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Banks are free to decide minimum balance: RBI governor
Sandy Verma | August 12, 2025 9:24 AM CST

Business Business ,The Indian Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Monday that banks are free to fix the minimum balance for savings accounts and it does not come under RBI regulatory jurisdiction.

He was speaking to journalists during a ceremony on ‘Financial Inclusion Santitti Abhiyan’ held at Gazaria Gram Panchayat in Mehsana district of Gujarat. Asked about increasing the minimum balance required for savings accounts by a private bank, Malhotra said, “RBI has left the right to decide to different banks about how much minimum balance they want to determine.

Some banks have kept it Rs 10,000, some have kept Rs 2,000 and some have given (customers) discounts. This (RBI) regulatory jurisdiction. “In a recent decision, private lender ICICI Bank has increased the requirement of minimum balance for those opening new savings accounts since August 1. According to the lender’s website, the minimum average monthly balance (MAB) on the savings bank account has been increased from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000.


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