In India, bank exams are often considered in high regard for aspiring candidates who wish to step into the banking domain. There are multiple bank exams which are conducted by various banks and testing agencies across the country every year. Securing a Bank Job and getting placed in the Banking sector has been one of the most sought after career streams for more than a decade now. Lakhs of aspirants appear for Bank Exams like IBPS PO, IBPS Clerk, IBPS RRB, SBI PO, RBI Grade etc. to get placed in one of the reputed banks of the country every year. These bank exams are conducted at national level throughout the year. Candidates who aspire for a banking career must be aware about all the Banking exams and start preparing.
Banking is an increasingly popular choice of employment for fresh graduates and experienced professionals in India. Banks provide attractive salaries, a measure of job security and many perks for their employees.
Due to such reasons, the competition for bank jobs is increasing at an exponential pace. The competition indicates that aspirants should have a top-notch bank exam preparation to be able to crack the exam and get selected as a bank employee.
We have shared here the detailed information of the top bank exams conducted by the IBPS, SBI and RBI such as IBPS PO/Clerk/SO/RRB, SBI PO/Clerk/SO and RBI Assistant/Grade B Officer and state Cooperative Banks.
| BANK EXAMS | ||
|---|---|---|
| IBPS PO | IBPS CLERK | SBI PO |
| SBI CLERK | IBPS SO | SBI SO |
| RBI Assistant | RBI Grade B | IDBI BANK |
| NABARD Grade A | ECGC PO | Exim Bank SO |
| IBPS RRB PO | IBPS RRB CLERK | SBI Apprentice |
| INSURANCE EXAMS | ||
| GIC Assistant Manager | LIC AO | LIC AAO |
| LIC HFL | NIACL Assistant | NIACL AO |
| OICL AO | OICL Assistant | UIIC AO |
| UIIC Assistant | IRDAI | |
Upcoming Bank Exams
Given below are the list of major upcoming bank exams which are conducted by different banks:
| Agency Publishing the Bank Exam Notification | Upcoming Bank Exam |
|---|---|
| State Bank of India (SBI Exams) | SBI PO Exam |
| SBI SO Exam | |
| SBI Clerk Exam | |
| Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS Exams) | Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS Exams) |
| IBPS SO Exam(CWE SO) | |
| IBPS Clerk Exam(CWE Clerical) | |
| IBPS RRB Exam(CWE RRB) | |
| Reserve Bank of India (RBI Exams) | RBI Officer Grade B Exam |
| RBI Assistant Exam | |
| India Post Payments Bank | IPPB |
| National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development | NABARD Exam |
| Reserve Bank Of India | RBI Grade B Officer |
| Reserve Bank Of India | RBI Assistant |
SBI Bank Exams
The State Bank of India is the largest public sector bank in the country. It recruits employees at two levels through the following SBI exams:
• SBI PO Exam: Also called the SBI Probationary Officers (PO) exam, this exam selects candidates for the management cadre of SBI. The employees selected are called Probationary Officers during their training and move on to management roles after finishing their training.
• The SBI PO Exam consists of three stages:
o SBI PO Preliminary Exam: SBI PO Prelims filters the candidates for the next stage of the exam, retaining about 2.8% of the total number of applicants for the main examination.
o SBI PO Main Exam: Performance of the candidates in the SBI PO Mains determines whether they cut through the next stage of the exam. The main exam consists of two parts:
o Objective test: This test is focussed on knowledge in core areas required in the modern workplace. The SBI PO syllabus consists of Reasoning & Computer Aptitude, Data Analysis & Interpretation, General Knowledge, Economy, Banking Awareness and English.
o Descriptive test: The descriptive test is used to assess the candidates’ usage of written English in a business setting.
o SBI PO Group Discussion and SBI PO Interview: The group discussion and interview is the final stage before a merit list of selected candidates is drawn up.
• SBI SO Exam: The SBI SO exam aims to select Specialist Officers (SO) for the bank. The selection process consists of an interview based on the experience and specialisation of the candidates
• SBI Clerk Exam: The SBI Clerk exam selects Junior Associates for the clerical cadre of the banking giant. It consists of two stages:
o SBI Clerk Preliminary Exam: Known as SBI Clerk Prelims, this exam filters out candidates for the next stage.
o SBI Clerk Mains Exam: Commonly called the SBI Clerk Mains, the marks secured in this exam determine the selection status of candidates as clerks in the State Bank.
