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News18
11-08-2025
- Business
- News18
Civil Society Forum Protests ICICI Bank's Minimum Balance Hike in Savings Accounts, Writes to Govt
Last Updated: ICICI Bank has raised the minimum balance requirement for new savings accounts opened on or after August 1 by five times to Rs 50,000. A civil society organisation advocating banking stakeholders' interests has written to the Finance Ministry, requesting its intervention into ICICI Bank's decision to raise the minimum average balance (MAB) requirement for new savings accounts, and said such a move is detrimental to the government's vision of inclusive banking and growth. In a letter to the finance secretary, 'Bank Bachao Desh Bachao Manch' termed the private lender's decision as 'unjust and regressive". The bank has raised the minimum balance requirement for new savings accounts opened on or after August 1 by five times to Rs 50,000. The minimum monthly average balance (MAB) for savings bank accounts till July 31, 2025 for ICICI Bank customers was Rs 10,000. Similarly, MAB for semi-urban locations and rural locations have been increased five times to Rs 25,000 and Rs 10,000, respectively, according to information available on the ICICI Bank website. 'This retrograde decision undermines the principle of inclusive banking," the forum's joint conveners, Biswaranjan Ray and Soumya Datta, claimed. Traditionally, public sector banks have lower balance requirements compared to private lenders with the requirement waived for Jan Dhan accounts. Several public sector banks have done away with the requirement, and customers who fail to maintain the minimum prescribed balance do not need to pay a penalty. (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
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Business Standard
11-08-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Civil society protests ICICI Bank's savings account minimum balance hike
A civil society organisation advocating banking stakeholders' interests has written to the Finance Ministry, requesting its intervention into ICICI Bank's decision to raise the minimum average balance (MAB) requirement for new savings accounts, and said such a move is detrimental to the government's vision of inclusive banking and growth. In a letter to the finance secretary, 'Bank Bachao Desh Bachao Manch' termed the private lender's decision as "unjust and regressive". The bank has raised the minimum balance requirement for new savings accounts opened on or after August 1 by five times to Rs 50,000. The minimum monthly average balance (MAB) for savings bank accounts till July 31, 2025 for ICICI Bank customers was Rs 10,000. Similarly, MAB for semi-urban locations and rural locations have been increased five times to Rs 25,000 and Rs 10,000, respectively, according to information available on the ICICI Bank website. This retrograde decision undermines the principle of inclusive banking, the forum's joint conveners, Biswaranjan Ray and Soumya Datta, claimed. The civil society organisation called for the immediate withdrawal of the decision, and appealed to the government to protect depositors' interests and ensure broader financial inclusion. Traditionally, public sector banks have lower balance requirements compared to private lenders with the requirement waived for Jan Dhan accounts. Several public sector banks have done away with the requirement, and customers who fail to maintain the minimum prescribed balance do not need to pay a penalty. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Civil society organisation urges Bengal CM to block SBI's plan to shift key operations from Kolkata
A civil society organisation on Tuesday urged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to intervene in the State Bank of India 's decision to shift Global Market Unit (GMU) and other core operations from Kolkata to Mumbai. In a letter to the chief minister, 'Bank Bachao Desh Bachao Manch' expressed concern over the "arbitrary" move by SBI to relocate key functions, including the GMU and three Centralised Processing Cells - Liability Central Processing Cell (LCPC), Centralised Cheque Processing Cell (CCPC), and Centralised Pension Processing Cell (CPPC) - from Kolkata, alleging that it would directly impact employment and state revenue. "This violates the tripartite agreement signed in March 2008 between the bank management and both officers' and staff federations, which had clearly stated that the forex treasury would continue to operate from Kolkata. The Central Global Back Office was also set up within GMU Kolkata in 2015 to strengthen Kolkata's role in global banking operations," the letter said. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like This Could Be the Best Time to Trade Gold in 5 Years IC Markets Learn More Soumya Datta, one of the convenors of the Manch, said, "Nearly 150 permanent and over 200 casual employees will be directly impacted. More than 600 families will suffer. The state's exchequer will lose around Rs 25 crore annually in GST revenue from these units." The Manch demanded that the CM press for immediate steps to halt the relocation, implement the bank's past commitment to restore 50 per cent of forex operations to Kolkata and bring back the Income Tax and Government Accounts sections, among others, to Kolkata. Live Events "... we urge the chief minister to protect Bengal's interests and ensure Kolkata's rightful role in India's banking ecosystem is preserved," the letter said. The SBI has recently stated that decisions regarding the opening, shifting, or rationalisation of branches and offices are part of an ongoing business process based on evolving operational and administrative needs.
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Business Standard
22-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Bengal may lose ₹25 cr GST as SBI shifts key unit from Kolkata to Mumbai
Kolkata faces a potential state GST loss of nearly Rs 25 crore this fiscal year as the State Bank of India (SBI) moves to relocate its Global Market Unit (GMU) from Kolkata to Mumbai, a civil society organisation has claimed. This proposed shift has drawn protests from civil society groups like Bank Bachao Desh Bachao Manch (Save Bank, Save Nation Platform), describing SBI's decision as "arbitrary and opaque". "The GMU and associated units contribute significantly to state revenues via GST, nearly Rs 25 crore this fiscal year. Additionally, over 70 contractual staff stand to lose their jobs," Bank Bachao Desh Bachao Manch joint convenors Biswaranjan Ray and Soumya Datta said in a complaint. The State Bank of India recently stated that decisions regarding the opening, shifting, or rationalisation of branches and offices are part of an ongoing business process based on evolving operational and administrative needs. This explanation was provided by the Deputy General Manager (Operations), SBI Corporate Centre, in a letter dated June 11, 2025, which responded to a previous complaint from Bank Bachao Desh Bachao Manch to the President of India in March. The Manch found SBI's reply to be "generic and bureaucratic", and "devoid of substance or justification". The group also noted that it neither addressed the core issues raised nor provided a rationale for the displacement of strategic banking operations. The Manch then complained to the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) under the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances. Protestors have highlighted several concerns beyond the potential GST loss, including the disregard of historical and legal commitments, specifically a 2008 agreement between the bank and its federations to retain the GMU (which evolved from the erstwhile Foreign Department) in Kolkata. The GMU's shifting is part of a "pattern of systemic marginalisation" of Kolkata's and West Bengal's institutional roles within India's banking landscape, the forum claimed. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
