HSBC wants only the wealthier of clients

Now you will need to maintain a cash balance of Rs 150,000 every month in your savings account with Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC)'s India branches. But even then you will only qualify as one of its 'mass market' customers.

The foreign lender has revised the minimum average monthly balance for its basic savings account, other than the no-frills account and corporate salary account, to Rs 150,000 with effect from January, 2014. The average monthly balance is a combination of savings account, current account and fixed deposit balances. The customer will have to pay a charge if he fails to maintain the average monthly balance.

The minimum balance requirement for the savings account is only waived if it is a corporate salary account or the customer has a mortgage relationship with HSBC and equated monthly instalments (EMIs) are debited from this account towards servicing of the housing loan availed from the foreign lender. The waiver will be valid only during the loan repayment period.

“Pursuant to the termination of the mortgage relationship, the waiver will cease and customers will have to maintain the average monthly balance requirements of HSBC savings account as per the applicable rules,” the bank said on its website.

Also, customers holding multiple savings accounts with the bank will have to maintain the minimum balance requirement separately for each account if the account operating style is different.

In other words, if a customer holds two savings accounts under a single name, the aggregate balance of the two accounts will be considered while calculating the average monthly balance. But if the same customer maintains a joint account with signature rule of 'either or survivor', or any other signature mandate, he has to meet the minimum balance requirement separately for the single accounts and the joint account. The average monthly balance for HSBC's savings account was Rs 75,000 earlier. It was a combination of savings account, current account and fixed deposit balances, including a minimum monthly balance of Rs 25,000 in the savings or current account.

It is learnt that HSBC markets the savings account mainly to 'mass market' customers.

For the affluent segment, the bank offers 'HSBC Advance' and 'HSBC Premier' propositions.

In HSBC Advance, a customer has to maintain a quarterly total relationship balance of Rs 3 lakh in a combination of savings and current account balances, term deposits, holdings in demat account with the bank, investments and life insurance through the foreign lender. For HSBC Premier customers the total relationship balance is Rs 25 lakh on a quarterly basis, the bank's website showed.

HSBC is the second-largest foreign bank in the country in terms of branch network. The foreign lender currently has 50 branches across India.