In our country, bank exams are often considered in high regard for aspirates who wish to step into the banking domain. There are multiple bank exams which are conducted by various banks and testing agencies across India every year. As bank jobs provide security & stability, many find it as a lucrative career. Due to the perks it offers, the competition for bank jobs is increasing at an exponential pace.
For anyone who aspires to join the banking sector, they need to be well aware of the bank exam syllabus and the selection process that is followed by each recruiting body to appoint the aspirants at various posts. In this article, we will discuss about the essential online bank exams.
Given below are the list of the bank exams which are conducted by different banks:
SBI Bank Exams:
The State Bank of India is the largest public sector bank in our country. It recruits employees through the following SBI exams:
SBI PO Exam: This exam selects candidates for the management cadre of State Bank of India. The employees selected during their training and move on to management roles after finishing their training.
The SBI PO Exam consists of three stages:
SBI PO Preliminary Exam: It filters the candidates for the next stage of the exam, retaining about 2.8% of the total number of applicants for the main examination.
SBI PO Main Exam: Performance of the candidates in it determines whether they cut through the next stage of the exam. The main exam consists of two parts:
Objective test: This test is focused 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.
Descriptive test: This test is used to assess the candidates’ usage of written English in a business setting.
SBI PO Group Discussion and SBI PO Interview: The group discussion and interview is the final stage before a merit list of selected aspirants is drawn up.
SBI SO Exam: It aims to select Specialist Officers (SO) for the bank. The selection process consists of an interview based on the experience and specialization of the candidates.
SBI Clerk Exam: This exam selects Junior Associates for the clerical cadre of the banking giant. It consists of two stages:
SBI Clerk Preliminary Exam: This exam filters out candidates for the next stage.
SBI Clerk Mains Exam: 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(IBPS) is an examination body that conducts the selection of employees for a large number of banks. The following are the exams conducted by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection:
IBPS PO Exam: It is also known as the IBPS CWE (Common Written Examination) selects candidates for the post of PO for various public sector banks (PSB) as well as some insurance companies which are its members. The IBPS PO exam pattern consists of 3 stages:
IBPS PO Preliminary Exam: It serves as a qualifying exam for the next phase. The IBPS PO Prelims exam consists of objective type questions.
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.
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:
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.
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:
IBPS Clerk Preliminary Examination: An objective paper of one-hour duration tests the candidates’ abilities in English Language, Numerical Ability and Reasoning.
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.
NABARD Exam
Apart from these, 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.
JOBS:
Bank Exam profiles can be categorized into three
main categories that are Probationary Officer(PO), Clerk and Specialist Officer(SO)
Bank
PO:
Eligibility Criteria:
- Age of the applicant must lie between 21 - 30 to apply for the Bank PO exam.
- Candidate must have a under graduation degree to apply for the Bank PO exam.
- There must be no criminal record against the applicant.
Description:
- A Bank Probationary Officer has to manage multiple operations of a bank branch like Finance, Billing, Accounting and Investment.
- He/She has to address the customer complaints, Discrepancies in Accounts and Rectification of undue charges.
- Later, a Bank Probationary Officer is involved in planning & managing loans, creating a budget and investment management.
Salary: Rs 5.57 Lakh to Rs 8 Lakhs per annum.
Bank
Clerk:
Eligibility Criteria:
- Candidates applying for Bank Clerk Exam must be 20 to 28 years old.
- Candidates must possess a graduate degree in any stream and specialization from a well-recognized university.
- Applicants must not hold any criminal record while applying for Bank Clerk Exam.
Description:
- A Bank Clerk deals with the customers directly.
- Ensures all the documents are correct while opening a new account.
- Updates customer accounts.
- Calls up customers for advances.
Salary: Rs 3 Lakhs to Rs 3.8 Lakhs
per annum
Specialist
Officer:
Eligibility Criteria:
- There are different positions offered under the Bank SO Examination with different age limits. in general, the minimum age for is 21 and the maximum is 45 years.
- Applicants must have a graduation degree to apply for the Bank SO posts.
Description:
- A role of Specialist Officer(SO) varies as per the position.
- Some of the positions of SO are - IT Officer, Marketing Officer, Law Officer, Human Resource Manager and Agricultural Officer.
Salary: Rs 4 Lakhs to Rs 4.6 Lakhs
per annum.
We will be covering detailed every bank test and its career prospects very soon. Till then, stay connected.