Ever wondered why millions of students in India prepare for banking entrance exams? With handsome salary and valuable perks comes the chance of growth and job security. A banker commands respect in the industry and in life, most people only wish they had.
If you are aspiring for a coveted banking job, then this is the right platform to gain insights into various banking entrance exams. Listed below are 7 major banking entrance exams that you must keep an eye on.
- IBPS PO Exam
Job Overview: IBPS conducts examinations for Probationary Officer (PO)/ Management Trainee (MT) positions for 21 Public Sector banks. The job profile entails general banking, administration & good communication skills and ability to coordinate with clients and staff members.
Eligibility Criteria: Graduation with minimum aggregate
Expected date of examination: October 2016 (Preliminary) and November 2016 (Main)
Exam Overview: The exam is held in two phases – Preliminary and Main Examination. It is a computer based online examination.
| Preliminary | Main Examination | |
| Exam duration | 01 Hour | 02 Hours |
| Sections | English Language, Quantitative Aptitude & Reasoning Ability | Reasoning, English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, Computer Knowledge, General Awareness |
| No. of questions | 100 | 200 |
| Sectional cutoff | Yes | Yes |
- SBI PO Exam
Job Overview: State Bank of India (SBI) conducts its own banking entrance exams for Probationary Officer (PO) positions. This is one of the most reputed banking entrance exams. The job profile involves general banking skills along with a marketing perspective.
Eligibility Criteria: Graduation
Expected date of examination: July 2016 (Preliminary) and August 2016 (Main)
Exam Overview: The exam is held in two phases – Preliminary and Main Examination. It is a computer based online examination.
| Preliminary | Main Examination | |
| Exam duration | 01 Hour | 3.5 Hours |
| Sections | English Language, Quantitative Aptitude & Reasoning Ability | Objective Test: Reasoning & Computer Aptitude, English Language, Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation, General Awareness
Descriptive Test: Letter writing & Essay |
| No. of questions | 100 | 155 (objective) + 02 (descriptive) |
| Sectional cutoff | Yes | Yes |
- IBPS Specialist Officer
Job Overview: Specialist Officers are appointed to specific departments for specialised roles, viz. IT Officer, Law Officer, Agriculture Officer, Marketing Officer, HR Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari.
Eligibility Criteria: Graduation in specialized domains
Date of exam: January-February
Exam Overview:
| Sections | No. of questions | Marks | Total Time |
| Reasoning | 50 | 50 | 120 Minutes |
| English language | 25 | 25 | |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 50 | 50 | |
| Professional knowledge | 75 | 75 | |
| Total | 200 | 200 |
- SBI Specialist Officer
Job Overview: SBI conducts banking entrance exams for Specialist Officers in Law and IT (Systems) field.
Eligibility Criteria: Graduation in specialized domains
Date of exam: January-February
Paper I: Aptitude (only qualifying in nature)
| Sections | Maximum Marks | Time |
| Test of Reasoning | 50 | |
| English Language | 35 | 90 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | |
| Total | 120 |
Paper II: Professional Knowledge (Merit deciding)
| Sections | Maximum Marks | Time |
| Professional Knowledge | 100 (50 questions, 2marks each) | 45 minutes |
| Total | 100 |
- RBI Grade B Examination
Job Overview: RBI Grade ‘B’ examination is one of the coveted banking entrance exams. This job brings with it a lot of learning opportunities and keeps you updated about inflation and corruption, and important economic policies.
Eligibility Criteria: Graduation with a minimum of marks
Exam Pattern:
(I) Phase I (Online objective exam):
(i) General Awareness (ii) English Language (iii) Quantitative Aptitude and (iv) Reasoning, with composite time of 120 minutes and 200 marks.
(II)Phase II (Objective /Descriptive Online exam):
- Paper I: Economic & Social Issues (Objective Type)
- Paper II: English (Descriptive Type)
- Paper III: Finance and Management
Each of the papers in phase-II will be of 100 marks (total 300 marks) and 3 hours duration.
Expected date of examination: November
- LIC Assistant Administrative Officer (AAO)
Job Overview: Assistant Administrative Officers are responsible for administrative tasks in LIC.
Eligibility Criteria: Graduation
| Exam Pattern | Exam Duration 120 minutes | |
| Subjects | Questions | Marks |
| Reasoning | 30 | 90 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 30 | 90 |
| English Language | 40 | — |
| General Knowledge & Current Affairs | 30 | 60 |
| Computer Knowledge | 30 | 60 |
| Total | 160 | 300 |
Date of examination: March
- IBPS & SBI Clerk
Job Overview: The job profile of a clerk involves working at withdrawal and deposit counters, issuing demand drafts, receipts collection, and more. They work closely with POs and other staff members.
Eligibility Criteria: Graduation
| SBI & IBPS Clerk (Prelims) Test Pattern | Exam Duration 60 minutes | |
| Subjects | Questions | Marks |
| Reasoning | 35 | 35 |
| English Language | 30 | 30 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | 35 |
| Total Questions | 100 | 100 |
| SBI Clerk (Main) Test Pattern | Exam Duration 160 minutes | ||
| Subjects | Questions | Marks | Duration |
| General/Financial Awareness | 50 | 50 | 35 minutes |
| General English | 40 | 40 | 35 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 50 | 50 | 45 minutes |
| Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude | 50 | 60 | 45 minutes |
| Total Questions | 190 | 200 | 2 hours 40 minutes |
IBPS Clerk (Main) Examination: The Main Examination will be an objective online examination for 200 marks.
- Reasoning
- English Language
- Quantitative Aptitude
- General Awareness
- Computer Knowledge
Date of notification: January for SBI Clerk and August for IBPS Clerk
Date of examination: March for SBI Clerk and Nov-Dec for IBPS Clerk
After going through important banking examinations across India, you must set a goal for yourself and start preparing for it. To strengthen your concepts and develop conceptual understanding, you can enroll for any of CL’s banking programs.
All the best!
Team CL
