Calexodus

Another day, another major company is exiting California. Now, Charles Schwab is moving its headquarters to Texas.

Forbes has the story (via Maggie’s Farm):

Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW), the San Francisco-based financial services firm that pioneered low-cost stock trades, is moving to Texas. The announcement follows news yesterday that Charles Schwab will acquire TD Ameritrade for $26 billion.

Schwab will move its headquarters to Westlake, a suburb of Dallas-Fort Worth. The shift to Texas was telegraphed with Schwab’s increasing presence in the area over the years, with the firm already readying to double its Westlake workforce to 2,600. Ameritrade also has a large footprint in the area.

As for why Schwab might be doing this, the chairman explained:

Regarding the move out of California, Schwab chairman and founder Charles Schwab noted California’s high taxes factored in the decision while observing, “…the costs of doing business here are so much higher than some other place.”

Mr. Schwab was likely too polite to mention that his employees were much less likely to experience electric black outs in Texas, or step in human waste and used needles on the streets of Westlake, as opposed to San Francisco.

Given the internet it is no longer essential for financial services companies to aggregate in one location. Might this also tell us something about another major financial hub, Hong Kong, whose business might easily be transferred to mainland China?

The Schwab move is not as consequential as JP Morgan Chase's move from New York City to Texas, but still, it’s sending us a message.