ICICI Bank Shares Top Loser on Sensex, Nifty; Stock Falls 1% After Bank Hikes Minimum Account Balance

Shares of ICICI Bank Ltd. fell over 1% on Monday after the bank raised the monthly minimum average balance requirement across customer cohorts, on Saturday.

India’s second largest lender ICICI Bank raised the monthly minimum average balance requirement across customer cohorts, effective Aug. 1. This is a way to increase the premium customer base, a banker said on conditions of anonymity. 

Metro and urban customers, who opened their savings accounts on Aug. 1 or later, will need to maintain Rs 50,000 monthly average balance. This was earlier Rs 10,000, which will continue to remain the minimum average balance for older customers. 

Shares of ICICI Bank fell as much as 1.08% to Rs 1,420.40 apiece. They pared losses to trade 0.43% lower at Rs 1,429.70 apiece, as of 9:30 a.m. This compares to a 0.10% advance in the NSE Nifty 50.

The stock has risen 21.74% in the last 12 months and 11.30% year-to-date. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 0.44 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 66.14.

Out of 52 analysts tracking the company, 48 maintain a 'buy' rating and four recommend a 'hold', according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies an upside of 18.3%.