PNB waives penal charges for non-maintenance of minimum balance in savings accounts; check details

PNB share price: The public sector bank, in a bid to strengthen financial inclusion and customer empowerment, has waived penal charges for non-maintenance of minimum average balance (MAB) in all savings accounts. PNB share price: Shares of Punjab National Bank (PNB), the state-run lender, were trading flat with a negative bias in the morning trade on Wednesday, July 2. The public sector bank, in a bid to strengthen financial inclusion and customer empowerment, has waived penal charges for non-maintenance of minimum average balance (MAB) in all savings accounts. This customer-first initiative, effective from July 1, 2025, is particularly aimed at supporting priority segments, such as women, farmers and low-income households, ensuring easier and more inclusive access to banking services without the stress of balance maintenance penalties, PNB said in a statement. PNB MD & CEO Ashok Chandra said, "This decision reflects our unwavering commitment to inclusive banking. We believe that waiving these charges will ease financial pressure on customers and encourage greater participation in the formal banking ecosystem." With this step, PNB reaffirms its role as a socially responsible and customer-centric institution, dedicated to making banking more accessible and equitable for all, the bank said. PNB: Recent updates Earlier in June 2025, Punjab National Bank said it had sold its entire 21% stake in India SME Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (ISARC) for ₹34 crore. In March, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) granted approval for a change in the sponsor of the asset reconstruction company and equity raise from Authum Investment and Infrastructure Ltd, PNB said in a regulatory filing. The bank completed the sale of a 20.90% stake in June, it said. It sold 2.09 crore shares of the asset reconstruction company for ₹16.29 per share, aggregating ₹34.04 crore. The bank had entered into a definitive agreement to sell its entire stake in ISARC in May. For the financial year ended March 31, 2025, ISARC had earned a net profit of ₹19.79 crore with a total income of ₹36.4 crore. Prior to the stake sale, ISARC was sponsored by SIDBI, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, and SIDBI Venture Capital Ltd. PNB Targets ₹16,000 Crore Recovery, Sub 1% In May 2025, Punjab National Bank's top official said the lender was targeting a significant recovery of ₹16,000 crore and aims to keep slippages below 1% in the current fiscal year to sustain profitability, the top official of the country's second biggest state-owned lender said. The total recovery of the bank stood at ₹4,733 crore for the fourth quarter and ₹14,336 crore for FY25, while the overall slippages ratio was 0.73% during the last financial year. "Going forward, maximisation of recovery and preventing fresh slippages are going to be priority areas. We are targeting a higher total recovery of ₹16,000 crore as against a recovery of about ₹14,000 crore in FY'25... We are expecting that quarterly our slippages will be in the range of around ₹1,500 crore to ₹1,700 crore," PNB MD and CEO Ashok Chandra told PTI in an interview. (With inputs from PTI)