Bank Exams 2023

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One of the prominent sectors of the economy, banks play a vital role in our day to day life. Ranging from providing cash to sanctioning loans and maintaining stability in the market, they do it all with the help of individuals proficient in handling both people and the economic requirements of the society. Every year, lakhs of candidates aim to make a career in banking, some take up banking courses while others take the route of competitive exams to work in this sector. These Exams are regularly conducted to recruit an array of professionals and train them to fit into the mould of banks. These exams are specially designed to check the knowledge of the candidates in the sections like Reasoning, English Language, Aptitude, Basic General Knowledge etc. If you also aspire to be a bank employee, this blog will help you elucidate the top bank exams.  

Overview: Bank Exams

These competitive top bank exams are designed to thoroughly gauge the skills of the students in a majority of the arena. These tests are majorly held in 3 phases such as the Preliminary exam, Mains exam followed by an interview. All the 3 stages are of equal importance and the candidates have to qualify every stage to acquire the recruiting post. The conducting mode of all these exams is online and there would be objective type questions in the exam. For every correct answer, students will be allotted 1 mark and ¼ of the mark will be deducted in the case of incorrect answers. Majorly there are 5 sections in the exam, namely:

  1. Reasoning Ability (Mains & Prelims)
  2. English Language  (Mains & Prelims)
  3. Quantitative Aptitude  (Mains & Prelims)
  4. General/ Economy/ Financial/ Banking Awareness (Mains)
  5. Computer Aptitude (Mains)

You cannot miss: Best Books For Bank Exams 

Types of Bank Exams

Role of personnel working in Banks may vary as per the exam they clear. Bank Exams can be categorized into 3 broad categories based on the kind of tests conducted at the national and state level in the country. The table given below depicts the role & responsibility of professionals working at different levels in a bank: 

Position Roles
Bank SO – Specialist Officer Responsibility of Bank SO depends on the department they are handling. They are qualified to work as Marketing Officer, HR Manager, Agricultural Officer, IT Officer, Law Officer, etc. 

The exams and eligibility to become bank SO vary from post to post. 

Bank PO – Probationary Officer Have to manage Accounting, Finance, Investing and Billing of the entire branch. 

Also involved in managing loans, budget and investments. 

Handles customer issues related to accounts and cheques.

Bank Clerk Deals with customers on one to one level. 

Checks documents of customers and help them with basic requirements.

Updates accounts of customers. 

Exam Schedule 2022-23

With the new year comes new opportunities. If you are an aspiring banker then you must check the exam schedule for the 2021-22 bank exams:

Name of Exam Date of Registration  Date of Exam 
IBPS SO (Specialist Officer) 2023 Notification: 31st October 2022
Online Registration: 1st November 2022
Preliminary level Exam: 30th December 2023 – 31st December 2023
Mains Exam: 28th Jan 2023
IBPS PO 2021 2nd week of August 2021 Preliminary Exam: 1st week of October 2021
Mains Exam: 3rd week of November 2021
IBPS Clerk 2021 Between September 2021 – October 2021 Preliminary Exam: December 2021Mains Exam: January 2022
IBPS RRB Officer (Grade B) 2021 Online Registration: July 2021 Preliminary Exam: Scale 1 Officer: 1st week of August 2021
Office Assistant: August-September 2021
Mains Exam: Scale 1 Officer: September 2021
Office Assistants: October 2021
IBPS RRB Exam 2021 July 2021 Date of Exam: 3rd, 4th and 11th August 2021
SBI Clerk 2021 January 2021 Preliminary Exam: July 2021Mains Exam: 5th August 2021
SBO SO (Specialist Officer 2021) Notification to be issued: January 2021
Registration: January 2021
Written Exam: February 2021
SBI PO 2021 April-May 2021 Preliminary Exam: July 2021
Mains Exam: August 2021
RBI SO 2021 Release of Notification: August 2021
Dates for Online Registration: August to September 2021
Written Exam: October 2021
Round of Interviews: December 2021
RBI Assistant 2021 Release of Notification: October 2021
Dates for Online Registration: October to November 2021
Preliminary Exam: January 2022
Mains Exam: February 2022
NABARD 2021 March – April 2021 Preliminary Exam: May 2021
Mains Exam: June 2021
RBI Grade B 2021 June – July 2021 Preliminary Exam: August 2021
Mains Exam: September 2021

Top 10 Bank Exams in 2021

Before finding an answer to How To Prepare For Bank Exams? One must know the options available for them. Here is a list of the choicest bank exams that can help you scale your career in 2020:

SBI PO (State Bank of India)

Annually, the State Bank of India conducts a national-level exam for the post of Probationary Officer in the branches of SBI. Being one of the oldest and the most prominent bank exams, SBI PO aims to gauge the overall skills of the candidates appearing in the exam. The application process for this exam will start in April 2021. 

