Charles R. Schwab, fresh from being pressed back into the chief executive post at the company he founded, says he has no plans to sell it.
Mr. Schwab, 66, retook the CEO role last week, when Charles Schwab Corp.'s board ousted David S. Pottruck. Mr. Schwab was, and remains, the San Francisco securities firm's chairman.
The abrupt dismissal of Mr. Pottruck, a 20-year company veteran and Mr. Schwab's longtime No. 2, and the company's recent lackluster performance - second-quarter earnings fell 10%, and the stock has fallen 26% so far this year - fed speculation that Mr. Schwab could pursue a sale as a way out.
He sought to shoot down that notion in a telephone interview Thursday afternoon. "Myself and the board and senior management have no interest in having any sale of this company," he said. "We're committed to our independence."
(BankAmerica Corp. owned Schwab for a four-year period in the early 1980s.)
But Mr. Schwab confirmed that his company was mulling "strategic alternatives" for its capital markets unit, which is seen as troubled. Those options could include some type of divestiture, though he also said the company may choose to keep the business. "We've reached no decision."
There has also been a lot of talk about the private-banking unit U.S. Trust. After making a name as a brokerage for small investors, Charles Schwab Corp. acquired the white-shoe business in 2000 to better serve wealthy clients. But some analysts have been disappointed with U.S. Trust and have suggested that it, too, could be a candidate for a sale.
On Thursday, Mr. Schwab dismissed the idea. "It's staying at Schwab for the indefinite future," and its performance is "getting better," he said. "We're very optimistic."
And the parent company remains committed to its individual-investor unit, its business servicing independent investment advisers, and its 401(k) operation, he said.
