RBI Intervention Sought On SBI Rules For Account Holders
RBI’s employee body seek the bank’s intervention into some decisions taken SBI on its account holders.
The employee’s body of the Reserve Bank of India has sought the central bank’s intervention on some decisions taken by the State Bank of India regarding its account holders.
“We are being constrained to draw your kind attention to certain recent business decisions of the country's largest bank SBI – like withdraw cash only three times a month free of charge and fine failure to maintain balance,” All India Reserve Bank Employees Association’s General Secretary Samir Ghosh said in a letter to Governor Urjit Patel.
“We urge that Section 35A of Banking Regulation Act, 1949 do empower Reserve Bank to give directions “to prevent the affairs of any banking company being conducted in a manner detrimental to the interests of the depositors……,” he said in the letter.
According to reports, SBI in the April-June quarter has earned Rs 235 crore from such fines.
The employees body highlighted the apathy of the small depositors in their letter.
For accounts held in metro branches, the balance required is Rs 5,000, if the amount falls below Rs 3,750 a penalty of Rs 100 plus service tax is imposed. The charges and minimum account balance vary across metro, urban, semi-urban and rural areas.
SBI have a network of about 24,000 branches (post merger with SBI associates) and more than 40 crore customers of which there are 31 crore savings accounts.