ICICI Bank Partially Reverses Minimum Balance Hike After Backlash
The bank has revised the monthly average balance for new urban customers to ₹15,000 from the earlier ₹50,000.
- ICICI Bank has reduced its minimum average balance (MAB) requirements for new customers.
- The MAB for new customers in metro and urban areas is now ₹15,000, down from ₹50,000.
- For semi-urban areas, the MAB has been revised to ₹7,500 from ₹25,000.
GG News Bureau
Mumbai, 14th Aug: ICICI Bank has partially rolled back its recently announced minimum average balance (MAB) requirements for new savings account holders in urban and semi-urban areas, citing “valuable feedback from our customers.” The move comes just days after the bank’s initial announcement of a significant hike sparked widespread criticism.
For new customers in metro and urban areas, the revised MAB requirement is now ₹15,000, a substantial reduction from the earlier proposed ₹50,000. Similarly, the requirement for semi-urban locations has been cut to ₹7,500 from ₹25,000. The bank has also revised the MAB for new accounts in rural areas to ₹2,500, down from the previously announced ₹10,000.
The initial hike, which would have made ICICI Bank one of the private lenders with the highest MAB requirements, stood in contrast to public sector banks like the State Bank of India (SBI), which had scrapped the minimum balance rule altogether in 2020. HDFC Bank, another major private lender, maintains a lower MAB of ₹10,000 for regular savings accounts.
The revised rules apply to all new accounts opened from August 1, 2025. Existing customers will continue to follow the old norms. A penalty of 6% of the shortfall or ₹500, whichever is lower, will be charged if the MAB is not maintained.
