Facing backlash, ICICI Bank has slashed the minimum balance requirement for savings account to Rs 15,000 a few days after hiking it steeply to Rs 50,000.

The rollback abort’s the country’s second-largest private sector bank to differentiate from its peers and position it as a lender with a different customer profile while retaining the old base.

For new savings bank accounts opened in metro and urban areas from 1 August, ICICI Bank had raised by five times the minimum monthly average balance requirement.

Citing “valuable feedback” from customers, ICICI Bank has now revised these requirements “to better reflect their expectations and preferences”.

For semi-urban areas, the bank has also revised downwards the minimum monthly average balance requirement to Rs 7,500 from 25,000 earlier. In rural branches, customers need to keep a minimum balance of Rs 2,500.

Even after the rollback, the bank has managed to introduce a 50% hike. Prior to the hike introduced by the bank, the minimum monthly average balance in metro and urban areas was Rs 10,000 and in semi-urban areas Rs 5,000.

If customers fail to maintain the revised minimum account balance, they will have to pay penal charges of 6% of the shortfall or Rs 500, whichever is lower.

For accounts opened before 1 August, the old minimum balance rules apply. 

The revised minimum balance requirements are also not applicable to salary accounts, senior citizens, pensioners (above 60 years), basic savings bank deposit account holders and accounts for people with special needs.