ICICI Bank withdraws Rs 50,000 minimum balance rule for urban locations; revises MAB requirements; check details here – Times of India

After receiving widespread backlash, ICICI Bank on Wednesday rolled back its recently announced requirement for new account holders to maintain a minimum balance of Rs 50,000 in metro and urban locations. The country’s second-largest private lender has now revised its minimum monthly average balance (MAB) norms to Rs 15,000 for metro and urban locations, Rs 7,500 for semi-urban, and Rs 2,500 for rural areas.In a statement, the bank said, “We had introduced new requirements for the Monthly Average Balance (MAB) for new Savings Accounts opened from August 1, 2025.” MAB is calculated as the simple average of day-end balances in a calendar month.The earlier announcement, made last weekend, had sharply increased MAB for new savings accounts from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 in metro and urban branches, from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000 in semi-urban branches, and from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000 in rural branches. Customers failing to meet the MAB would have been charged 6% of the shortfall or Rs 500, whichever was lower.After the announcement, many bankers were mystified by ICICI Bank’s move, which they said prima facie appeared aimed at filtering out low-value customers. They noted that such measures are generally taken by multinational banks because of their limited ability to service customers due to branch restrictions.The bank also noted that the new MAB and schedule of charges do not apply to salary accounts, senior citizens and pensioners (above 60 years), BSBDA/PMJDY accounts, or accounts for people with special needs.They also exclude savings accounts opened before July 31, 2025, the statement added.