Minimum Balance Rules Of Key Lenders Explained Here

Banks also offer savings account which do not require customers to maintain any minimum balance

Regular savings bank accounts require customers to maintain a certain average monthly balance (AMB). Key lenders such as State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank have fixed their monthly average balance requirements. The requirements depend on the location of a customer's account in urban, metro, semi-urban and rural areas. Banks also charge a penalty from customers who fail to maintain an average monthly balance in their savings account. The penalty varies according to various factors such as the location of branch.

Here's a comparison of the average monthly balance requirement in SBI, PNB, HDFC Bank and ICICI 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, according to the bank's official website - sbi.co.in. Customers with SBI  accounts in semi-urban and rural branches are required to maintain a minimum average balance of Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 1,000, respectively.    

table.tbl_style { border-top: solid 1px #ccc; border-left: solid 1px #ccc; border-right: solid 1px #ccc; } table.tbl_style th { background-color: #f5f5f5; padding: 5px 10px; border-bottom: solid 1px #ccc; border-right: solid 1px #ccc; text-align: center; } table.tbl_style td { border-bottom: solid 1px #ccc; border-right: solid 1px #ccc; padding: 5px 10px; text-align: center; } table.tbl_style th:nth-child(1), table.tbl_style td:nth-child(1) { width: 40%; text-align: left; } table.tbl_style th:last-child, table.tbl_style td:last-child { border-right: 0; } @media only screen and (max-device-width: 480px) and (min-device-width: 320px) { table.tbl_style { display: table; min-width: 280px; max-width: 100%; } table.tbl_style th, table.tbl_style td, table.tbl_style th:nth-child(n+1), table.tbl_style td:nth-child(n+1) { display: table-cell; line-height: normal; }
Branch type Average monthly balance
Metro Rs. 3,000
Urban Rs. 3,000
Semi-urban Rs. 2,000
Rural Rs. 1,000
(Source: sbi.co.in)

Punjab National Bank

Customers having a regular savings bank account in Punjab National Bank branches located in metro, urban, semi-urban areas are required to maintain a minimum quarterly average balance of Rs. 2,000, according to the bank's official website - pnbindia.in. Customers with savings accounts in rural branches are required to maintain a minimum balance Rs. 1,000.

table.table1 { border-top: solid 1px #ccc; border-left: solid 1px #ccc; border-right: solid 1px #ccc; } table.table1 th { background-color: #f5f5f5; padding: 5px 10px; border-bottom: solid 1px #ccc; border-right: solid 1px #ccc; text-align: center; } table.table1 td { border-bottom: solid 1px #ccc; border-right: solid 1px #ccc; padding: 5px 10px; text-align: center; } table.table1 th:nth-child(1), table.table1 td:nth-child(1) { width: 40%; text-align: left; } table.table1 th:nth-child(1) { width: 40%; text-align: center; } table.table1 th:last-child, table.table1 td:last-child { border-right: 0; } @media only screen and (max-device-width: 480px) and (min-device-width: 320px) { table.table1 { display: table; min-width: 280px; max-width: 100%; } table.table1 th, table.table1 td, table.table1 th:nth-child(n+1), table.table1 td:nth-child(n+1) { display: table-cell; line-height: normal; }
Branch Type Minimum Quarterly Average Balance
Rural Rs 1,000
Semi- Urban Rs. 2,000
Urban Rs. 2,000
Metropolitan Rs. 2,000
(Source: pnbindia.in)

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, according to the bank's 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. In rural branches, the customers are required to either maintain an average quarterly balance of Rs. 2,500.

table.tbl_style { border-top: solid 1px #ccc; border-left: solid 1px #ccc; border-right: solid 1px #ccc; } table.tbl_style th { background-color: #f5f5f5; padding: 5px 10px; border-bottom: solid 1px #ccc; border-right: solid 1px #ccc; text-align: center; } table.tbl_style td { border-bottom: solid 1px #ccc; border-right: solid 1px #ccc; padding: 5px 10px; text-align: center; } table.tbl_style th:nth-child(1), table.tbl_style td:nth-child(1) { width: 40%; text-align: left; } table.tbl_style th:last-child, table.tbl_style td:last-child { border-right: 0; } @media only screen and (max-device-width: 480px) and (min-device-width: 320px) { table.tbl_style { display: table; min-width: 280px; max-width: 100%; } table.tbl_style th, table.tbl_style td, table.tbl_style th:nth-child(n+1), table.tbl_style td:nth-child(n+1) { display: table-cell; line-height: normal; }
Branch type Average monthly balance
Metro Rs. 10,000
Urban Rs. 10,000
Semi-urban Rs. 5,000
Rural Rs. 2,500
(Source: hdfcbank.com)

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 website - icicibank.com. The average monthly balance required in semi-urban, rural and gramin locations is Rs. 5,000, Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 1,000 respectively. 

table.table1 { border-top: solid 1px #ccc; border-left: solid 1px #ccc; border-right: solid 1px #ccc; } table.table1 th { background-color: #f5f5f5; padding: 5px 10px; border-bottom: solid 1px #ccc; border-right: solid 1px #ccc; text-align: center; } table.table1 td { border-bottom: solid 1px #ccc; border-right: solid 1px #ccc; padding: 5px 10px; text-align: center; } table.table1 th:nth-child(1), table.table1 td:nth-child(1) { width: 40%; text-align: left; } table.table1 th:nth-child(1) { width: 40%; text-align: center; } table.table1 th:last-child, table.table1 td:last-child { border-right: 0; } @media only screen and (max-device-width: 480px) and (min-device-width: 320px) { table.table1 { display: table; min-width: 280px; max-width: 100%; } table.table1 th, table.table1 td, table.table1 th:nth-child(n+1), table.table1 td:nth-child(n+1) { display: table-cell; line-height: normal; }
Branch type Average monthly balance
Metro Rs. 10,000
Urban Rs. 10,000
Semi-urban Rs. 5,000
Rural Rs. 2,000
Gramin Rs.1,000
(Source: icicibank.com)

Banks also offer savings account which do not require customers to maintain any particular minimum balance.

Get live Stock market updates, Business news, Today’s latest news, Trending stories, and Videos on NDTV Profit.
GET REGULAR UPDATES