
Bank exams like IBPS, SBI, NABARD and RBI are very competitive but they give you a great chance to get a good job in the banking sector. If you are planning to appear for the 2025 exams, the first thing you should do is understand the syllabus and exam pattern clearly. These exams are usually held in three stages: Prelims, Mains and Interview. Each stage tests how good you are in reasoning, maths and banking-related knowledge. The syllabus mainly includes subjects like Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning Ability, English Language, General Awareness and Computer Knowledge. Some topics may be a little different depending on which exam you are giving. It is also important to know the exam pattern properly such as the number of questions, marks given for each question and time allowed. This helps you prepare better and score more marks in the exam.
Bank Exam Syllabus 2025
Bank exams are mainly conducted for two types of posts: Clerk and Officer Scale I such as Probationary Officer or Specialist Officer. Clerk-level exams usually have two stages Prelims and Mains. Officer-level exams have three stages Prelims, Mains and Interview. Some of the popular bank exams are IBPS PO, IBPS Clerk, IBPS RRB Clerk, IBPS RRB Officer Scale I and II, RBI Grade B, RBI Assistant, SBI Clerk and SBI PO. In this article, we will give you the full Bank Exams Syllabus 2025 along with the exam pattern. This will help you prepare better and improve your performance in the upcoming exams.
Bank Exam Syllabus 2025 |
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Quantitative Aptitude | Reasoning | English Language | General/ Economy/ Banking Awareness | Computer Aptitude |
Number Series | Puzzle | Reading Comprehension | Banking and Financial Awareness | Internet |
Simplification & Approximation | Syllogism | Error Detection | Current Affairs (5-6 Months) | Memory |
Ratio & Proportion, Partnership | Seating Arrangement | Vocabulary | Static Awareness | Keyboard Shortcuts |
Percentage | Input-Output | Phrase Replacement | Computer Abbreviation | |
Mixtures & Allegations | Blood Relation | Sentence Improvement | Microsoft Office | |
Average & ages | Direction sense | Para Jumbles | Computer Hardware | |
Profit & Loss | Coding-Decoding | Cloze Test | Computer Software | |
Time and work & Pipe and cistern | Inequalities | Spelling Errors | Operating System | |
Simple Interest & Compound Interest | Data Sufficiency | Fill in the blanks | Networking | |
Time & Distance, Boat & stream | Logical Reasoning | Column Based Fillers | Computer Fundamentals/ Terminologies | |
Permutation, Combination & Probability | Sentence Connectors | Number System | ||
Mensuration (2D&3D) | Word Replacement | Basic of Logic Gates | ||
Data Interpretation
( Bar, line, pie, mixed, missing, arithmetic, radar), |
Word Usage | |||
Caselet DI | Sentence Rearrangement | |||
Quadratic Equation | Sentence Completion |
Bank Exam Pattern 2025
The first step towards the banking exam preparation journey is to have a detailed analysis of the syllabus and examination pattern. The examination pattern of most of the banking exams is similar. The first stage of banking exams i.e. preliminary stage consists of the following sections:
- Quantitative Aptitude
- Reasoning Ability
- English Language
Bank Prelims Exam Pattern
The preliminary exam pattern of most of the banking exams for the post of clerical cadre and Probationary Officers is the same. The difference arises in the difficulty level of the questions asked in the exam. The pattern of the prelims exam is as follows:
Bank Prelims Exam Pattern 2025 |
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S. No. | Name of Test | No. of Question | Maximum Marks | Duration |
1. | English Language | 30 | 30 | 20 Minutes |
2. | Reasoning | 35 | 35 | 20 Minutes |
3. | Numerical Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 Minutes |
Total | 100 | 100 | 60 minutes |
Bank Mains Exam Pattern
The main examination includes an advanced level of Data Interpretation & Analysis, English Language, and Reasoning Ability in addition to General Awareness in the form of current affairs/banking affairs/financial awareness, etc.
