Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Banks collected more than Rs 26,170 crore from customers as penalties for failing to maintain the minimum average balance (MAB) in their accounts during the four financial years from FY23 to FY26, as per the data shared by the Government in the Parliament.
The data — provided by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha — showed that private sector banks accounted for a larger share of these collections compared with public sector banks (PSBs).
In FY26 alone, banks collected Rs 7,086.63 crore through minimum balance charges.
Meanwhile, private lenders accounted for Rs 4,948.71 crore, more than twice the Rs 2,137.92 crore collected by PSBs.
Among private banks, HDFC Bank reported the highest collection from minimum balance charges in FY26 at Rs 1,798.14 crore, followed by Axis Bank at Rs 1,081.33 crore. Together, the two lenders accounted for nearly 58 per cent of the total minimum balance charges collected by private sector banks during the year.
Other private lenders that reported collections included ICICI Bank at Rs 353.50 crore, Kotak Mahindra Bank at Rs 290.65 crore, Yes Bank at Rs 195.05 crore and IDBI Bank at Rs 175.15 crore.
Among public sector lenders, State Bank of India (SBI) reported the highest collection at Rs 477.27 crore, followed by Bank of Baroda at Rs 394.10 crore and Indian Bank at Rs 299.17 crore.
