ICICI Bank has reversed its decision to raise the minimum monthly average balance (MAB) for new savings accounts in metro and urban locations to Rs 50,000, revising it instead to Rs 15,000, effective August 1.
The MAB for new savings accounts in semi-urban locations has been revised from Rs 25,000 to Rs 7,500, and for rural locations from Rs 10,000 to Rs 2,500.
"We had introduced new requirements for the MAB for new savings accounts opened from August 1, 2025.
"Following valuable feedback from our customers, we have revised these requirements to better reflect their expectations and preferences,” the bank said.
MAB is the simple average of day-end balances for a calendar month.
The bank faced criticism from customers after raising the MAB for new savings accounts.
Even after the revision, the MAB is higher than the previous structure.
Earlier, MAB for new savings accounts in metro and urban areas was Rs 10,000, Rs 5,000 in semi-urban branches, and Rs 2,500 in rural branches.
Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra, earlier this week, clarified that the regulator has left it to individual banks to decide on the extent of MAB.
Other large private-sector lenders such as HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Yes Bank, and others have a lower MAB requirement of Rs 10,000 in metro and urban centres.
In contrast, state-owned lenders such as State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, and others have recently waived the minimum account balance requirement for customer convenience.
Meanwhile, HDFC Bank, the country’s largest private-sector lender, clarified that there has been no change in its average monthly balance (AMB) requirement for any account type.
AMB for the regular savings account continues to be Rs 10,000, and AMB for the savings max account remains at Rs 25,000, the bank said.
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