Most banks in the country charge their customers a penalty fee 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. These penalty charges levied by lenders for keeping insufficient bank balance in regular savings account depends on multiple factors, such as the location of bank branch and the degree of shortfall, meaning how far the actual bank balance is from the required average.
Given below are the MAB requirements and penalty charges levied for non-maintenance of MAB by SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Canara Bank:
State Bank of India (SBI)
Customers with a regular savings 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 website - sbi.co.in. Customers with accounts in semi-urban branches and rural branches are required to maintain an MAB 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 with a regular savings account in HDFC branches located in metro and urban areas need to maintain a monthly average balance of Rs 10,000. 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, according to the bank's website - hdfcbank.com.
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 with a regular savings account in ICICI Bank branches located in metro and urban areas need to maintain a monthly average balance of Rs 10,000. 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, according to the bank's website - icicibank.com.
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)
Canara Bank
Customers with a regular savings account in Canara Bank branches located in metro, urban and semi-urban areas need to maintain a monthly average balance of Rs 1,000. Customers with accounts in rural branches are required to maintain an MAB of Rs 500, according to the bank's website - canarabank.in.
Customers failing to meet the MAB requirements have to bear the following penalty charges:
| Non maintenance of Minimum balance charges | Modification in charges (Based on Minimum Average Monthly Balance-AMB) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a) METRO / URBAN / SEMI URBAN Branches | b) RURAL BRANCHES | |||
| AMB maintained in the account against the stipulated Rs. 1,000/- | Charges per month for violation of AMB | AMB maintained in the account against the stipulated Rs. 500/- | Charges per month for violation of AMB | |
| Rs. 999/- to Rs. 700/- | Rs. 25/- + applicable Service Tax | Rs. 499/- to Rs. 350/- | Rs. 25/- + applicable Service Tax | |
| Rs. 699/- to Rs. 400/- | Rs. 35/- + applicable Service Tax | Rs. 349/- to Rs. 200/- | Rs. 35/- + applicable Service Tax | |
| Rs. 399/- and below | Rs. 45/- + applicable Service Tax | Rs. 199/- and below | Rs. 45/- + applicable Service Tax | |
(As mentioned on Canara Bank's official website)
However, there are certain accounts where MAB rules are not applicable. These accounts are called as zero balance savings accounts.
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