Non-Maintenance Of Minimum Balance: Charges Levied By Key Banks Compared
Most of the leading banks in the country charge customers for non-maintenance of monthly average balance (MAB) in their savings accounts. Monthly Average Balance (MAB) is the sum of all the end of day (EOD) closing balance divided by the number of days in that month. State-run SBI (State Bank of India) to private sector lenders HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank- have fixed their monthly average balance requirements according to the location of a customer's account in urban, metro, semi-urban and rural areas, among other factors.
Given below are the MAB requirements and penalty charges levied for non-maintenance of MAB by SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Yes Bank:
State Bank of India (SBI)
Customers having a regular savings bank account in SBI branches located in metro and urban areas are required to maintain a monthly average balance of Rs. 3,000, said the country's largest lender on its official website - sbi.co.in. Customers with SBI savings accounts in semi-urban and rural branches are required to maintain a minimum average balance of Rs. 2,000 and Rs 1,000, respectively.
Customers failing to meet the MAB requirements have to bear the following penalty charges:
| Metro and urban branch (required MAB Rs 3,000) | Charges |
|---|---|
| Shortfall <= 50% | Rs. 10 + GST |
| Shortfall > 50-75% | Rs. 12 + GST |
| Shortfall > 75% | Rs. 15 + GST |
| Semi-urban branch (required MAB Rs 2,000) | |
| Shortfall <= 50% | Rs 7.50 + GST |
| Shortfall > 50-75% | Rs 10 + GST |
| Shortfall > 75% | Rs.12 + GST |
| Rural (required MAB Rs 1,000) | |
| Shortfall <= 50% | Rs 5 + GST |
| Shortfall > 50-75% | Rs. 7.50 + GST |
| Shortfall > 75% | Rs 10 + GST |
(As mentioned on SBI's official website)
HDFC Bank
Customers having a regular savings account in HDFC Bank branches located in metro and urban areas are required to maintain an average monthly balance of Rs 10,000, said the bank on its official website - hdfcbank.com. In semi-urban branches, the regular savings account holders are required to maintain an average balance of Rs 5,000 every month. Customers with accounts in rural branches are required to maintain a MAB of Rs 5,000 and Rs 2,500 respectively.
Customers failing to meet the MAB requirements have to bear the following penalty charges:
| Description of Charges | Regular Savings Account | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Average Balance Requirements | Metro / Urban branches: AMB Rs.10,000/-, | ||
| Semi-Urban Branches: AMB Rs.5,000/- , | |||
| Rural Branches: AQB Rs.2,500/- or Fixed Deposit of Rs. 10,000 for minimum 1 year 1 day period | |||
| Charges applicable on non-maintenance | Balance Non-Maintenance Charges* | ||
| AMB Slabs | Metro & Urban | Semi Urban | |
| (in Rs.) | AMB Requirement -Rs 10,000/- | AMB Requirement –Rs. 5,000/- | |
| >=7,500 to < 10,000 | Rs. 150/- | NA | |
| >=5,000 to < 7,500 | Rs. 300/- | NA | |
| >=2,500 to < 5,000 | Rs. 450/- | Rs. 150/- | |
| 0 to < 2,500 | Rs. 600/- | Rs. 300/- | |
| * plus taxes as applicable | |||
| AMB – Average Monthly Balance | |||
| AQB Slabs (in Rs.) | Balance Non-Maintenance Charges* (per quarter) - Rural Branches | ||
| >= 1000 < 2,500 | Rs. 270/- | ||
| 0 - <1000 | Rs. 450/- | ||
| *plus taxes as applicable | |||
| AQB – Average Quarterly Balance | |||
(As mentioned on HDFC Bank's official website)
ICICI Bank
Customers having a regular savings account in ICICI Bank branches located in metro and urban areas need to maintain an average monthly balance of Rs 10,000, according to the bank's official website - icicibank.com. Customers with accounts in semi-urban branches and rural branches are required to maintain an MAB of Rs 5,000 and Rs 2,500 respectively. The average monthly balance required in gramin location is Rs 1,000.
Customers failing to meet the MAB requirements have to bear the following penalty charges:
| Minimum monthly average balance (MAB)* | Metro and Urban locations - Rs.10,000 |
|---|---|
| Semi-urban locations - Rs.5,000 | |
| Rural locations - Rs 2,000 | |
| Gramin locations - Rs.1,000 | |
| Charges for non maintenance of minimum monthly average balance (NMMAB) | Metro/Urban/Semi-Urban/Rural locations : |
| Rs. 100 + 5% of the shortfall in required MAB | |
| Gramin locations : 5% of the shortfall in required MAB |
(As mentioned on ICICI Bank's official website)
Yes Bank
Customers having a regular savings account in Yes Bank branches need to maintain an average monthly balance (AMB) of Rs 10,000, according to the bank's official website - yesbank.in.
Customers failing to meet the MAB requirements have to bear the following penalty charges:
| AMB Maintained | Non-Maintenance Charge per month |
|---|---|
| If balance maintained is >=100% of the requirement | Nil |
| If balance maintained is >50% of the requirement | 5% of balance shortfall |
| If balance maintained is <=50% of the requirement | 10% of balance shortfall |
| Maximum AMB non-maintenance charge | Rs 500 per month |
(As mentioned on Yes Bank's official website)
However, there are certain accounts where MAB rules are not applicable. These accounts are called as zero balance savings accounts.
