized for these transactions. Margin lending: The Company provides margin loans to its clients which are collateralized by securities in their brokerage accounts and may be liable for the margin requirement of its client margin securities transactions. As clients write options or sell securities short, the Company may incur losses if the clients do not fulfill their obligations and the collateral in client accounts is not sufficient to fully cover losses which clients may incur from these strategies. To mitigate this risk, the Company monitors required margin levels and clients are required to deposit additional collateral, or reduce positions to meet minimum collateral requirements. Clients with margin loans have agreed to allow the Company to pledge collateralized securities in their brokerage accounts in accordance with federal regulations and was allowed, under such regulations, to pledge securities with a fair value of $14.7 billion and $15.0 billion at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. The fair value of client securities pledged to fulfill the short sales of its clients was $1.2 billion and $1.4 billion at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. The fair value of client securities pledged to fulfill the Company’s proprietary short sales, which resulted from facilitating clients’ dividend reinvestment elections, was $101 million and $99 million at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. The Company has also pledged a portion of its securities owned in order to fulfill the short sales of clients and in connection with securities lending transactions to other broker-dealers. The fair value of these pledged securities was not material at December 31, 2011 or 2010. The Company may also pledge client securities to fulfill client margin requirements for open option contracts established with the OCC. The fair value of these pledged securities to the OCC was $1.3 billion and $1.2 billion at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Financial instruments held for trading purposes: The Company maintains inventories in securities on a long and short basis relating to its fixed income operations. The Company could incur losses or gains as a result of changes in the fair value of these securities. To mitigate the risk of losses, long and short positions are marked to fair value and are monitored by management to assure compliance with limits established by the Company. Resale and repurchase agreements: Schwab enters into collateralized resale agreements principally with other broker-dealers, which could result in losses in the event the counterparty fails to purchase the securities held as collateral for the cash advanced and the fair value of the securities declines. To mitigate this risk, Schwab requires that the counterparty deliver securities to a custodian, to be held as collateral, with a fair value in excess of the resale price. Schwab also sets standards for the credit quality of the counterparty, monitors the fair value of the underlying securities as compared to the related receivable, including accrued interest, and requires additional collateral where deemed appropriate. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the fair value of collateral received in connection with resale agreements that are available to be repledged or sold was $18.3 billion and $13.0 billion, respectively. Schwab utilizes the collateral provided under repurchase agreements to meet obligations under broker-dealer client protection rules, which place limitations on its ability to access such segregated securities. For Schwab to repledge or sell this collateral, it would be required to deposit cash and/or securities of an equal amount into its segregated reserve bank accounts in order to meet its segregated cash and investment requirement. Concentration risk: The Company has exposure to concentration risk when holding large positions of financial instruments collateralized by assets with similar economic characteristics or in securities of a single issuer or industry. For discussion on the Company’s exposure to concentration risk relating to residential mortgage-backed securities, see note “6 – Securities Available for Sale and Securities Held to Maturity.” The Company’s investments in corporate debt securities and commercial paper totaled $5.6 billion and $4.6 billion at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, with the majority issued by institutions in the financial services industry. These securities are included in securities available for sale, securities held to maturity, cash and investments segregated and on deposit for regulatory purposes, cash and cash equivalents, and other securities owned. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the Company held $867 million and $1.9 billion, respectively, of corporate debt securities issued by financial institutions and guaranteed under the FDIC Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program. The Company’s loans to banking clients include $5.6 billion and $4.7 billion of adjustable rate first lien residential real estate mortgage loans at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. The Company’s adjustable rate mortgages have initial fixed interest rates for three to ten years and interest rates that adjust annually thereafter. At December 31, 2011, approximately 60% of these mortgages consisted of loans with interest-only payment terms. At December 31, 2011, the interest rates on approximately 65% of these interest-only loans are not scheduled to reset for three or more years. The Company’s mortgage loans do not include interest terms described as temporary introductory rates below current market rates. At December 31, 2011, 44% of the residential real estate mortgages and 50% of the HELOC balances were secured by properties which are located in California. At December 31, 2010, 42% of the residential real estate mortgages and 49% of the HELOC balances were secured by properties which are located in California. The Company also has exposure to concentration risk from its margin and securities lending activities collateralized by securities of a single issuer or industry. The Company has indirect exposure to U.S. Government and agency securities held as collateral to secure its resale agreements. The Company’s primary credit exposure on these resale transactions is with its counterparty. The Company would have exposure to the U.S. Government and agency securities only in the event of the counterparty’s default on the resale agreements. The fair value of U.S. Government and agency securities held as collateral for resale agreements totaled $18.3 billion and $13.0 billion at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Commitments to extend credit: Schwab Bank enters into commitments to extend credit to banking clients primarily relating to mortgage lending. The credit risk associated with these commitments varies depending on the creditworthiness of the client and the value of any collateral expected to be held. Collateral requirements vary by type of loan. These commitments are legally binding agreements to lend to a client that generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses, may require payment of a fee and are not secured by collateral until funds are advanced. Schwab Bank also has commitments to extend credit related to its clients’ unused HELOC. Total amounts outstanding for these commitments to extend credit were $5.8 billion and $6.1 billion at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Forward sale and interest rate lock commitments: Schwab Bank’s loans held for sale portfolio consists of fixed-rate and adjustable-rate residential mortgage loans, which are subject to a loss in value when market interest rates rise. Schwab Bank uses forward sale commitments to manage this risk. These forward sale commitments have been designated as cash flow hedging instruments, and are recorded on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet at fair value with gains or losses recorded in other comprehensive income (loss). Amounts included in other comprehensive income (loss) are reclassified into earnings when the related loan is sold. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the derivative asset and liability for these forward sale commitments were not material. Additionally, Schwab Bank uses forward sale commitments to hedge interest rate lock commitments issued on mortgage loans that will be held for sale. Schwab Bank considers the fair value of these commitments to be zero at the commitment date, with subsequent changes in fair value determined solely based on changes in market interest rates. Any changes in fair value of the interest rate lock commitments are completely offset by changes in fair value of the related forward sale commitments. Schwab Bank had interest rate lock commitments on mortgage loans to be held for sale with principal balances totaling approximately $347 million and $628 million at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the derivative asset and liability for these interest rate lock commitments and the related forward sale commitments were not material.

