Bank Exam Preparation (9 points to know)

Bank Exam Preparation (9 points to know)

Before going into the blog, let us have a short quiz on famous banking personalities of India. Below are some 5 pictures of reputed financial gurus. Let’s see if you can identify their names!

1)

2)  

3) 

4) 

5) 

ANSWERS:

1) “Arundhati Bhattacharya is a retired Indian banker and former Chairperson of the State Bank of India. She is the first woman to be the Chairperson of the State Bank of India. In 2016, she was listed as the 25th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes. She is the only Indian corporate leader listed on Fortune’s world’s greatest leaders list ranked at 26.”

2) “Raghuram Govinda Rajan (born 3 February 1963) is an Indian economist and former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.”

3) “Shaktikanta Das (born 26 February 1957) is a retired 1980 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Tamil Nadu cadre. Currently serving as the 25th governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), he was earlier a member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission and India’s Sherpa to the G20.”

4) “Palanivel Thiagarajan is an Indian politician and the current Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu. He was elected to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election in 2016 and 2021 from Madurai Central.”

5) Just Kidding! But c’mon who doesn’t know about this genius who just eloped after pulling off a 9000 crore scandal in various banks and lives peacefully in his mansion in the UK. It’s obviously Vijay Mallaya

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In this blog, you will read everything about Bank exams and best bank exam tutorials that will help you crack the exam. If you are a beginner, you have come to the right place as we will walk you through the step by step process

POINT 1: Who is a Banker? 

If you had watched the blockbuster Tamil movie Bairavaa, you would have noticed the main lead Thalapathy Vijay playing the role of a banker (‘a collection agent in ICCI bank’ to quote from Wikipedia! The devil’s in the details, eh!) in what would seem like a larger-than-life portrayal. He would indulge in all sorts of shenanigans to prove his macho, in the guise of a debt collector. From playing street cricket with the thugs and trashing them to getting caught in a political corruption cobweb and using guns to kill the enemies, our main lead will do everything other than handling cash. Trust me: you will not need the qualification of using a firearm to become a banker! But again, do not ask me what a poor banker will do in case of a robbery. Let us not think of that extreme possibility now!

So, now you know who is not a banker. Going back to the main question; who is a banker in real? What does he do? Is it a sedentary/9-5/ boring task or a job where you need to apply your financial acumen and people skills in your everyday life? What does the person whose face you first see when you enter any bank, sitting with a stern face, showing no sort of emotional vulnerability does in front of a computer monitor?

Let me tell you about the day-to-day task of a banker working in a Clerical Cadre. 

• Handling of cash from Customers. Be it depositing or withdrawing, the role of a clerk is to involve in the cash exchange between the customer and the bank. After verifying the authenticity of the documents by examining the signature and the passport-size photo, the clerk cashes the check or hands out the money. The clerk acts as the official middleman in this money depositing and withdrawing process.
• Recording of transactions. To keep track of deposits, withdrawals, loan and mortgage payments, cheques, and sales of securities is the primary role of the clerk. The clerk translates all the data to the computer and feeds it into the main database of the bank.
• Answering the queries. The clerk is responsible to talk to the customer who comes with varied needs. For all the problems of the customer, the clerk needs to troubleshoot, give guidance and provide solutions for them. A clerk must reroute the customer to the Bank Manager only if necessary. If you ever want to open a bank account but do not know where to go and whom to contact, the clerk will come to your rescue. So instead of drowning in your anxieties, ask for help and proceed accordingly.
• Educates about the Bank’s services. A bank offers many products and services other than regulating cash. A clerk will help you with the list of services the bank offers like credit/debit cards, internet banking, different account types, retirement policy, etc.
• Checking the money drawer. A clerk makes sure the accounts are proper and balanced at the end of the day without the bank facing any cash crunches. The clerk makes sure the money drawer is accurate.