Level Number of Questions  Total Marks  Duration 
Preliminary  100  100  1 hour 
Mains  155 200 3hourss 

Have a look at Bank Exam Preparation Apps

IBPS PO (The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection)

To recruit the candidates for the post of Probationary Officers for all the public sector banks, the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection organizes the IBPS PO exam. The selected applicants are employed Bank of India, Canara Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, etc. The application process will start by the 1st week of August 2021. 

Level Number of Questions  Total Marks  Duration 
Preliminary  100  100  1 hour 
Mains  200 200 2 hours 20 minutes 

RBI Grade B (Reserve Bank of India)

If you dream about entering the apex institution of India, then the RBI Grade B exam can be your gateway. This is one of the most famous bank exams and the only path that leads to working in the Reserve Bank of India. Through this exam, the candidates can enter officer-level positions in the RBI. Unlike the other competitive exams, RBI Grade B exam has 4 sections in the preliminary exam which the candidates have to solve 200 questions in 2 hours and in the mains, there will be 3 distinct paper namely- 

Papers (Mains) Description  Time  Marks 
Paper 1 Economics and Social Issues  90 minutes  100
Paper 2  English (Descriptive)  90 minutes  100
Paper 3 Finance Management  90 minutes  100
Subject (Preliminary) Number of Questions  Total Marks 
General Awareness  80 80 
Reasoning  60 60
English Language  30 30
Quantitative Aptitude  30 30
Total  200 200

Bonus: Investment Banking Jobs  

NABARD Grade A and B Officer

Every year the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development organizes national level recruitment exams for multiple posts. NABARD Grade A and B recruit candidates against Assistant Manager post. The last date to apply for one of the leading bank exams for the year 2021 is 12th January 2021. Apart from the above mentioned 5 sections, there will be 2 more sections in the preliminary exam which will in total offer 200 questions of 200 marks and the appearing candidates have to solve them in 2 hours. The other part includes Economic and Social Issue and Agriculture and Rural Development. 

Papers (Mains) Discription  Time  Marks 
Paper 1 English (Descriptive) 90 minutes  100
Paper 2  Agriculture  90 minutes  100
Paper 3 Finance & Management,
Statistics, Development Economics 
90 minutes  100

Know About: MBA in Banking 

SBI Clerk

This competitive exam takes place every year to test and select the candidates for the posts of clerical cadre or Junior Assistants by the State Bank of India. Since the exam is for clerical level recruitment hence, there are only two phases of the exam i.e., Prelims and Mains. The pattern of the SBI Clerk exam is a bit different from the other exams. Here is a detailed description of both the phases:

Sections(Preliminary)  Number of Questions  Duration  Marks 
Numerical Ability  35 20 minutes  35
English Language  30 20 minutes  30
Reasoning Ability  35 20 minutes  35
Total  100 60 minutes  100
Sections(Mains)  Number of Questions  Duration  Marks 
General English   40 35 minutes  40
General/ Financial Awareness   50 35 minutes  50
Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude   50 45 minutes  60
Quantitative Aptitude  50 45 minutes  60
Total  190 2 hours 40 minutes  200

Must Read: English For Bank Exams 

IBPS Clerk

IBPS also conducts an exam for clerical cadre position for all public banks except SBI. Exam Pattern: The IBPS Exam Pattern has two phases:

Phase 1: Preliminary Examination
Phase 2: Mains Examination

The Phase 1 and Phase 2 are objective based MCQs. The exam include questions on

  1. Reasoning Ability
  2. Quantitative Aptitude 
  3. English Language
  4. General/Economy/Banking Awareness (Only in Mains)
  5. Computer Aptitude (Only in Mains)

IBPS RRB Officer Scale I 

IBPS recruits officers for Regional Rural Banks of India. Exam Pattern: IBPS PO Exam has three phases:

Phase 1: Preliminary Examination (Online)
Phase 2: Mains Examination (Online)
Phase 3: Personal Interview

The Phase 1 and Phase 2 are objective based MCQs. The exam include questions on

  1. Reasoning Ability
  2. Quantitative Aptitude 
  3. English Language
  4. General/Economy/Banking Awareness (Only in Mains)
  5. Computer Aptitude (Only in Mains)

IBPS RRB Office Assistant

IBPS recruits Office assistants for Regional Rural Banks of India. Exam Pattern: IBPS PO Exam has two Phases –

