The Bank Exam Syllabus 2026 is an essential roadmap for aspirants preparing for the upcoming IBPS, SBI, and RBI examinations. Understanding the detailed syllabus helps candidates focus on the right topics and avoid unnecessary preparation. With banking exams becoming increasingly competitive, a clear subject-wise strategy aligned with the latest exam pattern is crucial. This guide provides a structured overview of the complete syllabus to help aspirants plan their preparation effectively for the 2026 exam cycle.
Bank Exam Syllabus 2026
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 stage:s Prelims, Mains and Interview. Some of the popular Upcoming 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 2026 along with the exam pattern. This will help you prepare better and improve your performance in the upcoming exams.
| Bank Exam Syllabus 2026 |
||||
| 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 2026
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 2026 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 2026 For Clerk |
|||
| 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 2026 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
Below, you’ll find the Exam Pattern for SO for different posts, including Law Officer, IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, Marketing Officer, and more.
| Bank Prelims Exam Pattern For SO |
|||||
| 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 |
|||||
| 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 |
||||
| 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 |
||||
| 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 | |
Bank Exams Syllabus 2026
The syllabus for most bank exams is almost the same. Only the difficulty level changes for different posts like Clerk, PO, and SO. The table below shows the common bank exam syllabus for all major subjects.
| Subject | Topics Covered |
| Quantitative Aptitude |
Simplification, Profit and Loss, Percentage, Ratio and Proportion, Simple and Compound Interest, Time and Work, Time and Distance, Mensuration, Data Interpretation, Number System, Series, Probability
|
| Reasoning Ability |
Logical Reasoning, Puzzles, Seating Arrangement, Syllogism, Coding-Decoding, Blood Relations, Direction Sense, Inequality, Input-Output, Ranking, Alphanumeric Series, Data Sufficiency
|
| English Language |
Reading Comprehension, Cloze Test, Fill in the Blanks, Error Detection, Paragraph Jumbles, Vocabulary, Sentence and Passage Completion
|
| General Awareness / Banking |
Current Affairs (Last 6 Months), Banking Awareness, Financial Awareness, Indian Banking System, Monetary Policy, Government Schemes, Important Abbreviations
|
| Computer Aptitude |
Computer Basics, Hardware and Software, Internet and Networking, Operating System, MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Keyboard Shortcuts, Cyber Security Basics
|
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 |
|
| Posts | Selection Procedure |
| Bank Clerk (Office Assistant) | The selection process of a Bank Clerk consists of only two stages:
|
| Bank PO (Probationary Officer) | The selection process of a Bank PO consists of 3 Stages:
|
| Bank SO (Specialist Officer) | The recruitment of a Bank SO will consist of two stages:
|