This is just the role of the clerk. Within the clerical cadre, a clerk can get different promotions like,

Rank-4 – Senior Special Assistant

Rank-3 – Special Assistant

Rank-2 – Senior Assistant

Starting Rank – Junior Associate

One can directly get placed as a Probationary Officer in the bank and can progress their career from there. The promotion list is as follows,

Rank-11 – Chairman

Rank-10 – Managing Director

Rank-9 – Deputy Managing Director

Rank-8 – Chief General Manager

Rank-7 – General Manager

Rank-6 – Deputy General Manager

Rank-5 – Assistant General Manager

Rank-4 – Chief Manager

Rank-3 – Manager

Rank-2 – Deputy Manager

Starting Rank – Assistant Manager

POINT  2: FINANCIAL ANXIETY

You would be on the verge of getting bankrupt. Your savings would be nil in the bank, and you will be on the brink of hitting rock bottom without having thought of any alternatives. But you would be living in denial without planning your financial expenses. Rajesh is a spendthrift. He is unmindful of his everyday expenses. He constantly gets new credit cards but does not pay the dues properly. He totally avoids conversations about money when brought up about his splurging activities. He is stuck and feels helpless about his pathetic condition.

This is one case study. Another case is where everything will go according to your taxes, and you will have a safe and secure cash flow mechanism with legit bank accounts. But there will always be thoughts at the back of your head, clinging like a devil, pestering you with ‘What if something goes wrong and you are left with no cash?’

This is nothing but some examples of Money Anxiety. Here, no school teaches you how to open a bank account and how to save money. Teenagers when they move into their 20s find it extremely difficult to manage the money they earn. They learn about investments, insurances, savings, and trading all by themselves the hard way. They develop Money anxiety; situations where you fidget over the conversations related to money and develop serious stress without knowing how to channel your finances.

I wouldn’t mind inserting the fact that our CEOs Mr. Shivkumar and Mrs. Savithri conduct a life-changing workshop regularly where Financial Mastery is also one of the main themes.

Head over to the website https://www.ssfamilyfirst.com/ to learn more!

POINT  3: What are the PERKS available for Bank Employees?

Before hyping you up with the humongous advantages you will receive when you get a job in the bank, let me give you a bird’s eye view of the salary package a candidate who successfully lands a job as the Probationary Officer at the prestigious State Bank of India (SBI) in the year 2022.

Basic Pay – Rs. 41,960

Special Allowance – Rs. 6,881

Dearness Allowance – Rs. 12,701

Location Allowance – Rs. 700

Learning Allowance – Rs. 600

House Rent Allowance – Rs. 2,937

Gross Salary – Rs. 65,780

Deduction (PF/Income Tax/Professional Tax/Pension) – Rs. 12,960

Net Salary – Rs. 52,820

THAT’S A LITTLE ABOVE HALF A DAMN LAKH YOU WILL BE EARNING IN A SINGLE MONTH OF A YEAR!!!

SBI PO year-wise Increment

Period Increment Basic Salary

First 7 years – Rs. 1490/- Rs. 36,000/-

Next 2 years – Rs. 1740/- Rs. 46,430/-

Another 7 years – Rs. 1990/- Rs. 63,840/-

At regular intervals of years, your basic salary will keep on hiking as well as your allowances. By the end of the 15th year as a PO, you will be earning a little over 60 thousand bucks just as your basic salary without even working for promotions!!!

And here comes the shocker of all. You must wonder what are all the things that would come under the term ‘ALLOWANCES’! Let me elaborate.

