Schwab says it raked in $53 billion in client assets in March as it looks to soothe investors rattled by banking turmoil

Schwab said its business is "extremely robust" in an update after SVB's collapse set off a wave of deposits leaving regional banks last month.

• Charles Schwab said Friday it logged the second-highest March inflow from new client assets, at more than $53 billion. 
• Schwab executives said in the update that the business is "extremely robust." 
• Schwab's stock last month plunged as clients worried about unrealized losses in its bond portfolio.

Charles Schwab said Friday it logged the second-highest March inflow of new client assets, delivering the update after fears of contagion from the recent banking crisis sent its stock plunging last month. 

The brokerage heavyweight said it had a "strong influx" of more than $53 billion of core net new client assets in the last month of the first quarter of 2023, 

"[Our] business is extremely robust," founder and co-chairman Charles Schwab and co-chair and CEO Walt Bettinger said in a statement. "The diversity of our business remains a strength. For example, our trading and wealth management businesses experienced a very strong first quarter," they said, without giving specific figures.

Schwab's stock in March sank by 33%, the worst monthly performance since 1987, the year of the "Black Monday" crash in US stocks. The stock was hit alongside regional banks on investor concerns about huge unrealized losses in their bond portfolios. Such losses triggered the eventual collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Schwab has banking as well as well as brokerage operations. 

Charles Schwab at the end of 2022 had $27.9 billion in unrealized losses across its held-to-maturity and available-for-sale bond portfolios, according to its annual 10-K filing.

The Schwab executives said since late March, "experts and non-experts alike" have shared their opinions about the state of the industry and on Schwab. "Given that focus and the risk of confusion, we thought some additional perspective from us would be helpful," they said. 

The company said deposit flows at Schwab Bank have "remained fairly consistent" during the recent upheaval in the banking sector, adding that in March, average daily outflows were below February.

"While the first quarter was a challenging time, for sure, reflecting negative investor sentiment, ongoing interest rate hikes, and regional banking turmoil, Schwab's client-centric growth model remains firmly intact and is performing well," the founder and the CEO jointly said. 

The company will hold a "soup-to-nuts" quarterly review on April 17.