Minimum Balance Rules: Penalty Charges Levied By Top Banks For Non-Compliance

Regular savings bank accounts require customers to maintain a certain average monthly balance (AMB). Leading lenders such as State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC Bank and ICICI 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 also charge a penalty from customers who fail to maintain an average monthly balance in their savings account. The penalty varies on factors such as the location of branch.

Here are the AMB requirements and penalty charges levied for non-maintenance of balance by SBI, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank: 

State Bank of India

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:

(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  (AQB) 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: