SBI reviews minimum balance in savings a/cs

Mumbai, September 17 

The State Bank of India has said it was reviewing charges for certain categories of accounts for non-maintenance of monthly average balance (MAB) after receiving feedback from customers.

In April, the country’s largest lender reintroduced charges on non-maintenance of monthly average balance after a gap of five years. “We have received feedback from our customers on the issue and we are reviewing those. The bank will take into account those and make an informed decision,” managing director (national banking group) Rajnish Kumar said. “We will internally debate whether any moderation for certain categories of customers like senior citizens and students needs to be done anywhere. The charges are never cast in iron.”

United Forum of Bank Unions, an umbrella organisation of all bank unions, has sought Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s intervention to roll back the hike in charges imposed on customers. On September 15, the Forum had requested Jaitley  to stop the merger of public sector banks. — PTI

How much penalty

• In metropolitans, Rs 100 plus GST is charged if balance falls below 75% of monthly average balance of Rs 5,000
• In rural areas, the average balance is Rs 1,000 and penalty is Rs 20 to Rs 50 plus GST
• SBI has over 40 crore savings accounts, including 13 crore Basic Savings Bank Deposit and Jan-Dhan Yojana that are exempt from minimum balance