Bank Exam Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2025 For IBPS, SBI, RBI Exams

Bank exams like IBPS, SBI, NABARD and RBI are very competitive and offer a chance to get a respected job in the banking sector. For those preparing for the 2025 exams, the first important step is to understand the syllabus and exam pattern. These exams usually have three stages: Prelims, Mains and Interview. Each stage checks your reasoning skills, maths ability and knowledge related to banking. The syllabus mainly includes topics like Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning Ability, English Language, General Awareness and Computer Knowledge. Some topics may change slightly depending on the exam. Knowing the exam pattern well such as how many questions are asked, the marking system and time limits helps you plan better and score higher.

Bank Exam Syllabus 2025

Banking exams are mainly held for two posts: Clerk and Scale I Officer (like Probationary Officer or Specialist Officer). The Clerk-level exams have two stages: Prelims and Mains. For Officer-level posts, there are three stages: Prelims, Mains and Interview. Some of the major bank exams include 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 share the complete Bank Exams Syllabus 2025 along with the exam pattern. This will help you prepare in a better way and boost your performance in the upcoming exams.

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 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:

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:

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

> For the Post of IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer

Syllabus for Bank Exams 2025

Before beginning your exam preparation, it is important to first understand what you actually need to study. Many students put in a lot of effort and time but still miss out on selection. One common reason is that they don’t follow the syllabus properly. Often, students focus too much on high-level questions and forget that the first stage is the prelims, where the questions are mostly basic to moderate in difficulty. The mains stage has questions of moderate to high level. Most students are not able to clear the prelims because they lack speed. So knowing the syllabus and practicing the right level of questions at each stage is very important.

You should avoid taking mock tests that are too difficult because they won’t be helpful at your current stage. One of the most important rules for cracking bank exams is to understand the syllabus clearly and stick to it. This helps you focus on what’s actually required and stops you from wasting time on topics that are not relevant. Staying within the syllabus and following the right level of practice will increase your chances of success in the banking exams.

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: