05:23
RaingamEnterprises
State
Bank of India charges a penalty up to Rs. 100 (excluding service
tax) on its savings bank account holders for not maintaining the Minimum Required Balance under its monthly
average balance or MAB rules. The fine for not meeting the minimum average
balance in savings bank accounts each month is levied on the basis of branch
location. This was said by India's largest bank SBI on microblogging site
Twitter. That means customers holding savings bank accounts in metro, urban,
semi-urban and rural branches of SBI need to pay different penalty amounts for
non-compliance. The amount also varies on the percentage of shortfall each
month, according to SBI's website. SBI has specified various ranges of shortfall
for its savings bank customers according to the four categories of branches.
For example, if you hold a savings bank account
in a metro branch of SBI, you need to maintain a monthly average balance
of Rs. 5,000.
Also, if the average maintained during a month comes out to be between Rs. 2,500 and Rs. 5,000, which means a
shortfall of less than 50 per cent, a charge of Rs. 50 plus service tax
will be levied, SBI has said.
Also, those with a shortfall of between 50 and
75 per cent (MAB from Rs. 1,250 to Rs. 2,500), a fee of Rs. 75 plus service tax
will be charged, and Rs. 100 plus service tax
for those keeping an average less than Rs. 749 (more than 75 per
cent shortfall).
How to avoid fine under SBI's minimum balance rules
"A regular review of your account will help
you to ensure the average monthly balance is maintained and avoid the minimal
charges," State Bank of India (SBI) has said on microblogging site
Twitter.
How much fine do I need to pay?
For metro customers:
SBI requires its savings bank account customers
in metros to maintain a monthly average balance of Rs. 5,000.
In case the monthly average balance of an SBI
savings bank account holder comes out to be between Rs. 2,500 and Rs. 5,000 - a shortfall of
less than 50 per cent, a charge of Rs. 50 plus service tax
will be levied, SBI said. For those with a shortfall of between 50 and 75 per
cent (MAB from Rs. 1,250
to Rs. 2,500),
a fee of Rs. 75
plus service tax will be charged, and Rs. 100 plus service tax
for those keeping an average less than Rs. 749 (more than 75 per
cent shortfall).
Shortfall
|
SBI
charges plus service tax
|
Over 75%
|
Rs. 100
|
50-75%
|
Rs. 75
|
Till 50%
|
Rs. 50
|
For urban customers:
Shortfall
|
SBI charges plus
service tax
|
Over 75%
|
Rs. 80
|
50-75%
|
Rs. 60
|
Till 50%
|
Rs. 40
|
For semi-urban customers:
Shortfall
|
SBI charges plus
service tax
|
Over 75%
|
Rs. 75
|
50-75%
|
Rs. 50
|
Till 50%
|
Rs. 25
|
For rural customers:
Shortfall
|
SBI charges plus
service tax
|
Over 75%
|
Rs. 50
|
50-75%
|
Rs. 30
|
Till 50%
|
Rs. 20
|
The charges have been permitted by the Reserve
Bank of India and are being levied by banks across the industry "and help
us in providing better services to the customers", SBI added.
After its merger with five associate banks and
Bharatiya Mahila Bank, SBI has entered the league of top 50 global banks with a
balance sheet size of Rs. 41
lakh crore, 2.77 lakh employees, 50 crore customers, over 22,500 branches and
58,000 ATMs.
