Minimum Balance Rules: Penalty Charges Levied By SBI, HDFC Bank For Non-Compliance
Regular savings bank accounts require customers to maintain a certain average monthly balance (AMB). Leading banks such as State Bank of India (SBI) and HDFC 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. Banks 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 are the AMB requirements and penalty charges levied for non-maintenance of balance by SBI and HDFC Bank:Â
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 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 these requirements have to bear the following penalty charges:
| Metro and urban branch (required AMB Rs 3,000) | Charges |
|---|---|
| Shortfall <= 50% | Rs. 10 + GST |
| Shortfall > 50-75% | Rs. 12 + GST |
| Shortfall > 75% | Rs. 15 + GST |
| Semi-urban branch (required AMB Rs 2,000) | |
| Shortfall <= 50% | Rs 7.50 + GST |
| Shortfall > 50-75% | Rs 10 + GST |
| Shortfall > 75% | Rs.12 + GST |
| Rural (required AMB 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, according to the bank's 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 or set up a fixed deposit of Rs. 10,000 for a maturity period of a minimum one year and one day. Customers failing to meet these requirements have to bear the following penalty charges:
| Description of Charges | Regular Savings Account | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Average Balance Requirements | Metro and 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 a period of 1 year 1 day | |||
| 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)
Banks also provide savings accounts which do not require customers to maintain any particular minimum balance.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
-
Indians Are Travelling, But Not Every Journey Is A Holiday | The Week In Whys
Pilgrims, patients and working women are the real travellers, and the system hasn't quite caught up with them.
-
Getting To Work Costs Women More | The Reason Why
It is not just about women paying more than men. It is about women paying much more in cities than in villages.
-
AI Bias In Investing Cannot Be Eliminated, But It Can Be Governed
Framing is a particularly important example as identical financial information presented in terms of gains rather than losses can lead an LLM to reach a different assessment.
-
Joining The Dots | Dark Skies, Steady Diya: Why Hope Holds This Diwali
With war, a weak rupee and foreign outflows weighing on sentiment, policymakers at the NDTV World Summit and market veterans at NDTV Profit Ignite: Diwali Edition offered the same advice: stay invested and filter out the noise.
-
The Curious Case of Equitas Small Finance Bank And A CEO Who Quit For Stock
PN Vasudevan believes persistent investor concerns over a perceived conflict of interest had become a governance overhang on Equitas Small Finance Bank's stock, even as the lender improved profitability and asset quality.
-
Talking Points This Week: AI Cash Burn, A Tiger Comeback And An India That Still Finds Its Own Path
India is not immune to higher oil or tighter global liquidity, yet its earnings base is broader, its domestic policy levers are still available.
-
Foreign Investors Own Half Of HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. An LTCG Cut Could Matter Most Here
Foreign portfolio investors have US$115 billion parked in HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank. If the government cuts long-term capital gains tax, Jefferies says returning foreign money could land here first.