For Clerk Post
The exam pattern of the mains exam for the recruitment of clerical cadre is as follows:
Bank Mains Exam Pattern 2025 For Clerk |
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Subjects | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Duration |
English Language | 40 | 40 | 35 minutes |
Quantitative Aptitude | 50 | 50 | 45 minutes |
Reasoning Ability and Computer Aptitude | 50 | 60 | 45 minutes |
General/Financial Awareness | 50 | 50 | 35 minutes |
Total | 190 | 200 | 160 minutes |
For the Probationary Officer(PO) post
The PO main exam pattern consists of an objective paper as well as descriptive paper. The main exam pattern is as follows:
Bank Mains Exam Pattern For PO | ||||
Sr.No. | Name of the Test | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Duration |
1 | Reasoning & Computer Aptitude
Section A Section B |
45 | 60 | 60 minutes |
2 | English Language
Section A Section B |
35 | 40 | 40 minutes |
3 | Data Analysis & Interpretation
Section A Section B |
35 | 60 | 45 minutes |
4 | General Economy & Banking Awareness | 40 | 40 | 35 minutes |
Total | 155 | 200 | 180 minutes | |
5 | English Language (Letter Writing & Essay) | 2 | 25 | 30 minutes |
The descriptive paper of the main exam consists of English Language( Letter writing and essay section). There are 2 questions from this section for which 30 minutes is allotted and it can fetch you 25 maximum marks.
After qualifying the prelims and mains examination successfully candidates have to go for an interview session. When cleared all these three sections a candidate is qualified for the post of Probationary Officer.
Bank Exam Pattern For SO
Prelims Exam Pattern For SO
Bank Prelims Exam Pattern For SO |
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Sr. No. | Name of Tests | No. of Questions |
Maximum Marks |
Medium of Exam | Duration |
1. | English Language | 50 | 25 | English | 40 minutes |
2. | Reasoning | 50 | 50 | English and Hindi | 40 minutes |
3. | General Awareness with Special Reference to the Banking Industry |
50 | 50 | English and Hindi | 40 minutes |
Total | 150 | 125 | 120 minutes |
> For the Post of IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer
Bank Prelims Exam Pattern For SO |
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Sr. No. | Name of Tests | No. of Questions |
Maximum Marks |
Medium of Exam | Duration |
1. | English Language | 50 | 25 | English | 40 minutes |
2. | Reasoning | 50 | 50 | English and Hindi | 40 minutes |
3. | Quantitative Aptitude | 50 | 50 | English and Hindi | 40 minutes |
Total | 150 | 125 | 120 minutes |
Mains Exam Pattern For SO Posts
The Pattern for Mains Exam includes the Professional Knowledge for various Posts.
For the Posts of Law Officer, IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer
Bank Mains Exam Pattern For SO |
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Name of the Test | No. of Questions |
Maximum Marks |
Medium of Exam |
Duration |
Professional Knowledge | 60 | 60 | English & Hindi | 45 minutes |
Bank Mains Exam Pattern For SO |
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Name of the Test | No. of Questions |
Maximum Marks | Medium of Exam | Duration |
Professional Knowledge (Objective) | 45 | 60 | English & Hindi | 30 minutes |
Professional Knowledge (Descriptive) | 2 | English & Hindi | 30 minutes |
Syllabus for Bank Exams 2025
Before you start preparing for the exam, it is very important to know exactly what you need to study. Many students work hard and spend a lot of time studying but still don’t get selected. A common reason is that they don’t follow the syllabus properly. Many students spend too much time on tough questions and forget that the first stage, which is the prelims, mostly has easy to moderate level questions. The mains stage has questions that are moderate to difficult. Most students are not able to pass the prelims because they are not fast enough. So, it is very important to know the syllabus well and practice questions of the right level for each stage.
You should not take mock tests that are too difficult in the beginning because they will not help you much at your current level. One of the most important things to crack bank exams is to understand the syllabus properly and follow it strictly. This helps you stay focused on what is actually needed and saves your time from being wasted on topics that are not important. If you stay within the syllabus and practice questions of the right level, your chances of clearing the banking exams will be much higher.
Generally, the syllabus of all the major banking exams remains the same. The direct links to view the syllabus of all the major exams conducted by IBPS are mentioned below:
Bank Exam Selection Procedure
Candidates must know the selection procedure of the various job profiles in the banking sector as it will shape their preparations for all the stages. Below is the Bank Selection Procedure for various posts
Bank Exam Selection Procedure |
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Posts | Selection Procedure |
Bank Clerk (Office Assistant) | The selection process of a Bank Clerk consists of only two stages:
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Bank PO (Probationary Officer) | The selection process of a Bank PO consists of 3 Stages:
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Bank SO (Specialist Officer) | The recruitment of a Bank SO will consist of two stages:
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