IBPS Exams
The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection is an examination body that conducts the selection of employees for a large number of banks. The IBPS conducts several online bank exams for this purpose. The following are the exams conducted by the IBPS:
• IBPS PO Exam: The IBPS PO, officially known as the IBPS CWE (Common Written Examination) selects candidates for the post of Probationary Officers for various public sector banks (PSB) as well as some insurance companies which are its members. The IBPS PO exam pattern consists of three stages:
o IBPS PO Preliminary Exam: This stage serves as a qualifying exam for the next phase. The IBPS PO Prelims exam consists of objective type questions.
o IBPS PO Main Exam: The IBPS PO mains exam serves as the final written exam. Based on the IBPS PO result, the participating banks call candidates for the next stage.
o IBPS Interview: The final phase where candidates have a face to face interactive session with high ranking bank employees in the panel.
• IBPS SO Exam: The IBPS Specialist Officers exam of the IBPS consists of three stages similar to the Probationary Officers exam. They are:
o IBPS SO Preliminary Exam: This stage consists of an objective pattern paper. The bank exam syllabus for this paper varies based on the available specialisations. The paper tests General Awareness, Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude and English.
o IBPS SO Main Exam: The main exam consists of one objective paper on professional knowledge for most specialists. The post of language advisors such as ‘Rajbhasha Adhikari’ consists of an objective and a descriptive paper on their respective subjects.
• IBPS Clerk Exam: The IBPS CRP clerical cadre is used by PSBs to select clerks. It consists of two online bank examinations which are:
o IBPS Clerk Preliminary Examination: An objective paper of one-hour duration tests the candidates’ abilities in English Language, Numerical Ability and Reasoning.
o IBPS Clerk Main Examination: The bank exam syllabus for this one consists of Reasoning, Computer Aptitude, English, Quantitative Aptitude, General and Financial Awareness. The IBPS Clerk Mains result is used to determine the merit ranking of the candidate and their selection as clerks.
• IBPS RRB Exam: The IBPS RRB CRP is for Regional Rural Banks which selects candidates for smaller banks serving rural areas across the country. These include cooperative and public sector banks.
Bank exam conducted to appoint candidates in Regional Rural Banks across the country are held for both Officer and Office Assistant Posts. These posts are categorised as:
• Officer Scale I (IBPS RRB PO)
• Officer Scale II & III
• Officer Assistant (IBPS RRB Clerk)
The examination for these posts consists of two stages which are as follows:
• RRB Preliminary Exam: This exam is used as a qualifying exam for the next round. There are separate papers for Scale I officers and Office Assistants, which are conducted separately.
• RRB Mains Exam: This paper decides the merit position of candidates and is held separately for officers and office assistants. The allotment of banks is based on the RRB exam result.
However, only a single phase of Bank exam is conducted for Officer Scale II and III posts.
The main feature that distinguishes IBPS from other bank exams is the large number of banks who recruit based on its results. The institute also provides the facility of IBPS mock tests and training for candidates desirous of using these facilities.
RBI Exams
RBI is the Central Bank for the country and candidates willing to join the banking sector aspire to enter the Industry by qualifying the Officer or Clerical cadre exams in the Reserve Bank of India.
The Reserve Bank of India conducts its own exams for recruitment to various vacancies in the organisation. The following are the major exams conducted by the Reserve Bank of India:
• RBI Officer Grade B Exam: The apex bank conducts the RBI Officer Grade B exam for the selection of mid-senior level officers of the bank. It consists of recruitment to the General as well as specialist cadres of the RBI. It also includes research positions open for PhD holders in the notified disciplines.
• RBI Assistant Exam: The RBI Assistant exam is conducted to recruit candidates for the post of Assistant in various branches and sub-Officer of RBI. The post is equivalent to the clerical cadre in the banking sector.
• RBI Junior Engineer Exam: RBI Junior Engineer recruitment takes place through this exam. The selected candidates are employed as engineers handling RBI facilities. The specialisation required for this exam is Civil Engineering.
Other Bank Exams
The other major exams conducted for recruitment to banks are IPPB and NABARD officer recruitment. The following are a few details about the exams:
• IPPB Exam: The India Post Payments Bank Exam is open only for candidates with considerable experience in the government sector. It recruits higher management for IPPB under the Department of Posts.
