Complete Guide to Bank Exams 2025: Eligibility, Process, Syllabus, and More
Preparing for a career in the banking sector? This detailed guide covers everything aspirants need to know about bank jobs in India (IBPS, SBI & other major banks) in 2025 — from eligibility and age criteria to the exam process, paper types, recommended books, reservations, and form fees.
📝 Eligibility Criteria
- Educational Qualification:
- Minimum: Graduation (Bachelor’s degree) in any discipline from a recognized university.
- Final-year students may apply, provided they can present proof of graduation at the time of joining.
- For Specialist Officer (SO) posts: Specific professional qualifications are required (e.g., Law, MBA, IT, Agriculture).
- Age Limit:
- IBPS Clerk: 20 to 28 years
- IBPS PO / SBI PO: 20 to 30 years
- SBI Clerk: 20 to 28 years
- IBPS RRB (Officer Scale-II/III): up to 32–40 years depending on the post Age relaxations apply as per Government of India rules (see below).
🎯 Reservation & Age Relaxation
- SC/ST: 5 years relaxation
- OBC (Non-Creamy Layer): 3 years relaxation
- PwBD: 10 years relaxation
- Ex-Servicemen, Widows, Divorced Women: As per govt. rules
Reserved category candidates also enjoy relaxation in application fees and cut-off marks.
🏦 Selection Process (Job Getting Process)
Most bank recruitments (IBPS, SBI, RRBs) follow a three-stage selection process:
- Preliminary Exam (Objective Test)
- Online exam, qualifying in nature
- Tests reasoning, quantitative aptitude, and English language
- Main Exam
- Online exam, more comprehensive
- Includes reasoning, quantitative aptitude, data analysis, general awareness (banking/financial), English, and computer aptitude
- Interview / Language Test
- PO & SO posts: Interview conducted after Mains
- Clerk posts: Local language proficiency test (no interview)
- Final selection based on merit list (Mains + Interview)
📄 Exam Pattern & Paper Types
1. Preliminary Exam (Clerk & PO):
- English Language (30 Q, 30 marks)
- Numerical Ability / Quant (35 Q, 35 marks)
- Reasoning Ability (35 Q, 35 marks)
- Duration: 60 minutes
2. Mains Exam:
- Reasoning & Computer Aptitude
- Data Analysis & Interpretation (PO) / Quantitative Aptitude (Clerk)
- General / Financial Awareness
- English Language
- Descriptive Test (PO only: Essay & Letter writing)
- Duration: 3 hours (objective) + 30 minutes (descriptive)
3. Specialist Officer Exam:
- Professional knowledge section added (Law, HR, IT, Marketing, etc.)
4. RRB Exams:
- Similar to IBPS, with added focus on local language & rural banking.
📚 Recommended Books for Preparation
Quantitative Aptitude:
- Quantitative Aptitude by R.S. Aggarwal
- Fast Track Arithmetic by Rajesh Verma
Reasoning Ability:
- A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning by R.S. Aggarwal
- Analytical Reasoning by M.K. Pandey
English Language:
- Objective General English by S.P. Bakshi
- Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
General Awareness:
- Banking Awareness by Arihant
- Manohar Pandey Current Affairs Yearly by Arihant
Computer Knowledge:
- Objective Computer Awareness by Arihant Experts
💰 Application Form Fees (Approx.)
- General / OBC / EWS: ₹750/-
- SC / ST / PwBD / Ex-Servicemen: ₹175/-
- SBI Clerk / PO: ₹750/- (General/OBC/EWS), Nil for SC/ST/PwBD/XS
Note: Fees vary slightly between IBPS and SBI but mostly fall in this range.
⚡ Tips for Aspirants
- Start preparation at least 6–9 months before exams.
- Practice with mock tests regularly.
- Stay updated with daily current affairs (banking, economy, RBI news).
- Improve speed & accuracy with sectional practice.
- Keep all required documents (ID proof, caste certificate if applicable, degree certificate) ready before applying.
✅ Key Takeaways
- Minimum graduation required.
- Age: 20–28 (Clerk), 20–30 (PO), with relaxations.
- Selection: Prelims → Mains → Interview/Language test.
- Paper: Objective (MCQs) + Descriptive (for PO).
- Fees: ₹750 (General/OBC), concessions for reserved categories.
- Reservation benefits available as per Govt. norms.
- Right books & practice tests are essential for success.
💡 Pro Tip: Always download the official notification for each exam (IBPS/SBI/Other banks) to verify exact criteria before applying.
⚠️ Disclaimer: The above information is based on official exam patterns and previous notifications. Exact details may vary in each recruitment cycle. Aspirants should check the official websites (ibps.in, sbi.co.in/careers) for the latest updates.