• Dearness Allowance – 26% of the Basic Pay. As Cambridge describes, ‘it is an amount of money that is added to a person’s basic pay or pension because of rising prices and other costs.’ See! If the country’s hit with inflation, you don’t have to share depression status on Whatsapp on how things were back in the olden days and mull over the past. Because your salary automatically covers the foreseen increment on your package. If this isn’t Heaven, I do not know what is!
• City Compensatory Allowance – 3% – 4% depending on location. You definitely won’t be placed in your hometown. You would be working in a city that may be alien to you. To get you set under those living conditions, to make you acquainted with the new city, you will be provided with a certain amount depending on the location. If you get placed in a Metropolitan City like Chennai, the cost of living will be high definitely. But you need not worry because there is your City Compensatory Allowance to support you.
• House Rent Allowance – 7% – 9% depending on Place of Posting. You may think, “Man, I got a hefty basic scale salary and there are also some extra allowances to help me get through the month in this city. What more does a self-sufficient person want to live independently?” That’s when the House Rent Allowance hits you. The Bank also covers some percentage of your rental accommodation! Yes. You can get yourself a posh multi BHK flat and enjoy your life and none will question you!
• Furniture Allowance – Rs. 1,20,000. You will definitely need the sofa chairs, tables, and similar furniture to adorn your room. Why does the bank give you 1.2 lakh extra? Just buy whatever you want!
• Medical Insurance – 100% covered for employee | 75% covered for a dependent family. Not just for you, but the bank covers three-quarters of the medical insurance money for your family too! You land a job that just doesn’t take care of you, but also your family!
• Travelling Allowance – AC 2-tier fare is reimbursed to the employee for official travels. The list goes on and on, right? But are you complaining? Not when you get your tickets reimbursed when you are on your office trips. You can travel on AIR-CONDITIONED transports and the bank will take care of it! Note – Only if it’s OFFICIAL.
• Petrol Allowance – Rs.1,100 – 1,250. Now I don’t want to make a lewd joke about the increasing petrol prices (skyrocketing above 100 rupees and trudges at a steady pace every passing week) and get myself filed under the sedition act of Section 124A. But in a country where the middle class constitutes 600 million of the population, it is unavoidable to stress over the price hike of the Black Gold. But a Probationary Officer does not need to worry because his monthly ‘Petrol Allowance’ would keep him off from the headache!
• Newspaper Allowance, Entertainment Allowance, Books Allowance, etc. Finally, you will also be stacked with allowances for buying newspapers, books, dining at restaurants, and even watching movies at theatres. The avid reader and the cinephile in you should be screaming in joy!

“If your salary is not enough, then your work is not enough” – Socrates. 

I can already picture some of your thoughts, daydreaming and fantasizing about getting a job in a bank, marrying the person you like, and living a peaceful life!

POINT  4 : What are the Types of Banks?

 I know I must have kindled the flame in you to become a ‘Banker’. I know your head must be throbbing with questions. But hey! One step at a time. Let’s just brush up with the basics first. Here, we will discuss the types of banks in India and how the system is structured here. Do not worry as this is not your usual humdrum economics class. This is just to throw some light on the basics.

• Central Banks
• Cooperative Banks
• Commercial Banks
• Regional Rural Banks (RRB)
• Local Area Banks (LAB)
• Specialized Banks
• Small Finance Banks
• Payments Banks

Let me just brief you about the first 3 types:

• Central Bank

Reserve Bank of India is our country’s Central Bank. A central bank’s main role is to look after the country’s financial institutions. It is the Government’s bank and supervises all other banking institutes of the country. A Central Bank can be nicknamed a Banker’s Bank because it helps all the other banks and runs the country’s financial structure under the eye of the Government.

• Cooperative Banks

In India, to stop the villagers from falling prey to the loan sharks, Cooperative banks are formed to take care of their basic needs like agriculture, livestock, small-scale businesses, etc. It came into effect to promote saving and investment habits among people targeting the rural population.

• Commercial Banks

The general aim of Commercial banks, as the name suggests, is to earn profits by accepting money in the form of deposits from the public (working-class households, business people, entrepreneurs) and by giving money in the form of loans to them.

1. Scheduled Banks:- Second Schedule of RBI Act 1934.
2. Public Sector Banks:- Eg. SBI, PNB, Syndicate Bank, Union Bank of India, etc.
3. Private Sector Banks:- ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, HDFC Bank, AXIS Bank etc.
4. Foreign Banks:- Eg. Citi Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Bank of Tokyo Ltd. etc.
5. Non-scheduled commercial Banks:- Second Schedule of RBI Act 1934

POINT  5:  What are the most Important Bank Exams?

There are numerous competitive exams for Banking that happen every year. Even during the COVID scares, under strict protocols, the exams took place without a challenge and that proves the professionality of the Exam conducting Boards.

