ICICI Bank lowers minimum balance requirement from Rs 50,000 to Rs 15,000

In a U-turn, ICICI Bank has slashed the minimum monthly average balance (MAB) requirement to Rs 15,000 from Rs 50,000, citing "valuable feedback" from customers.

The minimum balance requirement for its new savings bank accounts opened on or after August 1 was recently raised five times to Rs 50,000.

"Following valuable feedback from our customers, we have revised these requirements to better reflect their expectations and preferences. We thank our customers for their continued trust and feedback, which help us serve them better," ICICI Bank posted on its website.

Similarly, the MAB for semi-urban and rural locations has been revised downwards to Rs 7,500 and Rs 2,500 respectively, it said.

Before August 1, the MAB for semi-urban and rural was Rs 5,000.

However, the bank said the revised MAB requirements are not applicable to salary accounts, senior citizens/pensioners (above 60 years), basic savings bank deposit account/PM Jandhan Yojana, and accounts for people with special needs.

They are also not applicable to savings accounts opened before July 31, 2025.

MAB is the minimum balance that a customer is required to maintain in a bank account. If the balance falls below the required amount, the bank levies a penalty.

In case account holders fail to meet the MAB, customers will be liable to pay penal charges of 6 per cent of the shortfall in required MAB, or Rs 500, whichever is lower.

The balance in the savings bank account of ICICI Bank earns an interest of 2.5 per cent per annum, it said.

The hike in MAB comes at a time when public sector banks have rationalised their penalties or completely waived them.