16. Financial Instruments Subject to Off-Balance Sheet Risk, Credit Risk, or Market Risk

Securities lending: The Company loans client securities temporarily to other brokers in connection with its securities lending activities and receives cash as collateral for the securities loaned. Increases in security prices may cause the fair value of the securities loaned to exceed the amount of cash received as collateral. In the event the counterparty to these transactions does not return the loaned securities or provide additional cash collateral, the Company may be exposed to the risk of acquiring the securities at prevailing market prices in order to satisfy its client obligations. The Company mitigates this risk by requiring credit approvals for counterparties, by monitoring the fair value of securities loaned, and requiring additional cash as collateral when necessary. The fair value of client securities pledged in securities lending transactions to other broker-dealers was $783 million and $1.2 billion at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Additionally, the Company borrows securities from other broker-dealers to fulfill short sales by clients. The fair value of these borrowed securities was $44 million and $113 million at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Client trade settlement: The Company is obligated to settle transactions with brokers and other financial institutions even if the Company’s clients fail to meet their obligations to the Company. Clients are required to complete their transactions on settlement date, generally three business days after the trade date. If clients do not fulfill their contractual obligations, the Company may incur losses. The Company has established procedures to reduce this risk by requiring deposits from clients in excess of amounts prescribed by regulatory requirements for certain types of trades, and therefore the potential for Schwab to make payments under these client transactions is remote. Accordingly, no liability has been recognized for these transactions.

Margin lending: The Company provides margin loans to its clients which are collateralized by securities in their brokerage accounts and may be liable for the margin requirement of its client margin securities transactions. As clients write options or sell securities short, the Company may incur losses if the clients do not fulfill their obligations and the collateral in client accounts is not sufficient to fully cover losses which clients may incur from these strategies. To mitigate this risk, the Company monitors required margin levels and clients are required to deposit additional collateral, or reduce positions to meet minimum collateral requirements. Clients with margin loans have agreed to allow the Company to pledge collateralized securities in their brokerage accounts in accordance with federal regulations and was allowed, under such regulations, to pledge securities with a fair value of $14.7 billion and $15.0 billion at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. The fair value of client securities pledged to fulfill the short sales of its clients was $1.2 billion and $1.4 billion at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. The fair value of client securities pledged to fulfill the Company’s proprietary short sales, which resulted from facilitating clients’ dividend reinvestment elections, was $101 million and $99 million at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. The Company has also pledged a portion of its securities owned in order to fulfill the short sales of clients and in connection with securities lending transactions to other broker-dealers. The fair value of these pledged securities was not material at December 31, 2011 or 2010. The Company may also pledge client securities to fulfill client margin requirements for open option contracts established with the OCC. The fair value of these pledged securities to the OCC was $1.3 billion and $1.2 billion at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Financial instruments held for trading purposes: The Company maintains inventories in securities on a long and short basis relating to its fixed income operations. The Company could incur losses or gains as a result of changes in the fair value of these securities. To mitigate the risk of losses, long and short positions are marked to fair value and are monitored by management to assure compliance with limits established by the Company.

