IBPS PO interview questions
The IBPS Probationary Officer exam is a three-stage funnel — Prelims, Mains, then an interview — and the first two stages filter almost everyone. Prelims is qualifying only; your final rank comes from Mains and the interview, weighted 80:20. Which bank you are allotted depends on that rank and the preferences you set, not on the panel.
Roles covered: Probationary Officer across the participating public sector banks. We are not affiliated with IBPS and this is not an official question bank. It describes what candidates consistently report, reviewed for the 2025–26 hiring cycle. Confirm the current process on the company’s own careers page before you apply.
Prelims
Online, 100 marks, 60 minutes, sectional timing
English, Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning Ability. Qualifying only — the marks do not carry into your rank, but the sectional cutoffs are real.
Mains
Online objective plus a descriptive English paper
Reasoning and Computer Aptitude, General/Economy/Banking Awareness, English, Data Analysis and Interpretation. This is where your rank is actually made.
Interview
Panel, typically 15–20 minutes
Banking awareness, current affairs, your academic background, and why public sector banking. Carries 20% of the final weighting.
What is the difference between CRR and SLR?
CRR is cash held with the RBI and earns nothing; SLR is held in approved securities and earns a return. One targets liquidity, the other solvency. Quote current rates only if you are sure they are current — say so if you are not.
What is priority sector lending and why is it mandated?
A prescribed share of credit directed to agriculture, MSME, education, housing and weaker sections, because the market's own allocation moves away from them. Naming two or three sub-targets shows you have read past the headline.
Explain what an NPA is and how it is classified.
An asset that has stopped producing income for the bank, classified by how long it has been overdue — substandard, doubtful, loss. Knowing the 90-day threshold is the minimum.
What does a Probationary Officer actually do in the first two years?
Rotational exposure across deposits, advances and branch operations, moving toward independent charge. Show you know it is a branch job, not a desk job.
What is the repo rate and how does changing it affect lending?
The rate at which the RBI lends to banks; raising it makes bank funding costlier and cools credit growth. Connect it to what happens at the branch counter rather than stopping at the definition.
Why public sector banking rather than a private bank?
A real reason — reach, stability, the kind of customer you want to serve. Avoid running down private banks to make the point.
You are posted to a rural branch far from home. How do you approach it?
Treat it as the actual job rather than an obstacle, and be specific about what you would do in the first month.
Tell us about yourself.
Ninety seconds ending at why you are in this room. The panel picks its next question from this answer, so leave them something worth asking about.
What do you know about the bank you have listed as your first preference?
Its scale, a recent development, and something about its regional footprint. Setting preferences without researching them is a common and visible gap.
- Prelims is qualifying, so clearing it comfortably matters less than the Mains time it frees up.
- Banking awareness questions come from the last six months of news far more often than from a textbook.
- Set your bank preferences deliberately — allotment follows rank and preference, and candidates lose the posting they wanted by leaving the list at its default.
- The descriptive paper is not a formality; it is a common reason otherwise strong candidates miss the Mains cutoff.
Practise them, don’t only read them
Practise these against an AI interviewer that asks the follow-ups and scores your answer, including the HR questions on notice period and expected CTC. Or check your resume first with the free ATS score checker.
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