Phase 1: Preliminary Examination (Online)
Phase 2: Mains Examination (Online)

The Phase 1 and Phase 2 are objective based MCQs. The exam include questions on

  1. Reasoning Ability
  2. Quantitative Aptitude 
  3. English Language
  4. General/Economy/Banking Awareness (Only in Mains)
  5. Computer Aptitude (Only in Mains)

RBI Office Assistant

RBI conducts RBI Office Assistant Examination for the recruitment of clerical and assistant cadre posts. Exam Pattern: RBI Office Assistant has two Phases –

Phase 1: Preliminary Examination
Phase 2: Mains Examination

The Phase 1 are objective based MCQs. The exam include questions on

  1. Reasoning Ability
  2. Quantitative Aptitude 
  3. English Language
  4. General Awareness 

The Phase 2 are objective based MCQs. The exam include questions on

  1. Economic and Social Issues
  2. English Language
  3. Finance and Management/Economics/Statistics.

NABARD Development Assistant

NABARD conducts exams called NABARD Development Assistant for recruitment of clerical cadre posts. It has two phases –

Phase 1: Preliminary Examination
Phase 2: Mains Examination

The Phase 1 and Phase 2 are objective based MCQs. The exam include questions on

  1. Reasoning Ability
  2. Quantitative Aptitude 
  3. English Language
  4. General/Economy/Banking Awareness (Only in Mains)
  5. Computer Aptitude (Only in Mains)

Syllabus for Bank Exams 2021

Each post may have a different syllabus and can vary from the other one. However, there are a few topics which are common to all exams. You can check out some of the common important topics which will help you prepare for your exam:

Name of Subject Topics Covered
Quantitative Aptitude Simple Interest and Compound Interest, Percentage and Averages, Time and Work, Series, Surds and Indices, Number Systems, Ratio and Proportion, etc.
English Language Sentence Correction, Error Spotting, One-word Substitution, Jumbled Sentences, Reading Comprehension
Reasoning Ability  Coding-Decoding, Logical Reasoning, Alphanumeric Series, Non-Verbal Reasoning, Coded Inequalities, Ranking/ Alphabet Test, etc.
General Knowledge and Current Affairs Economy based current affairs, Constitution, Banking News, Government Schemes, National and International Events, Indian History, etc.

FAQs

Q1. What is the minimum educational qualification for bank exams?

The minimum qualification for bank exams is graduation.

Q2. What are the total marks of the NABARD prelims exam?

The NABARD Prelims Exam is conducted for 200 marks.

Q3. How are the candidates shortlisted for the Interview?

Candidates are shortlisted for the interview based on their performance in the Phase 2 exam. 

Q4.  Is there any bond in SBI PO?

Yes, The selected candidates, at the time of joining, will have to execute a bond of Rs 2 lakh to serve the bank for a minimum period of three years.

Q5. What stream should I graduate from to apply for Bank Exams?

You can apply from any stream in graduation. 

Apart from these Bank Exams, one can also sign up for Banking Courses After Graduation in order to study the working of banks closely. To find a course that will answer your question How To Become A Bank Manager, let Leverage Edu be your helping hand. Get in touch with our experts and get your career sorted!

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7 comments
    1. Hey Tamchi!

      There are different types of bank exams for different posts/positions, if you still have doubts then please get in touch with our experts on this number-1800572000!

  1. How we enter in RBI ?for GRADE B post what the Procceser whats the form will have fill I don’t know plzz tell me

    1. Hi Monika!

      Thank you for reaching out to us. Here is a blog that will help you with all your doubts-https://leverageedu.com/blog/rbi-grade-b/
      If you have more queries, please contact our experts through this number -1800572000! All the best.

    2. Hi .. can I appear the exam after the maximum year “26” after finishing diploma in banking course?

    1. Hi Pooja!
      Here are some upcoming banking exams-
      IBPS PO 2021
      IBPS RRB Exam 2021
      RBI SO 2021
      NARBARD Recruitment 2021
      To know more, please check out the list given in the blog! Thank you.

    1. Hey Tamchi!

      There are different types of bank exams for different posts/positions, if you still have doubts then please get in touch with our experts on this number-1800572000!

  1. How we enter in RBI ?for GRADE B post what the Procceser whats the form will have fill I don’t know plzz tell me

    1. Hi Monika!

      Thank you for reaching out to us. Here is a blog that will help you with all your doubts-https://leverageedu.com/blog/rbi-grade-b/
      If you have more queries, please contact our experts through this number -1800572000! All the best.

    2. Hi .. can I appear the exam after the maximum year “26” after finishing diploma in banking course?

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