You Need This Much Balance In Your Savings Account To Avoid Penalty Charges
Major banks today require their customers to maintain a certain minimum balance in their savings accounts in order to avoid penalty charges. From public sector lender State Bank of India (SBI) to its private sector peers ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, the top banks have laid out their own rules to determine the required average monthly balance - which is an average of daily balances in the account in a month. The amount of penalty in case of non-compliance with the minimum balance - or monthly average balance (MAB) - rules depends on factors such as the degree of shortfall and branch location. (Also read: SBI account holders with over Rs 1 lakh balance earn lesser interest now)
Here's a comparison of the minimum average monthly balance (AMB) required in State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank savings accounts:
Minimum balance required in SBI savings account
State Bank of India customers holding savings account in the bank's branches in metro and urban locations are required to maintain an average monthly balance of Rs 3,000 to avoid penalty charges, according to the bank's corporate website - sbi.co.in. Those holding the savings accounts in SBI's semi-urban and rural branches are required to main an average monthly balance (AMB) of Rs 2,000 and Rs 1,000 respectively, according to the SBI portal.
Minimum balance required in ICICI Bank savings account
ICICI Bank requires its customers holding regular savings accounts in its metro and urban branches to maintain an average monthly balance of Rs 10,000, according to the private sector lender's website - icicibank.com. The bank has prescribed a minimum average monthly balance of Rs 5,000 for regular savings accounts in semi-urban locations, and Rs 2,000 for those in rural locations. The bank has also specified a minimum average balance (AMB) of Rs 1,000 for "Gramin" locations.
Minimum balance required in HDFC Bank savings account
HDFC Bank has set an average monthly balance of Rs 10,000 for regular savings accounts in its branches in metro and urban locations, according to the private sector lender's website - hdfcbank.com. HDFC Bank customers holding the savings account in its semi-urban branches are required to maintain an average monthly balance or Rs 5,000 in order to avoid penalty charges. For the savings accounts held in its rural branches, HDFC Bank has set Rs 2,500 as the required average quarterly balance (AQB), or a fixed deposit (FD) of Rs 10,000 for a minimum maturity period of one year and one day, according to the HDFC Bank website.
