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Bank PO

Updated: Mar 10, 2024

Students who are in the last year of graduation or have already graduated and aspire to be a bank PO must start the preparation now. However, before you start your preparation you need to clarify certain things like what a Bank PO is, how many banking exams are there, what’s the syllabus, does the syllabus changes from bank to bank, etc. 

What is a Bank PO Exam?

A bank PO is a Probationary officer of a bank who looks after the management. The bank PO exam is to recruit candidates for the same.

The exam pattern and syllabus may vary if you are specifically targeting the SBI PO exam rather than other bank PO exams. Moreover, some reputed private banks in India conduct their exams to recruit candidates. 

Therefore, suppose you are aiming for the ICICI Bank PO exam, you need to log in to their official website to check if they have vacancies or not. If yes, you will be guided throughout the process by the website itself. On the other hand, for other banks like Canara, Union, etc, you need to appear for the IBPS PO exam and as you all know SBI conducts its separate examination and the preparation strategy would also be different in that case due to standard questions and immense need of speed during the examination. 

So, before we move on to discussing the important dates and syllabus, let’s see which exam you should be preparing for according to the bank. 

As already mentioned, if you want to become an SBI PO, you need to prepare for the SBI PO exam. However, if you want to become a PO in these below-mentioned banks, you need to appear for IBPS PO exams. The banks are as follows: 

  • Punjab National Bank

  • UCO Bank

  • Central Bank of India

  • Bank of Baroda

  • Indian Bank

  • Canara Bank

  • Union Bank of India

  • Bank of India

  • Punjab and Sind Bank

  • Indian Overseas Bank

Furthermore, Private banks such as ICICI, IDFC, HDFC, AXIS, etc conduct their exam separately. You need to visit their website to look for the vacancies. 

So, now the entire concept is clear how to navigate your preparation. Let’s look at the criteria to appear for the examinations. Except for some categories, all the eligibility standards are pretty much similar. 

Eligibility Criteria (Bank PO Exam 2024)

The eligibility criteria for the Bank PO exam remain the same irrespective of the banks you are preparing for. The criteria focus on age, nationality, and educational qualifications. The same information is as follows: 

Age Limit:

Any graduate can apply for this examination. The age limit is 21-30 years. However, there are age relaxations for special category applicants which are mentioned below: 


  • 3 years for OBC candidates 

  • 5 years for SC/ST candidates

  • 10 years for PWD+General candidates

  • 13 years for PWD+OBC candidates

  • 15 years for PWD+SC/ST candidates

National Identification:

Indian nationality is a must for this examination. Candidates from Nepal, and Bhutan. Burma, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zaire, Tanzania, Malawi, etc who came to India to settle down before 1st Jan 1962 can also appear for this exam. 

Attempts:

A candidate can appear as many times as he can until the age of 30.

Important Dates for Bank PO Exam 2024

As different banking exams are conducted at different times throughout the year, candidates need to keep an eye on the respective websites to know the dates so that they don’t confuse one with the other. Below we have mentioned the important dates related to different bank PO exams. 

SBI PO Exam 2024 Dates:

Dates

Occasion

First Notification Release

September 2024

Application Submission Duration

September-October 2024

Fee Payment

Same as Above

Admit Card Availability 

October-November

Prelims Exam date

November

Prelims Result Date

Not Specified Yet

Mains Exam Date

December

Mains Result Date

Not released Yet

Interview Date

Yet to be Updated

Final Result Date

Yet to be Updated

IBPS PO Exam 2024 Dates:

Dates

Occasion

First Notification Release

Between July and August 2024

Application Submission Duration

August 2024

Fee Payment

Same as Above

Admit Card Availability 

September 2024

Prelims Exam date

September-October 2024

Prelims Result Date

October 2024

Mains Exam Date

November 2024

Mains Result Date

Same as above

Interview Date

January-February 2025

Final Result Date

April 2025


So, these are the two major bank PO exams in India. To know more, you can always refer to their official websites.  Now, let’s see when Private banks will be conducting the examination.

Axis Bank PO Exam Schedule:

Axis Bank has 1900 vacancies that will be available this year. However, it hasn’t released any notification regarding the 2024 examination. Please refer to https://www.axisbank.com/careers for any updates.

ICICI Bank PO Exam Schedule:

The ICICI Bank PO exam is about to be held in February 2024. However, for more details, you should refer to https://www.icicicareers.com/.

IDFC Bank PO Exam Schedule:

The examination process will start in October 2024. To get more updates, visit https://careers.idfcfirstbank.com/.

HDFC Bank PO Exam Schedule:

No updates have been made from this bank. Keep an eye on https://www.hdfcbank.com/personal/about-us/careers.

Bank PO Exam 2024 Response Sheet

Individuals can simply download the response sheet from the respective sites and see their right and wrong answers. It usually gets released in a week or two after the completion of the examination.

Indian Bank PO Exam Application Procedure

The application process comprises 4 stages: registration, application submission, fee payment, and admit card collection. 

Registration:

As soon as the notification is released regarding the application. Candidates need to visit the official website of SBI, IBPS, or any other private bank website. After that, they need to create an account to move further in the application process. 

Application Submission:

After that, you need to fill out the application form with all the details including photographs, signs, Marksheets, etc. Please upload the documents in PDF format. 

