SBI to make cheque books, IFSC codes of six subsidiary banks invalid from September 30

The State Bank of India has notified its customers that cheque books of its six subsidiary banks would become invalid from September 30.  The six banks are Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Raipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Hyderabad and Bhartiya Mahila Bank.
 
SBI has asked customers to submit applications for new cheque books for replacement of the old cheque books. IFSC codes of these banks will also become invalid from September 30.
 
SBI is also looking into the customer feedback over the charges for non-maintenance of monthly balance in their accounts. Earlier in April, the bank had brought back charges on non-maintenance of monthly average balance (MAB) after a gap of five year.
 
"We have received feedback from our customers on the issue and we are reviewing those. The bank will take into account those and make an informed decision," Rajnish Kumar, the banks managing director (national banking group),  told PTI.  
 
There could be a change in policy, especially for senior citizens and students who have an account with the SBI on the minimum balance issue, he hinted.
 
"We will internally debate whether any moderation for certain categories of customers like senior citizens and students needs to be done anywhere. The charges are never cast in iron," Kumar said.
 
SBI introduced a penalty of up to Rs 100 plus GST in case of failure to maintain the monthly average balance. If the balance falls below 75 per cent of the MAB of Rs 5,000 in metropolitan areas, the penalty is Rs 100 plus GST. For rural areas, the minimum balance is Rs 1,000 and the penalty is between Rs 20 to Rs 50 for non-maintenance of minimum balance.