Quote from Trader_Herry:
No, I don't think so.
The word liabilities is misleading in this context since the $3,116,641,386 refers only to "Payable to customers". Others liabilities are exlcuded. The total liabilities are $3,245,016,934.
The liabilities here in accounting do not equal to loans or something we need to settle as soon as possible. The figure alone says nothing as to whether a firm is on the verge of bankrupcy.
There are some accounting ratios which may give you the idea of its debt settling capability (eg ratio of current assets to current liabilities)
I hope this helps you to clear things up.![]()
Quote from just21:
It is of interest to customers that IB is growing quickly and is financially secure. If IB were not growing I would know IB was not competitive and would look for a better deal.
Quote from alanm:
Customers who care, though, would already know and see this without having to read about it here.
Also, growth in customer assets is not necessarily indicative of anything. For example, I currently have an account with a broker with a balance sheet so small, it's scary. Yet, it's worth the risk for what they offer. A broker works well for me based on what they offer and how they operate. Once they are over a certain size (which IB passed long ago), their size has little to do with it.