Fee Payment:

Then, candidates are required to pay the application fees to conclude the entire process.

Admit Card Collection:

The admit card will have all the information regarding the exam. Candidates can collect the same from the respective websites. 

Fee Structure for Bank PO Application

If we talk about IBPS, for general/ OBC candidates it is around 850, and for SC/ST/PWD, it is 175. For the SBI PO exam, general and OBC candidates must pay 750 while others get to appear for the exam free. To apply for private banks, there is no application fee. 

Bank PO Exam Pattern (2024)

The Bank PO exam tests different abilities of the candidates through aptitude and logical reasoning tests, some banks conduct psycho tests too. There will be a negative marking of 0.25 numbers as well. Usually, there are three stages, prelims, mains, and interview. However, refer to the below-mentioned tables for a detailed view.

SBI PO Exam Pattern:

Exam Stage

Sections

Number of Questions

Marks

Total Marks

Time

Prelims

1. English Language

2. Quantitive Aptitude

3. Reasoning Ability

1.   30

2.   35

3.   35

1.  30

2.  35

3.  35

100

20 Minutes Each


Total 1 Hour

Mains (Objective)

1. Reasoning and Computer Aptitude

2. Data Analysis and Interpretation

3. General/Economy/Banking Awareness

4. English Language

  1. 40


  1. 30


  1. 50


  1. 35

  1. 50


  1. 50


  1. 60


  1. 40

200

3 Hours

Mains (Descriptive)


2

50

50

30 Minutes

IBPS PO Exam Pattern:

Exam Stage

Sections

Number of Questions

Marks

Total Marks

Time

Prelims

1. English Language

2. Quantitive Aptitude

3. Reasoning Ability

1.   30

2.   35

3.   35

1.  30

2.  35

3.  35

100

20 Minutes Each


Total 1 Hour

Mains

1. Reasoning and Computer Aptitude

2. Data Analysis and Interpretation

3. General/Economy/Banking Awareness

4. English Language

45




35




40




35

60




60




40




40

200

60 min




45 min




35 min




40 min

Total: 180 Minutes

Mains (English letter and essay writing)


2

25


30 minutes

PO Exam Pattern for ICICI Bank:

There will be 2 rounds. First, the aptitude test, second, a video assessment test. The pattern for the aptitude test is: 

  • Logical Reasoning  - 30 Marks

  • Quantitive Ability  - 30 Marks

  • English Language - 30 Marks

The time allocated is 1 hour. The video assessment test is taken to judge the mental and analytical ability of the individual. Successful candidates can go for the interview round.


The exam pattern for other banks, more or less remains the same. However, you can contact them for detailed information.

Bank PO Examination Centers

The bank PO examination centers cover all the Indian stages. All you need to do is just choose your preferred location at the time of application submission. However, if you don’t find any examination center in your city, choose the nearest city to avoid any inconvenience.

Bank PO Exam 2023 Cut-Off

As already stated, there are two types of primary examination. IBPS PO and SBI PO. Here are the respective cut-offs:

IBPS PO Exam Cut-Off

GEN - 54.25

OBC-NCL - 54.25

SC - 49.50

ST - 43

OC - 42.50

HI - 21.75

VI - 39

ID - 20.25

EWS - 54.25

SBI PO Exam Cut-Off

Gen - 51.23

OBC - 45.09

VI - 51.55

SC - 44.09

D&E - 29.43

ST - 41.87

EWS - 45.35

LD - 45.27

HI - 28.62

Syllabus for Bank PO Examination (2024)

The exam pattern clarifies the syllabus as well. The banking exam syllabus does not change frequently. There will be a specific number of questions allocated to each section. You just need to prepare the mentioned sections. 

How Many Students Appeared in the Bank PO Exam 2023?

If we talk about the SBI PO exam, around 10 Lakh people appear every year, and around 5 lakh people appear for the IBPS exam each year. 

Bank PO 2024 Exam Answer Key Challenge

If any candidate feels unsatisfied with the results is free to challenge the answer key by paying a certain fee.

Bank PO Examination 2024 Toppers

Shivam Gupta - SBI PO Exam Topper

Vaibhav Mishra - IBPS PO Exam Topper

Banking Exams Preparation Strategy

It does not matter whether you are applying for a PO post or a Clerk post, this strategy will help you crack any banking exam. All you have to do is be consistent.

  • Before you buy tons of books and start solving questions, go through the previous years’ papers to understand the standard of the questions asked. 

  • Once you are done with that, you can mark the chapters you don’t have a good grip on. Now, you can start preparing these chapters earlier.

  • After you complete clearing your concepts, keep taking mock tests, this will not only train you to crack the exams where time is the game but also enhance your question-reading ability.

  • If you are weak in English, you need to start practicing it a lot as there’s a separate section on English. 

  • R.S. Agarwal and SP Baskhi’s books will help you. 

Preparing for Bank PO Exams with Top Institutes

Preparing with the Top Coaching Institutes in Chandigarh, Delhi, Pune, or any other city for that matter can get you a closer look at the banking industry and how candidates are selected.


Apart from that applicants get access to premium quality study material and mock tests which can flip the game over. 


If you are appearing for the first time, it is better to take the help of an Institute. People who have been trying for years usually crack it without coaching but the times are changing and the competition is getting tougher. Therefore, self-study and proper guidance are the best things that you can do. 

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