UPDATE OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

6 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

UPDATE OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

UPDATE OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

A summary of our significant accounting policies is included in Note 2 on pages 103 - 121 of our 2015 Form 10-K. There have been no significant changes in our significant accounting policies since September 30, 2015.

Brokerage client receivables, loans to financial advisors and allowance for doubtful accounts

As more fully described in Note 2 on page 110 - 111 of our 2015 Form 10-K, we have certain financing receivables that arise from businesses other than our banking business. Specifically, we offer loans to financial advisors and certain key revenue producers, primarily for recruiting, transitional cost assistance, and retention purposes. We present the outstanding balance of loans to financial advisors on our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition, net of their applicable allowances for doubtful accounts. Of such balance, the portion associated with financial advisors who are no longer affiliated with us is approximately $10 million at both March 31, 2016 and September 30, 2015, and our allowance for doubtful accounts associated with such loans is approximately $4 million in each respective period.