State Bank of India, according to a source, has also been asked to
reconsider charges it proposes to levy on cash transactions and ATM
withdrawals over specified limits.
The country’s largest lender has announced imposing penalty ranging from
Rs 20-100 on non-maintenance of Minimum Average Balance (MAB) in
savings bank accounts from April 1. The penalty is as high as Rs 500 in
case of current accounts.
The penalty for breach of MAB is being reintroduced after a gap of five years.
The bank has also increased the minimum balance requirement by many
times, which is as high as Rs 5,000 for account maintained with branches
in six metro cities.
SBI has also imposed restrictions on withdrawals of cash from its
branches as well as ATMs. These will attract charges after certain
specified limits.
“Government has asked SBI to reconsider it’s decision to impose a
penalty on non- maintenance of minimum balance in accounts from April 1
onwards,” the source said.
The government has also urged SBI and other lenders, including private
sector banks to “reconsider the charges on cash transactions and ATM
withdrawals above a certain limit”.
Some private banks, like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank, have
started charging a minimum amount of Rs 150 per transaction for cash
deposits and withdrawals beyond four free transactions in a month.
Source : http://www.hindustantimes.com/
