CHARLES SCHWAB LAUNCHES NEW OFFER ENABLING CORPORATE STOCK PLAN PROVIDERS TO OUTSOURCE SPECIFIC PLAN FUNCTIONS

SAN FRANCISCO, July 30, 2009 - Charles Schwab has introduced a new Co-Sourced Stock Plan Administration offer for corporate stock plan administrators seeking to outsource specific functions to improve efficiency while maintaining control of their company's stock plan administration.

The new offer enables stock plan administrators to shift the management of certain plan functions to Schwab, including core plan recordkeeping and reconciliation of stock plan activity; report generation, scheduling and distribution; and plan participant statements and confirmations.

"We have introduced Co-Sourced Stock Plan Administration to meet a growing need for greater efficiency, lower costs, and reduction in workload without ceding in-house control of stock plan administration," said Crispin Hanshaw, a managing director in Charles Schwab's Stock Plan Services division. "Outsourcing certain aspects of stock plan administration can be part of a company's long-term strategy to more effectively handle the demands of both routine as well as non-scheduled events. This gives a stock plan sponsor the ability to improve efficiency by offloading time-consuming tasks to Schwab, freeing up more time to focus on other important projects."

The Schwab Co-Sourced Stock Plan Administration offer can include a number of services, web-based tools, and consultative guidance, including:

• Support for some or all aspects of stock plan administration, as well as various grant types including stock options, restricted stock, performance shares, stock appreciation rights and Employee Stock Purchase Plans (ESPPs);  

• Automated interface with Schwab's plan participant website, eliminating the need for daily file uploads and downloads;

• Dedicated resources to support the design, creation and delivery of custom employee communication and education;

• End-user training on Schwab EquiView®, Schwab's proprietary hosted web-based stock plan recordkeeping system; and

• An integrated online FAS 123(R) Solution that delivers all aspects of equity valuation, expensing and reporting.

"At Schwab, we are seeing an increasing number of companies moving to web-based platforms for stock plan administration, as opposed to software, to eliminate the reliance on in-house IT resources to support upgrades and ultimately save additional time and money," noted Hanshaw.  

Specific reporting tools and capabilities available to plan administrators through Schwab's Co-Sourced Stock Plan Administration offer include:

• Daily plan activity reports including transactions, cancellations and grants;

• SEC Proxy and FAS 123(R) reports; and

• Automated quarterly participant statements mailed to participants including all equity grants and ESPP share balances and activity.

For additional information about Charles Schwab Stock Plan Services, please visit www.scrs.schwab.com.

About Charles Schwab

The Charles Schwab Corporation (Nasdaq: SCHW) is a leading provider of financial services, with more than 300 offices and 7.6 million client brokerage accounts, 1.5 million corporate retirement plan participants, 593,000 banking accounts, and $1.2 trillion in client assets as of June 30, 2009. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides a full range of securities brokerage, banking, money management and financial advisory services to individual investors and independent investment advisors. Its broker-dealer subsidiary, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC, http://www.sipc.org), and affiliates and offer a complete range of investment services and products including an extensive selection of mutual funds; financial planning and investment advice; retirement plan and equity compensation plan services; referrals to independent fee-based investment advisors; and custodial, operational and trading support for independent, fee-based investment advisors through its Advisor Services business segment. The Charles Schwab Bank (member FDIC) provides banking and mortgage services and products. More information is available at www.schwab.com. (0709-10173)

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