According to reports, 21 public sector banks and three private banks have earned a profit of Rs 5,000 crore in the financial year 2017-2018, from the penalty charged on non-maintenance of minimum balance.
The State Bank of India (SBI) profited the most from this penalty. Almost half of the total figure – Rs 2433 crore was collected by SBI alone. SBI had faced severe criticism earlier this year, when it was revealed that it had earned Rs. 1,771 crore from these penalties – more than its net profit in July-September quarter- in just eight months. The bank had reduced it’s charges following the public outcry.
The Punjab national bank (PNB) earned Rs 211 crore from the penalties.
Among private lenders, HDFC bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank benefitted the most, registering a collection of Rs. 590 crore, Rs. 530 crore and Rs 317 crore respectively.
In this light, the government’s motives behind getting people into the banking system are questioned. Economist Jayantilal Bhandari told PTI, “On one hand, the government is running a campaign to associate more and more people with the banking system, while on the other hand, public sector banks are charging the saving accounts for not keeping a minimum balance.”
Other experts have pointed out that the people who are unable to maintain this minimum balance are the middle-class and the poor, and it is unjust to collect money by penalising them when there are fraudsters like Nirav Modi.
It is relevant to question this policy of charging people who are not able to have the so called “minimum balance” in their bank accounts, when the Modi government is making a huge show of “financal inclusion” in the form of schemes like Jan Dhan Yojana. Additionally, since the beneficiaries of poverty alleviation schemes like Direct Benefits Transfer and MGNREGA are being forced to open bank accounts to avail their benefits, it is a severe injustice that the same government allows these banks to penalise them.