New Delhi. The matter of banks levying penalty for not maintaining minimum balance has reached the Parliament.
The government has responded to this matter. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that there is no need to maintain minimum account balance in PM Jan Dhan Account and Basic Savings Account. The bank imposes penalty only on those customers who fail to maintain the required amount in their account. The Finance Minister said this in response to a question about Rs 8,500 crore penalty being collected by government banks in the last 5 years for not maintaining minimum balance in bank accounts by customers.
Sitharaman said that the question has been raised by the members of the House about the amount being deducted by the banks for not maintaining the minimum balance. This rule does not apply to PM Jan Dhan Account and Basic Savings Account. It applies only to those accounts in which the customers are expected to maintain a minimum balance in their account up to a certain limit.
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These banks have imposed penalty for not maintaining minimum balance.
It is notable that the government banks which have imposed penalty for not maintaining minimum balance include Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Punjab & Sind Bank, Union Bank of India, UCO Bank, Indian Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Maharashtra and Central Bank of India.
Public sector banks recovered Rs 2,331 crore in FY24
Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary told the Lok Sabha last month that public sector banks have recovered a penalty of Rs 2,331 crore in FY24 for not maintaining minimum balance. This amount was 25 per cent more than the amount recovered last year. In the financial year 2023-24, a fine of Rs 633 crore has been recovered by Punjab National Bank, Rs 386 crore by Bank of Baroda and Rs 369 crore by Indian Bank for not maintaining minimum balance.