• SBI PO
• SBI Clerk
• IBPS PO
• IBPS Clerk
• IBPS RRB (Regional Rural Banks) Officer Scale 1
• IBPS RRB (Regional Rural Banks) Office Assistant
• RBI Assistant
• RBI Grade B
• NABARD (National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development) Grade A and B Officer
• NABARD Development Assistant
• Canara Bank PO
• Indian Bank PO
• South Indian Bank Clerk
• South Indian Bank PO

Banks that come under Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS)

• Indian Overseas Bank
• UCO Bank
• Bank of Maharashtra
• Punjab and Sind Bank
• Punjab National Bank
• Canara Bank
• Union Bank of India
• Indian Bank
• Bank of India
• Bank of Baroda
• Central Bank of India

POINT 6 : What is the Bank Exam Pattern?

Almost all of the bank exams follow the similar pattern of Prelims and Mains mode of test. In the selection of PO officers, a candidate must go through the interview process. All of the exams can be written in either English or Hindi. From this year IBPS also brought in a new facility to write the exam in your regional language.

The candidate’s prime focus must be on the following topics:

• Reasoning
• Quantitative Aptitude
• English Language
• Computer Aptitude
• General Awareness
• Financial Awareness

POINT 7 : Tips to crack bank exams

• Develop your Language skills. Most people won’t say this to you but English is the area where you can easily score more and would help you get an upper edge over others. Verbal Ability constitutes 30% of the marks and it is a big deal.
• Work on your Accuracy. Let me tell you a story of my two friends, Ram and Ravi. In the recently concluded IBPS exam for Clerks, Ram attempted 90 questions and got only 65 of them right. Ravi attempted 70 questions and got the same mark of 65. But in the overall mark, Ravi scored more and got selected for the Mains exam. You may wonder how but when it comes to banking exams, the accuracy of your attempted questions and the answers you got right will boost your overall score.
• Have good problem-solving skills. You don’t need to memorize or mug up any portions for this exam. But you should have a general intelligent quotient, sharp brain, and great problem-solving skills to answer more questions in the given 60 minute time.

POINT 8 : Which is the best Bank Exam Coaching Centre?

Why Trichyplus?

Now that you have learned about the various exam types and their patterns and syllabus, you must be wondering how to begin your preparation. There are heaps of erratic content available online and also stacks of (mostly outdated) books from which you learn the basics. But deep down you know that you want proper guidance – a support system where you get individual attention, can answer your queries 24/7, and a specialized institute just for that. But Alas! Do not get hoodwinked when you are joining an institute. There are lots of fibbing happening around the admission process. Many coaching institutes lure the students by showing them the false numbers of success rate. And we people, who are known to follow the herd, get trapped in such business tactics. You would join an institute just because there are already 100s of students studying there. But honestly, is that your weighing scale to pick something which can ultimately help you shape a career?

Trichyplus is the only institute that received the “Tamilnadu’s Best Coaching Centre” award from Tamilnadu Welfare Association for 2 consecutive years. If you enter our office room, you could see a shield glistening under the refection of the white tube lights with numerous other certificates and awards in the Trophy cabinet. Our reputation and success stories speak for us. We leave no room for bogus information.

With 500 hours of intensive coaching, a candidate can master all the skills that are required to crack the exam. The other institutes offer ‘Lifetime Validity’ for their courses and don’t you think it’s nonsensical? How will a student get motivated if he/she can work with no deadline or no pre-planned schedule? What are they mules carrying luggage for their masters? Deadlines are important because they make you prioritize your goal, help you fix your goal, motivate you, enhance your creativity, and most importantly they help you keep your promise. Without such push what will you do sitting in a coaching class for 5-6 years? Your time gets wasted and the institute profits by making you another number in their admission process.

I see most of the competitive exam coaching institutes and find one thing in common. Crowds. Nauseating crowds that reek of sweat. 40-50 students jampacked in a single room which has no source for sunlight with a couple of fans on top of the heads just for the sake of it. Is that even a healthy environment to study? Shouldn’t classrooms provide you with the necessary space and a peaceful environment? We at Trichyplus make sure that the classroom strength doesn’t rise above 10-15 (to the maximum) students. We split a separate batch immediately. This makes sure the student-teacher ratio doesn’t skyrocket and helps the teacher to provide individual attention. Every student has his/her requirements when it comes to studies. Some may lag at certain areas and some may excel at the very same areas. A common course pattern would be of no use there. Trichyplus makes sure every individual is taken care of.