• NABARD Exam: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development recruits Assistant Managers for their operations through this exam.
Apart from these, various Private Sector Banks also release vacancies for clerical and Officer posts. But these do not conduct Bank exams for recruitment, rather opt for Application shortlisting and Interviews to appoint candidates.
As banks are an attractive employment option in the modern economy, aspirants should prepare seriously for the examinations to beat the competition.
IBPS Clerk Salary
Before starting your preparation it is important to know the relevant details about the IBPS Clerk job profile and salary to keep yourself motivated throughout your preparation. This article will surely help you to understand what exactly you can expect out of the IBPS Clerk job after getting selected and how much he is paid.
IBPS Clerk Salary Structure
| Facilities Provided | Salary |
|---|---|
| Basic Pay | ₹ 19900 |
| Special Allowance | ₹ 4102 |
| DA | ₹ 5112 |
| CCA | ₹ 0 |
| TA | ₹ 754 |
| Total (without HRA) | ₹ 31908 |
| HRA | 2139 |
| Gross Salary | ₹ 29156 |
* DA - Dearness allowances
* CCA - City Compensatory Allowance
* TA - Transport Allowance
* HRA - House Rent Allowance
• Dearness allowances: DA is 4% of basic pay and revised quarterly for every 3 months which is based on CPI (Consumer Price Index) declared by the banks.
• House Rent Allowance: HRA is 7-9% of basic pay. HRA is different in different cities.
| Cities | HRA % |
|---|---|
| Metro cities | 8.5 |
| Cities with a population more than 5 lakhs | 7.5 |
| Other cities | 6.5 |
• Special Allowance: 7.5%
• After completion of the one-year service, you will an increment of 400/- and ₹ 500 increments in the 2nd year.
• After the 10th Bipartite Wage Settlement of 2015, a Bank Clerk’s salary has increased from now salary ₹ 21,117 to ₹ 31,908.
Note: Salary in Public Sector banks are revised as per the banking norms only. It is to be noted that the promotion of an individual is judged by the performance of an individual.
IBPS Clerk Job Profile
There are different types of job profile of a bank clerk, like Accounts Clerk, Data entry Clerk, Office Clerk, Loan clerks, etc. you will shift lower to upper-level clerk post according to bank policies. The clerk is the first point of contact person for inquiries & guidance.
In every bank, a Clerk is an important post. An important role of the clerk in the bank is to handle many valuable works related to the customer’s accounts and solves their complaints and issues.
The job description of a Bank Clerk is not limited to a single type of duty like in accounting. As a Bank Clerk, your major roles and responsibilities will be the following.
• Banking Document Verification
• Manning Single Window Counter task time to time
• Issue Cash Receipts and ESI Stamps at Counters
• Attending to Government Treasury Work
• Pass Books Updation of Account Holders
• A bank clerk also performs back-office works like a collection of receipts, maintenance of ledger, balance tally, etc.
• The bank clerk is responsible for sanction withdrawals, verifying cheques, issuing demand drafts (as per request), and other services to the customers.
• A bank clerk is also Holds the bank cash, bank keys, and other valuables in safe custody and others.
• The bank clerk is also responsible for market financial products of the bank such as deposits, loans, and schemes to visitors.
• However, with the digitization of the bank, these days the job profile of bank clerk is mostly related to working on the computer and entering the day-to-day transaction.
• Because of the dealing of a bank clerk with the customers, their job profile is also known as Single Window Operators.
IBPS Clerk Career Growth
After becoming a bank clerk, you will get multiple chances to get promoted to a higher level. Most of the bank aspirants want to become officers. All the candidates who wish to get a promotion from clerk to Officer need to apply for the promotion test and appeared for examination as well and also undergo their service for at least a period of 2 years in order to be eligible for promotion to Officer.
The promotions are conducted every 2 years and clerks have the opportunity to take part in it and eligible for promotion to Officer. There are two processes for clerical to Officer Promotion:
1. Normal process
2. Merit basis process
These two processes are applied to individual candidates depending on their performance and experience in banking services.
(1) Under the Normal process, the employee (bank clerk) has to qualify written exam and on the basis of his experience and seniority in the services of the bank, he can be selected as Officer. In this process no JAIIB and CAIIB diplomas are compulsory. After clearing this exam, you will become a Trainee Officer (TO). Trainee Officers can later become Probationary Officers (PO).
