Most of the banks across the country require customers to maintain a monthly average balance (MAB) in their regular 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. State-run SBI (State Bank of India) to private sector lender HDFC Bank- both have fixed a certain monthly average balance requirement according to the location of a customer's account in urban, metro, semi-urban and rural areas, among other factors. Customers failing to meet the MAB requirements have to bear certain penalty charges.
Given below are the MAB requirements and penalty charges levied for non-maintenance of MAB by SBI and HDFC Bank:
State Bank of India (SBI)
Customers with 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 SBI's official website - sbi.co.in. Customers who have a savings accounts in semi-urban and rural branches of SBI are required to maintain a minimum average balance 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 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 bank's official website - hdfcbank.com. The regular savings account holders are required to maintain an average balance of Rs 5,000 every month in semi-urban branches of HDFC Bank. Customers with accounts in rural branches are required to maintain a MAB of Rs 5,000 and Rs 2,500 respectively.
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)
Both the banks also offer certain accounts where MAB rules are not applicable. These are known as zero balance savings accounts and do not require customers to maintain any particular minimum average balance.
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