3 min readMumbaiAug 9, 2025 12:34 PM IST
First published on: Aug 9, 2025 at 11:56 AM IST
ICICI Bank MAB hike: ICICI Bank, the country’s second-largest private lender, has sharply increased the minimum monthly average balance (MAB) from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 for all accounts opened in metro and urban areas starting August 2025.
The hike in MAB by ICICI Bank has been steep in all the locations. For semi-urban branches, the new MAB requirement has increased to Rs 25,000 from Rs 5,000 earlier. In the case of rural branches, accounts will require a minimum balance of Rs 10,000, compared to the earlier Rs 2,500, according to the bank.
The minimum monthly average balance (MAB) is the minimum balance that a customer is required to maintain in his/her bank account. If the balance in the bank account falls below the required amount, then banks levy a penalty for failing to maintain the MAB.
ICICI Bank has said if the minimum balance criteria is not met by the customer, there will be a penalty of 6 per cent of the shortfall in required MAB or Rs 500 whichever is lower.
ICICI Bank is the first bank to go for a steep hike in MAB.
The finance ministry last week informed the Parliament that public sector banks (PSBs) collected almost Rs 9,000 crore as penalties as customers failed to maintain the MAB over a five-year period.
According to data shared by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in response to a question in the Rajya Sabha, state-owned lenders collected Rs 8,932.98 crore as penal charges on non-maintenance of minimum Average Monthly Balance in the five years starting 2020-21 and up to 2024-25.
The data shared by the finance ministry on Tuesday comes days after Union Bank of India joined a host of other PSBs in waiving off penalties on non-maintenance of minimum balances, an issue that has been a sensitive one for some time. Other PSBs that have ended these charges from the ongoing quarter include Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, Indian Bank, Bank of India, and Central Bank of India, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. The country’s largest lender, State Bank of India, has not levied non-maintenance penalties since March 2020.
ICICI Bank cash transaction rules
Meanwhile, on cash deposits, ICICI Bank said there will be complimentary 3 cash transactions per month, and thereafter Rs 150 per transaction will be levied. The value limit for complimentary will be up to Rs 1 lakh per month cumulative. Thereafter, Rs 3.5 per Rs 1,000 or Rs 150 whichever is higher. If the threshold of both number and value limit have crossed for the same transaction, higher of the charges mentioned above pertaining to number limit or value limit will apply.
ICICI said the third party cash deposit limit of Rs 25,000 per transaction is applicable for all savings accounts. For cheque return outward (cheque deposited by customer), Rs 200 per instance will be levied for financial reasons. For cheque return inward (cheque issued by customer), Rs 500 per instance will be levied.
ICICI Bank is the first bank to go for a steep hike in MAB.
(Reuters Photo) 
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