The below minimum balance in your account is indeed a bonanza for the banks. According data provided by the finance ministry, India's largest lender State Bank of India, from April to November in 2017, had collected a whopping Rs 1,771 crore as charges from customers who did not maintain their minimum monthly average balance (MAB) in their accounts.
It has been learnt that the amount is more than the bank’s July-September quarter net profit of Rs 1,581.55 crore and nearly half of the Rs 3,586 crore it earned as net profit from April to September.
SBI did not collect any money from levy of charges for non-maintenance of MAB during the 2016-17 financial year. The charges were re-introduced after a gap of five years during the current fiscal. The bank has a total of 42 crore savings bank accounts of which 13 crore are Basic Savings Bank Deposits Accounts and Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts, both categories exempted from levy of such charges.
SBI yesterday reduced the base rate and benchmark prime lending rates (BPLR) by 30 basis points each, which will benefit nearly 80 lakh customers on the old pricing regime. The nation’s largest lender revised down the base rate to 8.65 per cent for existing customers from 8.95 per cent, while the BPLR is down from 13.70 per cent to 13.40 per cent. The bank however did not change the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) which would have brought down the cost for all borrowers. The one-year MCLR of the bank stands unchanged at 7.95 per cent. The new rates will be effective yesterday, the bank said in a statement.
“We had done the rate review in the last week of December, and based on whatever deposits rates we had, our base rate was brought down by 30 basis points to 8.65 per cent now,” managing director for retail and digital banking, PK Gupta told reporters in a concall. Nearly 80 lakh customers who are on the old lending rate regimes and have not moved to MCLR, will be benefited from this reduction. Banks review MCLR on a monthly basis, while the base rate revision happens once a quarter.
Other banks
After SBI, Punjab National Bank recorded the highest collection of Rs 97.34 crore through levy of such charges during the April-November period followed by Central Bank of India’s Rs 68.67 crore and Canara Bank’s Rs 62.16 crore.
Punjab and Sind Bank is the only state-run lender which did not levy any charges during April-November and in 2016-17.
Welcoming the move Dr Arathi Krishna told coastaldigst.com that Indians stranded in any foreign country can utilize this facility. "Initially, I was approached by Mr Zakaria and Mr Sheik who wanted chartered flights to help their employees fly back to India. I asked them to write to the Indian Ambassador in Saudi Araia Mr Ausaf Sayeed. Then I requested the ambassador to forward the request to Joint Secretary Dr Nagendra Prasad, who is in charge of gulf division in the Ministry of External Affairs, and then to Secretary on charge of Gulf and then I requested Secretary of Economic Relations Mr T S Tirumurti who was also in charge of Gulf to follow this up," she said.
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SBI apart from MAB fee of rs 1771 cr had earned 42-13 39 cr accounts less about 3 cr account not maintained minimum ie 36 crores. For april-sep min bal was 5000/ considering rural semi urban an avg balance with SBi would be 3000/-. So 36X3000 108000cr was minimum balance and a fixed amount. This fixed amount would have at least earned 6 interest (lending rate >12 ), less Sb interest 4 paid. minimum 2 on 108000cr pocked by SBI. 108000x2/100x7/12 1260 cr. So SBI had pocked in most conservative and simple estimation overall 1771+1260 3031 cr money of SBI account holders
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