With separate doubt clearing sessions, regular practice tests, online and pen-paper-based mock tests, interactive classroom sessions filled with kinesthetic activities, Trichyplus should be your best bet when it comes to preparing for your Banking exams.

Trichyplus will provide you with the best course for bank exams and you don’t even have to worry about cracking your interview because we have our very own Life Coach Mr. Shivkumar who is a pro when it comes to Personality Development.

We also provide you with Classes to improve English Language and Communication skills separately as Trichyplus is your one-stop solution for everything.

To know the details Click this link : https://trichyplus.com/course/spoken-english/

POINT 9 : Success Stories of Bank Exam Achievers

Our student, Ms.Vaijayanthi Mala, present Assistant Manager of the Tamilnadu Grama Vangi, Pettavaithalai, after attending our IBPS Coaching classes cites that “the quality of their teaching is very exceptional. In my preliminary round, I got more than 80% in English Language and Reasoning Ability, but I lacked in the part of Numerical Ability. The staff of Trichyplus understood my shortfall in it and made sure to focus on it, while also keeping a note on my progress in the other parts. Sivakumar sir and his easy-to-remember techniques helped me in the preparation for my Mains exam. He is one of the best teachers out there, and I am glad to have gotten the opportunity to learn from him.”

Our alumnus, Mr.Senthilkumar the current Manager of the SBI of the Aranthangi Branch, remarks that “the classes don’t teach just the subject but also teach the students to manage time while taking the test. The staffs of Trichyplus are dedicated to the subjects that they teach, and they cover everything from explaining the lessons to giving us notes on ways to save time while taking the exam. All my notes, hard work, and motivation from the staff helped me to write the exam confidently with a cool head.”

Similarly we have produced many successful bankers and you will get a chance to meet and interact with them once you join us!

Books

If you are really interested to learn more about Financial Management other than academicals, here are some book recommendations for you:

The Psychology of Money – Morgan Housel

The Psychology of Money – Timeless lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness is a timeless classic on everything financial. Remember the topic of Money Anxiety that you have read in the previous paragraphs, well, this book teaches you how to manage money, invest it and make business decisions without flunking big time. Through short stories, the author tells us about the perception of people towards money and how they make big financial decisions. This is a must-read book for youngsters as it talks about very complex themes in an easily understandable way.

Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert T Kiyosaki

Rich Dad Poor Dad – What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not is a book that explains the power dynamics of money. Released more than two and a half decades before, the book talks about the parenting of two contrasting fathers, the author’s dad and his friend’s dad, and how they influenced him in the matters of money. The book broke the myth that to be rich one has to earn more. It also gives us this important lesson to teach a child the management of money. It tells the parents not to rely on Education System to teach their kids about finances and instead, they have to take matters into their own hands.

Misbehaving – Richard H Thaler

Misbehaving – The Making of Behavioural Economics is a culmination of Psychology and Economics. It talks about the foibles of humans in financial decisions and how behavior influences everyday economics. It is an interesting read as the author points out many historical anecdotes coupled with psychological studies and what makes it even more exciting is how the author ties everything to economics which makes it appealing to even the non-economics majors.

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.” – Alvin Toffler 

“Show me a family of readers, and I will show you the people who move the world.” – Napoleon Bonaparte

How many students appear for bank exams?

Well, the number of students appearing for the highly respectable and prestigious job will vary from 20 lakhs to 25 lakhs this time.

If you have read till the end of the blog, it means you are committed enough to take the next step forward. You really have that fire in you and all you need is to make sure the flame grows brighter and brighter. Do give your comments below and feel free to contact Trichyplus regarding any queries.

“ONCE YOU MAKE A DECISION, THE UNIVERSE CONSPIRES TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.” – RALPH WALDO EMERSON

“OUR INTENTION IS EVERYTHING. NOTHING HAPPENS ON THIS PLANET WITHOUT IT. NOT ONE SINGLE THING HAS EVER BEEN ACCOMPLISHED WITHOUT INTENTION.” – JIM CARREY

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