ICICI Bank vs SBI vs HDFC Bank Minimum Balance: ICICI Bank has been under fire from the general public after hiking its minimum balance for savings accounts. The ICICI Bank minimum balance for savings accounts has been hiked by five times for customers in urban areas.
Here is a comparison between minimum balance requirements of ICICI Bank vs State Bank of India vs HDFC Bank and how much penalty you have to pay if you fail.
Minimum Balance: ICICI Bank vs SBI vs HDFC Bank
1. ICICI Bank minimum balance: ICICI Bank minimum balance was hiked to ₹50,000 per month in savings accounts for urban and metro region branches. This is a 5x increase from its previous minimum balance level of ₹10,000.
For semi-urban category, ICICI Bank minimum balance requirement is ₹25,000 per month, as compared to ₹5,000 earlier. For rural branches, ICICI Bank minimum balance in savings account was also hiked to ₹10,000, as opposed to ₹5,000 earlier.
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 ₹500, whichever is lower.
2. SBI minimum balance: India’s largest public sector bank State Bank of India does not mandate a minimum balance for its account holders. This means SBI minimum balance can be zero monthly or quarterly. According to its official website, SBI’s Savings Bank account and the Savings Plus Bank account do not have any minimum balance requirement. The move is aimed at a more inclusive banking, which many banks are adopting at present.
Since there is no minimum balance requirement, there will be no penalty.
3. HDFC Bank minimum balance: The largest private sector bank in India, HDFC Bank, has a minimum balance requirement for its savings accounts. According to the website, HDFC Bank minimum balance is ₹10,000 or a fixed deposit sum of ₹1 lakh for a minimum of one year and one day for urban branches.
For semi-urban branches, HDFC minimum balance is ₹5,000 per month or a fixed deposit of ₹50,000 for the same period of one year, one day. HDFC Bank minimum balance for rural branches is ₹2,500 per month. Otherwise, customers can maintain a fixed deposit of ₹25,000 for a period of one year and one day.
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 ₹600, whichever is lower.
Lenders like Canara Bank and Yes Bank do not mandate its customers to maintain a minimum balance for their savings accounts.
