State Bank of India (SBI) is the largest commercial bank in India. SBI is the oldest bank in the Indian subcontinent. SBI has 24,000 domestic branches and 191 international branches spread across 36 countries, and having the largest presence abroad amongst the Indian banks. SBI is headquartered at New Delhi and has 16 regional hubs and 57 zonal offices located at important cities across India.
State Bank of India levies penalties on customers who don’t maintain the prescribed average monthly balance (AMB). However, SBI has several savings accounts that do not require customers maintaining any balance. SBI was heavily criticized for imposing penalties on customers and for charging more than its quarterly profit as penalties, for not maintaining AMB. Penalties applicable for not maintaining AMB depend on the location of your branch and the amount of shortfall.
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Here are key details on SBI minimum balance rules (2018) and its zero balance accounts:
SBI accounts are classified based on the location of the branch and they are: metro, urban, semi-urban and rural. The AMB requirement of SBI savings accounts varies with the type of branch.
Customers having savings accounts in metro and urban branches must maintain an AMB of Rs 3,000. Those having savings accounts in semi-urban and rural branches must maintain an AMB of Rs 2,000 and Rs 1,000 respectively.
SBI branch type |
AMB (Rs) |
Metro |
3,000 |
Urban |
3,000 |
Semi-Urban |
2,000 |
Rural |
1,000 |
If your AMB in an SBI metro and urban savings account is less than or equal to 50% of the prescribed AMB, then the penalty levied is Rs 10 + GST (Goods and Services Tax). If the shortfall is in excess of 50% but less than 75% of the prescribed AMB, then the SBI levies a penalty of Rs 12 + GST. If the shortfall is in excess of 75% of AMB, then the penalty levied is Rs 15 + GST.
If the shortfall of AMB in a semi-urban account is less than or equal to 50%, then SBI levies a penalty of Rs 7.50+ GST. If the shortfall is in excess of 50-75% of the prescribed AMB, then the penalty levied is Rs 10 + GST. If the shortfall is more than 75% of the required AMB, then SBI charges a penalty of Rs 12 + GST.
If the shortfall in an SBI rural savings account is less than or equal to 50% of the prescribed AMB, then you are levied with a penalty of Rs 5 + GST. If the short fall is between 50-75%, then SBI levies a penalty of Rs 7.50 + GST. If shortfall is in excess of 75% of the AMB, then penalty levied is Rs 10 + GST.
Branch type |
Shortfall of AMB |
Penalty charges (excluding GST) for non-maintenance AMB (Rs) |
Metro & Urban |
<=50% |
10 |
> 50-75% |
12 |
|
>75% |
15 |
|
Semi-Urban |
<=50% |
7.5 |
> 50-75% |
10 |
|
>75% |
12 |
|
Rural |
<=50% |
5 |
> 50-75% |
7.5 |
|
>75% |
10 |
There are zero balance SBI savings accounts in which there is no requirement to maintain a particular balance and these are mentioned below:
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