The Charles Schwab Corporation is an American brokerage and banking company, based in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1971 by Charles R. "Chuck" Schwab, as a traditional brick and mortar brokerage firm and investment newsletter publisher. In 1973, the company changed its name from First Commander Corporation to Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. The company started offering discount brokerage on May 1, 1975, and became one of the world's largest discount brokers.