Resale and repurchase agreements: Schwab enters into collateralized resale agreements principally with other broker-dealers, which could result in losses in the event the counterparty fails to purchase the securities held as collateral for the cash advanced and the fair value of the securities declines. To mitigate this risk, Schwab requires that the counterparty deliver securities to a custodian, to be held as collateral, with a fair value in excess of the resale price. Schwab also sets standards for the credit quality of the counterparty, monitors the fair value of the underlying securities as compared to the related receivable, including accrued interest, and requires additional collateral where deemed appropriate. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the fair value of collateral received in connection with resale agreements that are available to be repledged or sold was $18.3 billion and $13.0 billion, respectively. Schwab utilizes the collateral provided under repurchase agreements to meet obligations under broker-dealer client protection rules, which place limitations on its ability to access such segregated securities. For Schwab to repledge or sell this collateral, it would be required to deposit cash and/or securities of an equal amount into its segregated reserve bank accounts in order to meet its segregated cash and investment requirement.

Concentration risk: The Company has exposure to concentration risk when holding large positions of financial instruments collateralized by assets with similar economic characteristics or in securities of a single issuer or industry. For discussion on the Company’s exposure to concentration risk relating to residential mortgage-backed securities, see note “6 – Securities Available for Sale and Securities Held to Maturity.”

The Company’s investments in corporate debt securities and commercial paper totaled $5.6 billion and $4.6 billion at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, with the majority issued by institutions in the financial services industry. These securities are included in securities available for sale, securities held to maturity, cash and investments segregated and on deposit for regulatory purposes, cash and cash equivalents, and other securities owned. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the Company held $867 million and $1.9 billion, respectively, of corporate debt securities issued by financial institutions and guaranteed under the FDIC Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program.

The Company’s loans to banking clients include $5.6 billion and $4.7 billion of adjustable rate first lien residential real estate mortgage loans at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. The Company’s adjustable rate mortgages have initial fixed interest rates for three to ten years and interest rates that adjust annually thereafter. At December 31, 2011, approximately 60% of these mortgages consisted of loans with interest-only payment terms. At December 31, 2011, the interest rates on approximately 65% of these interest-only loans are not scheduled to reset for three or more years. The Company’s mortgage loans do not include interest terms described as temporary introductory rates below current market rates. At December 31, 2011, 44% of the residential real estate mortgages and 50% of the HELOC balances were secured by properties which are located in California. At December 31, 2010, 42% of the residential real estate mortgages and 49% of the HELOC balances were secured by properties which are located in California.

The Company also has exposure to concentration risk from its margin and securities lending activities collateralized by securities of a single issuer or industry.

The Company has indirect exposure to U.S. Government and agency securities held as collateral to secure its resale agreements. The Company’s primary credit exposure on these resale transactions is with its counterparty. The Company would have exposure to the U.S. Government and agency securities only in the event of the counterparty’s default on the resale agreements. The fair value of U.S. Government and agency securities held as collateral for resale agreements totaled $18.3 billion and $13.0 billion at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Commitments to extend credit: Schwab Bank enters into commitments to extend credit to banking clients primarily relating to mortgage lending. The credit risk associated with these commitments varies depending on the creditworthiness of the client and the value of any collateral expected to be held. Collateral requirements vary by type of loan. These commitments are legally binding agreements to lend to a client that generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses, may require payment of a fee and are not secured by collateral until funds are advanced. Schwab Bank also has commitments to extend credit related to its clients’ unused HELOC. Total amounts outstanding for these commitments to extend credit were $5.8 billion and $6.1 billion at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Forward sale and interest rate lock commitments: Schwab Bank’s loans held for sale portfolio consists of fixed-rate and adjustable-rate residential mortgage loans, which are subject to a loss in value when market interest rates rise. Schwab Bank uses forward sale commitments to manage this risk. These forward sale commitments have been designated as cash flow hedging instruments, and are recorded on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet at fair value with gains or losses recorded in other comprehensive income (loss). Amounts included in other comprehensive income (loss) are reclassified into earnings when the related loan is sold. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the derivative asset and liability for these forward sale commitments were not material.

Additionally, Schwab Bank uses forward sale commitments to hedge interest rate lock commitments issued on mortgage loans that will be held for sale. Schwab Bank considers the fair value of these commitments to be zero at the commitment date, with subsequent changes in fair value determined solely based on changes in market interest rates. Any changes in fair value of the interest rate lock commitments are completely offset by changes in fair value of the related forward sale commitments. Schwab Bank had interest rate lock commitments on mortgage loans to be held for sale with principal balances totaling approximately $347 million and $628 million at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the derivative asset and liability for these interest rate lock commitments and the related forward sale commitments were not material.