RBI does away with Minimum Balance for Dormant a/cs 

The Reserve Bank on Tuesday asked banks not to levy penalties on customers who don’t maintain a minimum balance in any inoperative account as part of a consumer protection initiative.

“It is advised that henceforth banks are not permitted to levy penal charges for non-maintenance of minimum balances in any inoperative account,” the RBI said in a notification.

Several banks, including the State Bank of India, do not levy any charge if the minimum balance is not maintained in an inoperative savings account.

For operative accounts, customers of ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank are charged ` 750 per quarter if they don’t maintain a minimum average quarterly balance of ` 10,000 in urban centres and ` 5,000 in semi-urban areas.

The RBI in another notification said that minors above 10 years of age can open and operate independently savings bank account and use other facilities like ATM and cheque books.

Hindustan Times, New Delhi, 07-05-2014