Cheque books of six SBI subsidiary banks to become invalid
Cheque books and IFSC codes of six subsidiary banks of SBI would become invalid post September 30, the country's biggest public lender announced. The banks in question are Bhartiya Mahila Bank, Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Raipur and State Bank of Hyderabad. Customers have to submit applications for replacement of their cheque books.
SBI is also looking into charges for non-maintenance of monthly balance. "We have received feedback from our customers on the issue. The bank will take into account those and make an informed decision," said Rajnish Kumar, MD (national banking group). In April, SBI re-introduced balance non-maintenance fines after five years. Now a change in policy is likely, especially for senior citizens and students.
Monthly Average Balance (MAB) for metro branches is now Rs. 5,000; for urban branches Rs. 3,000, for semi-urban branches Rs. 2,000 and for rural branches it is Rs. 1,000. Kumar said that these charges "are never cast in iron" and the bank will internally decide if any changes need to be made on the amounts for certain customer categories, like senior citizens or students.
According to present SBI norms in metros, if the balance falls below 75% of the MAB of Rs 5,000 the penalty is Rs. 100 plus GST; if it falls below 50% or less the penalty is Rs. 50 plus GST. In rural areas, the failure to maintain monthly average balance will result in a penalty, ranging from Rs. 20 to Rs. 50 plus GST.
