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TO OUR CUSTOMERS
We've never been happier to see a year come to an end or more excited to start the next. With the release today of our 2007 earnings report, we can now focus on 2008 and the progress ahead.
Why the optimism? There are several reasons:
We Have a Strong and Growing Retail Business Focused on the Customer
As detailed in our 2007 results, despite the challenges we faced in the fourth quarter, we have a strong and thriving retail business. The number of gross new US retail brokerage accounts opened during the year increased by 39% vs. the prior year and the number of gross new bank accounts increased by 80%. We continued to attract impressive numbers of new customers, and on average over 3,000 new accounts opened a day in every quarter in 20071 and the vast majority of our customers stuck with us. This is a testament to the continued strength of our brand.
We Continue to Innovate
Innovation and cutting-edge technology have always been at the heart of our culture. In 2008, we expect to introduce several exciting new products and services for our customers. You can look forward to E*TRADE Mobile Pro, a fully integrated trading and banking platform for wireless devices; a new suite of online retirement planning tools; upgrades to the E*TRADE Global Trading, Power E*TRADE Pro and E*TRADE MarketTrader platforms; and enhanced relationship management and customer service. You'll continue to enjoy free
Quick Transfer, and checking and savings account yields that are among the highest in the nation. In short, in 2008, you can expect an even better experience at E*TRADE.
We Continue to Strengthen the Balance Sheet
In November, we announced a $2.5 billion cash infusion that strengthened the Company's capital position and removed $3 billion of asset-backed securities from the balance sheet. E*TRADE remains well-capitalized by regulatory standards, and we plan to end the year with nearly $1 billion in excess Bank capital. Further, we've exited our wholesale mortgage business as well as our Institutional Trading operations in the US and internationally, ensuring a strict focus on our core retail business.
Your Assets Are Well Protected
We remain steadfast in our commitment to safeguard your assets at E*TRADE (
click here for details):
- 100% Customer Securities Protection. At E*TRADE Securities, all fully-paid customer securities, including stocks and bonds, are 100% owned by the customer.
- E*TRADE Securities is a member of SIPC which protects securities customers of its members up to $500,000 (including $100,000 for claims for cash).
- E*TRADE Bank accounts are FDIC insured to at least $100,000.
- E*TRADE Clearing has purchased additional protection of up to $150 million per brokerage account through its London insurers (aggregate, all customers, $600 million).
We understand that you want to make sure your assets are protected, that you receive the best possible customer service, and that you can depend on our platform. In a week like this, with significant market volatility and industry-wide high trading volumes, it's worth noting that our systems and people performed flawlessly — despite a record number of concurrent users logged onto our website. Our ability to handle these volumes is one of the reasons E*TRADE Securities has been repeatedly recognized by Keynote as the #1 Online Brokerage for Speed and Reliability.
With 2007 behind us, we are inspired to work harder than ever to demonstrate the strength and value of E*TRADE. That means reinvigorating the things that make E*TRADE unique — challenging the industry status quo with innovation, cutting-edge tools, technology, and value.
We hope you share our optimism for 2008.
Jarrett Lilien
Acting Chief Executive Officer, E*TRADE FINANCIAL