Schwab Claims $2 Billion in Web Transactions Per Week

Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. said that retail investors now buy and sell over $2 billion in securities value each week through its schwab.com Web site.

Schwab said its site handled approximately $26 billion in securities
transactions during the first quarter of 1998.

“Online brokerage services have proven to be the killer app in electronic
commerce and a key driver for financial services firms,” Nicole Vanderbilt,
director of digital commerce at Jupiter Communications was quoted as saying.

Jupiter said it believes that online trading households will reach 31% of the personal investing market by 2002, compared with online banking, which will reach only 19% of the banking market in the same year.

Schwab said it reached 1.74 million active online accounts and $120 billion in
online customer assets at month-end May 1998, an increase of over 500,000
active online accounts and $40 billion in online assets since December 31,
1997.