The Union Cabinet had last week cleared the merger of five associate banks — State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Travancore (SBT) — with SBI. The Union Cabinet had last week cleared the merger of five associate banks — State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Travancore (SBT) — with SBI.

In a new development, the State Bank of India announced on Friday that it’s account-holders will be penalised for not maintaining a minimum balance from April 1 onwards. In a statement on its website, the bank had listed out charges to be made effective from April 1. For metropolitan areas, the mandatory minimum balance will be Rs 5,000. In urban, semi-urban and rural areas, the charges will be Rs 3,000, Rs 2,000 and Rs 1,000 respectively. However, it must be mentioned that these charges will be based on the difference between the minimum balance required and the shortfall. For instance, if the shortfall in metropolitan areas is more than 75 per cent, the charges would be Rs 100 plus service tax.

According to bank’s notification of the new charges, if the shortfall is between 50-75 per cent, the bank would charge Rs 75 plus service tax. If the shortfall is below 50 per cent, a charge of Rs 50 plus service tax would be levied. For rural areas, the penalty ranges from Rs 20-50 plus service tax, the bank notification said.

Additionally, the bank also said it would renew from April 1, the Rs 50 charge for customers carrying out more than three cash transactions at its branch within a month. However, this charge is applicable currently as well. In a separate interview to news agency IANS, an SBI official said that these cash transactions at branches already exist, adding that the same have been renewed for the coming financial year from April 1 onwards.

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