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Written by Mumtaj Khan
Jan 31, 2026

Bank Probationary Officer Path:From Banking Aspirant to Officer

The Probationary Officer, also known as the Bank PO is a role in the Public Sector Banks of India. This is a job that people get when they are just starting to work in management. The Probationary Officer is like an Assistant Manager at the Public Sector Banks. They are in charge of a lot of things. The Probationary Officer is a job that you can get in all the Public Sector Banks in India.

The Probationary Officer job is a starting point for people who want to work in management at a bank. This is because the Probationary Officer gets to learn about all the parts of the bank and how they work together. The Probationary Officer is an important role, at the bank.

The Bank PO is the person who deals with their team members every day. They also meet with people who want to use the banks services. The Bank PO has to make sure that customers get service and that employees are happy too. The Bank PO has a job they have to balance the needs of the customers and the needs of the employees at the same time. This means the Bank PO has to think about what's best for the customers and what is best for the employees, like the team members who work at the bank.

The Bank Probationary Officers have to do their job well. To make sure they can do this the Bank Probationary Officers are chosen based on a written test called the Bank Probationary Officers Exam, which is also known as the Bank PO exam. They also have to go through an interview, with the Banking Service Recruitment Board. This way the Banking Service Recruitment Board can pick the suitable person for the job of Bank Probationary Officers. The Bank Probationary Officers have to be able to do their work.

When people are chosen for this job after taking a tough test they have to work on a trial basis for two years. During this time they do different jobs related to banking like giving out loans handling foreign exchange and managing saving and current accounts. As a manager of a bank they are in charge of making sure their bank branch runs smoothly. The manager is responsible, for taking care of the bank staff dealing with issues and making sure the bank makes a profit. The banking manager has to do all these things and more for the bank.

Probationary Officer Eligibility

Eligibility Conditions

Educational Qualifications

To become a Bank Probationary Officer you need to have qualifications. These qualifications are different, for types of candidates. Here are the details.

The qualifications needed to become a Bank Probationary Officer are as follows:

  • General Candidates and others - 60% or more marks in class XII and 55% or more marks in Graduation or Post Graduation
  • SC/ST/PWD Candidates - 55% or more marks in class XII and 50% or more marks in Graduation or Post Graduation

Computer Literacy : Proficiency in computer (Certificate from a reputed Institute or having a computer as a subject in class XII or Graduation).

Age Limit

  • Not below 21 years and not above 30 years as on prescribed date.
  • Relaxation in the Upper Age Limit to Reserve category candidate’s Upper age is relaxable by 3 years in the case of OBC candidates.
  • 5 years in the case of i) SC/ST candidates. ii) People who used to be in the military including those who were officers for a time can apply if they were in the military for at least five years without a break. They must have finished their time in the military. Be close to finishing but not because they did something wrong or were not good at their job. They also cannot have been let go because they were hurt in a way that made them unable to work unless that hurt happened because of their time in the military.
  • Candidates who lived in the Kashmir area of Jammu and Kashmir from January 1 1980, to December 31 1989 can also apply.
  • 10 years for VH/OH (Gen); 13 years for VH/OH (OBC) and 15 years for VH/OH (SC/ ST) candidates.

Probationary Officer Required Skills

A Probationary Officer is an important job in a bank. This means a Probationary Officer has to talk to the people who work under them and the people who are in charge. To do their job well a person who wants to be a bank Probationary Officer should be able to talk to people well. They should also be able to solve problems without getting upset or angry. A bank Probationary Officer needs to be calm when things get tough. This way they can do their job in a way and help the bank run smoothly. A Probationary Officer has to work with a lot of people so they need to be good, at communication and solving problems.

Having analytical skills and being able to make decisions is really helpful for a Product Owner to do their job at the bank. A Product Owner in the bank needs to have these skills to perform their duties. The Product Owner will be able to do a job if they have strong analytical skills and decision-making power. This is very important, for a Product Owner.

How to become a Probationary Officer?

To become a Bank Probationary Officer, people who want to work in this role need to do what is listed below. They have to follow the steps that are given to become a Bank Probationary Officer. The first thing is to understand what a Bank Probationary Officer does. Then they can start to prepare themselves to become a Bank Probationary Officer. Becoming a Bank Probationary Officer is not easy so they need to make sure they follow all the steps to become a Bank Probationary Officer.

