SBI requires its customers holding a savings bank account with any of its metro branches to maintain a monthly average balance of Rs. 3,000.
Banking majors SBI (State Bank of India), ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank charge their customers a penalty fee for non-maintenance of the minimum stipulated balance in their savings bank accounts. This penalty fee, for failing to comply with the banks’ separate monthly average balance or MAB requirements, ranges from Rs. 5 to Rs. 600 (excluding taxes and other charges). SBI, for example, has set a monthly average balance requirement of Rs. 3,000 for customers holding a savings bank account with its metro branch. Similarly, the other two major banks have also set different minimum balance average limits, failing to meet which attracts a penalty charge. Here’s a lowdown of different minimum balance requirements set by these banks and the penalty charges applicable.
Minimum balance required: SBI vs ICICI Bank vs HDFC Bank
SBI
| Metro | Urban | Semi-urban | Rural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SBI | MAB of Rs. 3,000 | MAB of Rs. 3,000 | MAB of Rs. 2,000 | MAB of Rs. 1,000 |
| ICICI Bank | MAB of Rs. 10,000 | MAB of Rs. 10,000 | MAB of Rs. 5,000 | MAB of Rs. 2,000 |
| HDFC Bank | MAB of Rs. 10,000 | MAB of Rs. 10,000 | MAB of Rs. 5,000 | AQB of Rs. 2,500 or FD of Rs. 10,000 (minimum 1 year 1 day) |
| (Source: SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank websites) | ||||
SBI requires its customers holding savings bank accounts in metro and urban branches to maintain a monthly average balance of Rs. 3,000, according to the bank’s website – sbi.co.in. For accounts in semi-urban branches and rural branches, this requirement has been set at Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 1,000 respectively.
ICICI Bank
ICICI Bank has set the minimum monthly average balance at Rs. 10,000 for its branches in metro and urban locations, according to the bank’s website – icicibank.com. For semi-urban branches, the stipulated monthly average balance amount has been set at Rs. 5,000. For rural and ‘gramin’ branches, the bank has set minimum monthly average balances of Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 1,000 respectively, according to the bank.
HDFC Bank
HDFC Bank requires customers holding savings bank accounts with it in metro and urban branches to maintain a minimum monthly average balance of Rs. 10,000 in a month. For semi-urban branches, the bank has set a monthly average balance requirement at Rs. 5,000, according to the bank’s website – hdfcbank.com. The bank requires its customers holding accounts in rural branches to either maintain an average quarterly balance of Rs. 25,000 or keep a fixed deposit (FD) of Rs. 10,000 for a minimum tenure of one year and one day, according to the bank.
Penalty charges for non-compliance with monthly average balance (MAB) rules: SBI vs ICICI Bank vs HDFC Bank
SBI
For non-compliance with MAB requirement by a customer holding a savings bank account in metro or urban branch, SBI charges a penalty amount ranging from Rs. 10 plus GST to Rs. 15 plus GST, according to its website. The amount of penalty depends on the degree of shortfall from the required amount. For example, in case of a shortfall of less than 50 per cent from the required MAB, SBI charges a penalty charge of Rs. 10 plus GST, according to its website.
For customers in semi-urban branches, SBI charges a penalty amount ranging from Rs. 7.5 plus GST to Rs. 12 plus GST. For savings bank accounts in rural branches, the penalty ranges from Rs. 5 plus GST to Rs. 10 plus GST.
ICICI Bank
ICICI Bank charges a penalty amount of Rs. 100 plus 5 per cent of the shortfall from the required monthly average balance from customers failing to maintain the monthly average balance in savings bank accounts in metro, urban, semi urban and rural branches.
For shortfall in savings bank accounts in ‘gramin’ branches, the bank charges 5 per cent of the amount of shortfall as penalty, according to its website.
HDFC Bank
HDFC Bank charges a penalty amount of Rs. 150 plus taxes from savings bank account holders in metro and urban branches maintaining a monthly average balance of Rs. 7,500 up to Rs. 10,000, according to the bank’s website. For the monthly average balance of Rs. 5,000 up to Rs. 7,500, the penalty amount has been set at Rs. 300 plus taxes. For savings bank accounts in semi-urban branches, the bank charges a penalty amount of Rs. 150 plus taxes and Rs. 300 plus taxes, depending on the shortfall.
For rural branches, the penalty amount has been set at Rs. 270 plus taxes for balances of Rs. 1,000 up to Rs. 2,500, and Rs. 450 for balances below Rs. 1,000, according to the bank’s website.
