A Beginner's Guide to Public Sector Bank Exams (IBPS, SBI and More)

Most public-sector banks recruit Probationary Officers and Clerks through a common, broadly similar process — either a shared exam conducted by IBPS for the group of participating banks, or a bank's own exam (as SBI conducts separately). Here's how that process generally works.

The Typical Stages

1. Preliminary exam — an objective test covering quantitative aptitude, reasoning and English language, used to shortlist candidates for the mains exam.
2. Mains exam — objective and/or descriptive sections covering the same core areas plus general/banking/economic awareness and, for many exams, computer knowledge.
3. For officer-level posts: a group exercise and/or interview after mains — clerical posts usually skip this interview stage entirely.
4. Document verification and final selection, based on combined prelims/mains (and interview, where applicable) scores.

Core Sections Tested (Broadly Consistent Across These Exams)

• •Quantitative Aptitude — arithmetic, data interpretation, numerical reasoning.
• •Reasoning — logical and analytical reasoning, puzzles and seating arrangements are common formats.
• •English Language — grammar, comprehension and, at mains level, sometimes a descriptive writing section.
• •General/Banking/Economic Awareness — especially at mains level, often including recent developments in banking and the economy.
• •Computer Knowledge — typically added at the mains stage for officer-level posts.

How to Prepare Responsibly

• •Always prepare from the specific year's official notification rather than assuming a previous year's pattern still applies exactly — exact pattern, marking scheme and vacancy details change from one notification to the next.
• •Practise timed mock tests for both prelims and mains separately, since the time pressure and section weightage differ between them.
• •See our negative-marking strategy guide and exam-prep mistakes guide, since both apply directly to this exam family.