Step 1 : Preliminary Examination: Time 2 Hrs. (Combined)

People who want to be considered will have to take a test with choice questions. The test, with choice questions will have the following things:

  • Reasoning Ability Test
  • Quantitative Aptitude
  • General Awareness/Computer Knowledge
  • English Language
  • The question paper is going to be in two languages that's Hindi and English. This will be the case for all the tests except for the English language test. The English language test will only be, in English.

Step 2 : Main Test: Time 3 Hrs. (Combined)

This exam is going to be an Descriptive type test. The Objective type part of the exam will last for 2 hours. It will have:

  • Test of Reasoning
  • Data Analysis and Interpretation
  • Marketing Knowledge
  • Test of English Language
  • The English test is going to be a type examination. This examination will be a test of knowledge. The English test will last for 60 minutes. The descriptive type examination of knowledge will be timed so you have to finish it in 60 minutes.

Step 3 : Group Discussion & Interview:

  • To be selected qualifying candidates will have to go through a Group Discussion and an Interview. The candidates must get least 40 percent marks in the Group Discussion and Interview combined. For SC/ST/PWD candidates they need to get least 35 percent marks in the Group Discussion and Interview combined. This means the marks from the Group Discussion and the Interview will be added together to get the marks. The Group Discussion and Interview are very important because the candidates need to do in these to be eligible, for the next step.
  • To get selected you need to do in STEP II and STEP III. The marks you get in STEP II and STEP III will be added together. Listed from highest to lowest for people who passed both STEP II and STEP III.
  • The people who are selected will be the ones with the marks, in each category depending on how many spots are available. You have to pass STEP II and STEP III to be considered for the selection.

Probationary Officer Job Description or Responsibilities

  • The Probation period for the PO job is two years. During this time the Probation Officer does all kinds of work related to the bank. This work can be, like what a clerk does or what an assistant does or even what a manager does. The PO job includes all types of bank work no matter what level it is.
  • When people are, on probation they do finance jobs, accounting jobs, marketing jobs and billing jobs. They also do investment jobs. They do work like scrolling and posting. They even prepare accounts. This helps them get to know finance, accounting, marketing, billing and investment in a way. They get to do lots of jobs to learn about finance and accounting and marketing and billing and investment.
  • When the new bank staff finish their trial period they become an Assistant Bank Manager at the bank. The Assistant Bank Manager has to deal with tasks like helping customers with their money. This includes things like accepting cheques giving out drafts and managing cash. The Assistant Bank Manager is in charge of all these things and more, at the bank.
  • Assistant Managers are people who help the bank do business. They do things like manage the cash flow, loans, mortgages and finances of the bank. The bank business is what they focus on so they try to make it bigger. They deal with cash flow, loans, mortgages and finances of the bank to make this happen.
  • The Bank PO or the Assistant Bank Manager has a lot of work to do. They have to work with people and make sure the customers are happy. The Bank PO or the Assistant Bank Manager has to handle complaints from customers. The Bank PO or the Assistant Bank Manager also has to fix problems with accounts like when there are mistakes in the account. The Bank PO or the Assistant Bank Manager has to look into complaints, about the services the bank provides. This includes fixing charges that should not have been made. The Bank PO or the Assistant Bank Manager has to deal with all these customer related issues.
  • After they get the experience and knowledge they need Assistant Bank Managers also do the work of planning and budgeting and marketing and loan processing and approval and investment management and so on. Assistant Bank Managers have a lot of responsibilities like planning and budgeting. They also do marketing for the bank. They process loans. Approve them and they manage investments for the bank. Assistant Bank Managers are very important, to the bank.
  • The Bank PO or the Assistant Manager is in charge of looking after all the loan documents. They also go to the homes or offices of the people who are taking loans to check on them when it is necessary. The Bank PO or the Assistant Manager does this to make sure everything is okay with the loan. They take care of the loan related documents, for the Bank PO or the Assistant Manager.

Probationary Officer Career Prospects

A probationary Officer progress to the upper positions as given below:
Probationary Officer,Deputy Managers ,General Managers,
Chief General Manager ,Probationary Officer Salary or Pay Scale.
The selected candidates will be on probation for two years.
They will get a starting pay of Rs. 23,700.

Frequently Asked Questions

Graduates from any discipline who meet age and eligibility criteria can apply for Bank PO positions.
Common exams include IBPS PO, SBI PO, and other public sector bank recruitment exams.
A bachelor’s degree from a recognized university and age criteria (usually 20–30 years, with relaxations) are required
Leadership, communication, analytical ability, decision-making, numerical aptitude, and customer handling skills.