Banks Collected ₹7,086 Crore as Minimum Balance Penalties in FY26: Government

Key facts

• Banks in India collected over ₹7,086 crore in penalties for non-maintenance of minimum balance in savings and current accounts during FY26.
• Private sector banks accounted for ₹4,948.71 crore of the total penalties, while public sector banks (PSBs) recovered ₹2,137.92 crore.
• Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary disclosed the figures in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on 28 July 2026.
• Among private banks, HDFC Bank levied the highest penalty at ₹1,798.14 crore, followed by Axis Bank at ₹1,081.33 crore.
• Other private lenders included ICICI Bank (₹353.50 crore), Kotak Mahindra Bank (₹290.65 crore), Yes Bank (₹195.05 crore), and IDBI Bank (₹175.15 crore).
• Among PSBs, State Bank of India (SBI) recorded the highest penalty at ₹477.27 crore, which applied only to current accounts as SBI had dropped minimum balance penalties on savings accounts in March 2020.
• Bank of Baroda and Indian Bank collected ₹394.10 crore and ₹299.17 crore respectively in penalties.
• Ten out of 12 PSBs have scrapped penal charges for non-maintenance of minimum balance in savings accounts, and the remaining two have revised such charges under board-approved policies.
• Basic Savings Bank Deposit Accounts, including those under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, carry no minimum balance requirement, and around 730 million such accounts remain exempt from penalties.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permits banks to impose minimum balance penalties under board-approved policies, provided they are reasonable and transparent, and banks must alert customers before levying any penalty.