State Bank of India has increased the minimum balance required to maintain a savings account. It has been set between Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 5,000 and is expected to come into effect from April 1. It will hit 31 crore savings account holders across the country. Government has asked to reconsider the decision, sources told PTI. Read on for more details.
Other public sector banks may also introduce the MAB (monthly average balance) soon. It’s simple, if you’re a savings account holder then you have to maintain some amount in your account on monthly basis. On not maintaining the average monthly balance, your account will attract a penalty set between Rs. 20 to Rs. 100.
As of now, the MAB is Rs.500 (without cheque book) and Rs. 1,000 (with cheque book) across the country for a savings bank account. Now, SBI has decided to raise the MAB region-wise i.e. metro, urban, semi-urban, rural from the beginning of next financial year i.e. April 1.
For metro cities savings account holders, the MAB will be Rs. 5,000 and will be charged Rs. 100 on non-maintenance. For urban bankers, the MAB is set to Rs. 3,000 while for semi-urban account holders will have to maintain a total of Rs. 2,000 as MAB. If not maintained, you will be charged between Rs. 50 to Rs. 100.
Bankers living in rural areas will have to maintain as low as Rs. 1,000 monthly otherwise your account will attract between Rs. 20 and Rs. 50 as a penalty.
SBI’s five associates banks- State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Travancore (SBT), State Bank of Patiala (SBP), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), and State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) will merge with the State Bank of India on April 1. After the merge, SBI will have a total of 22,500 branches and a network of 58,000 ATMs across the country with an asset base of Rs. 37 lakh crore or $555 billion.