(2) Merit basis process: Two-year service (minimum) as a clerk with a JAIIB and CAIIB diploma conducted by the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance (IIBF) is a must with a graduate/post-graduate degree.
After becoming Probationary Officers (PO) there are seven scales in officer cadre:
• Scale 1 – Officer / Assistant Manager
• Scale 2 – Manager
• Scale 3 – Senior Manager
• Scale 4 – Chief Manager
• Scale 5 – Asst. General Manager
• Scale 6 – Deputy General Manager
• Scale 7 – General Manager
BANK EXAM SYLLABUS
Almost all bank exams include a similar syllabus, which may only vary from prelims to mains. However, the bank syllabus is also a bit different for distinctive posts such as PO, Clerk etc.
Bank PO Prelims Syllabus
| English Language | Quantitative Aptitude | Reasoning Ability |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | Simplification/Approximation | Coding-Decoding |
| Spotting Errors | Data Interpretation | Puzzles and Seating Arrangement |
| Cloze Test | Quadratic Equations | Syllogism |
| Fillers | Number Series | Input-Output |
| Para jumbles | Miscellaneous Questions | Inequality |
| Sentence Improvement | - | Alphanumeric Questions |
| Vocabulary-based Questions | - | Miscellaneous Questions |
Bank PO Mains Syllabus
| English Language | Quantitative Aptitude | Reasoning Ability |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | Data Interpretation | Puzzles and Seating Arrangement |
| Double Fillers | Number Series | Inequality |
| Sentence Rearrangement | Simplification/Approximation | Syllogism |
| Sentence Connectors | Arithmetic Problems | Input-Output |
| Para jumbles | Quadratic Equations | Coding-Decoding |
| Sentence Improvement | Data Sufficiency | Logical Reasoning |
| Sentence/Paragraph Completion | Quantity Based Questions | Data Sufficiency |
| Spotting Errors | Miscellaneous Questions | Miscellaneous Questions |
Bank Clerk Prelims Syllabus
| English Language | Quantitative Aptitude | Quantitative Aptitude |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | Number Series | Syllogism |
| Error correction | Data Interpretation | Coding-Decoding |
| Cloze Test | Quadratic Equations | Inequality |
| Error detection | Quantity based questions | Data Sufficiency |
| Para jumbles | Simplification/Approximation | Puzzles and Seating Arrangement |
| Fillers | Miscellaneous Questions | Alphanumeric Questions |
| Vocabulary-based Questions | - | Miscellaneous Questions |
Bank Clerk Mains Syllabus
| English Language | Quantitative Aptitude | Reasoning Ability | General Awareness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | Data Interpretation | Syllogism | Current Affairs |
| Vocabulary | Simplification | Inequality | Banking Awareness |
| Cloze Test | Quadratic Equations | Circular Seating Arrangement | Static GK |
| Fillers | Number Series | Linear Seating Arrangement | Financial Awareness |
| Odd One Out/ Theme-based questions | Quantity Based Questions | Puzzle | - |
| Para jumbles | Data Sufficiency | Blood Relation | - |
| Sentence Improvement | Miscellaneous Questions | Coding-Decoding | - |
| Sentence/Paragraph Completion | - | Order and Ranking | - |
| Spotting Errors | - | Data Sufficiency | - |
| - | - | Direction Sense | - |
BANK EXAMS PREPARATION TIPS
Practice Online bank exam mock tests to reach out to an advanced level of preparation along with which you can identify your strengths and weaknesses easily. It will also enable you to hold on to major components required to crack the exam that is time management and accuracy. Hence, start your preparation for bank exams now for a better tomorrow.
BANK EXAMS PREPARATION TIPS
If you are really willing to join the reputed Banking Sector and want to become a Banker, it is really necessary to devise a proper strategy and work accordingly to scale Bank Exams. With SBI escalating the level of competition of paper through SBI PO and SBI Clerk, it is really important to get acquainted with the latest exam pattern of Bank Exams and not fall behind your competitors.
Practice through Online Banking Mock Test Series and know your strengths and weaknesses. Go for offline/ online Classes to enhance your skills and accelerate your preparation for Bank Exams. Always focus on the Syllabus of the Bank Exam you are appearing for.
Time management and Accuracy are two key factors that you should keep in mind while preparing for Bank Exams. So, you can start your preparation with Latest Banking Books and start your extensive preparation for Bank Exams today!