Summary of this article
ICICI’s new MAB continues to be higher than its previous structure, Rs 10,000 for metro/urban, Rs 5,000 for semi-urban, and Rs 5,000 for rural, leaving many customers wondering whether more changes could follow.
ICICI Bank has rolled back part of its controversial decision to sharply raise the minimum average balance (MAB) for new savings accounts, after days of criticism from customers.
A few days back, the bank had increased the MAB to Rs 50,000 in urban or metro cities, a move which garnered both backlash and questions over such hikes.
What has changed?
Starting 1 August 2025, new account holders in metro and urban branches will now need to maintain an MAB of Rs 15,000 instead of the Rs 50,000 announced earlier. The earlier threshold for these accounts was Rs 10,000.
For semi-urban branches, the MAB for new accounts has been lowered to Rs 7,500 from Rs 25,000, while in rural locations, it has dropped to Rs 2,500 from Rs 10,000. It is important to note that the changes apply only to accounts opened from August 1, 2025.
“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 in a statement, thanking customers for their “continued trust and feedback.”
Can banks increase limits like this?
The reversal comes less than a week after ICICI, India’s second-largest private lender, announced the steep hike in MAB for new customers, a decision that was at odds with a wider industry trend of lowering or scrapping such requirements.
State Bank of India, for example, removed its minimum balance rule back in 2020, and most other large private-sector banks keep the threshold at Rs 10,000 for metro and urban branches.
When questions erupted over how a bank could revise such limits to these heights, the Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra recently clarified that the regulator does not set limits on MAB requirements, leaving the decision entirely to individual banks.
However, even with this revision, ICICI’s new MAB continues to be higher than its previous structure, Rs 10,000 for metro/urban, Rs 5,000 for semi-urban, and Rs 5,000 for rural, leaving many customers wondering whether more changes could follow.
