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Bank exams list: every major recruitment exam in India

By the PrepMatic team · Updated 8 Oct 2026 · 7 min read

India has nine recurring bank recruitments run by four bodies: IBPS (PO, Clerk, SO, RRB), the State Bank of India (PO and Junior Associate), the Reserve Bank of India (Grade B and Assistant) and NABARD (Grade A). A graduate in any discipline can apply for the IBPS and SBI PO, clerk and Office Assistant posts, while specialist and regulator posts have narrower qualifications. This list gives the conducting body, post, qualification, age limit and 2026 exam window for each.

The bank exams list in one table

Ages are for the 2026 cycle and are counted as on the date given in each notification. Relaxations for reserved categories are on the eligibility page.

The NABARD row comes from the 2025 advertisement, and NABARD's careers page did not list a 2026 Grade A advertisement on 8 October 2026.

Names that confuse aspirants

The same post appears under several names. These are the current official ones.

Exam-by-exam notes

IBPS: PO, Clerk, SO and RRB

IBPS PO and IBPS Clerk fill vacancies in the same 11 public sector banks in the 2026 notifications: Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab National Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, UCO Bank and Union Bank of India. State Bank of India is not among them, because it recruits separately. IBPS PO is an all-India cadre, while the clerk (CSA) vacancies are state-wise and you apply for one State or Union Territory only.

IBPS SO covers six posts, each with its own degree requirement and a professional-knowledge paper that decides merit; see the IBPS SO guide. IBPS RRB recruits for Regional Rural Banks. You can apply for Office Assistant and one officer scale in the same cycle, with a separate application and fee for each. In Tamil Nadu the bank is Tamil Nadu Grama Bank, headquartered in Salem. The IBPS RRB guide has the pattern.

SBI: PO and Junior Associate

SBI PO has three phases: prelims, mains with a descriptive paper, and a final phase of Psychometric Test, Group Exercise and Interview. The Junior Associate exam has prelims, mains and a local language test if you have not studied the language. For the Junior Associate post SBI also notified a separate backlog drive for SC, ST and OBC candidates in 2026, so do not add up vacancy counts from different advertisements. SBI's careers site is now at sbi.bank.in. See the SBI PO pattern and the SBI Clerk pattern.

RBI: Grade B and Assistant

RBI Grade B is the regulator's officer entry, with a Phase II of Economic and Social Issues, English writing and Finance and Management. Its cycle moved in 2026 to a spring and summer window, with Phase I on 13 June and Phase II on 25 July 2026. RBI Assistant is recruited office-wise, so a Tamil Nadu candidate looks at the Chennai office, which covers Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, and takes a language proficiency test. See RBI Grade B and RBI Assistant.

When the exams happen

IBPS publishes a tentative calendar in advance. The 2026-27 calendar, dated 16 January 2026, lists the dates below. IBPS says it can change them, so treat them as tentative and confirm on ibps.in.

For the other bodies, the windows in the latest cycles were these:

• SBI PO 2026: prelims in August, mains in September, final phase in October and November, per the June 2026 advertisement.
• SBI Junior Associate 2026: prelims tentatively in September and mains tentatively in November.
• RBI Grade B (Panel Year 2026): Phase I on 13 June and Phase II on 25 July 2026.
• RBI Assistant (Panel Year 2025): prelims on 11, 13 and 30 April 2026 and mains on 7 June 2026.
• NABARD Grade A (2025): Phase I on 20 December 2025 and Phase II on 25 January 2026.

Do not plan a year around one cycle's months. RBI Grade B ran from September to December in the 2025 cycle and from April to July in 2026, and the IBPS RRB calendar for 2026-27 runs from November to January. Use the latest published calendar and notification, and keep your preparation ready all year.

How to choose from this list

1. Check age and degree timing first. Minimum ages differ (IBPS PO 20, SBI PO 21), and IBPS needs you to be a graduate on the registration day while SBI lets final-year students apply provisionally.
2. Decide officer or clerk. The PO vs clerk guide compares pay, posting, interview and promotion.
3. Add regulators if you like economics. RBI Grade B and NABARD Grade A test economics, finance and rural or social issues in depth, with descriptive answers, which is heavier than a PO mains.
4. Check the language rule. Clerk and rural bank posts expect the state's language.
5. Apply widely. Each recruitment is a separate application. In 2026 the IBPS PO fee was ₹850 (₹175 for SC, ST and PwBD) and the SBI PO fee was ₹750 (nil for SC, ST and PwBD).

PrepMatic's free assessment of about 15 multiple-choice questions shows whether Quant, Reasoning or English is your weakest section, which helps you pick a first target. It then builds a study plan from your exam date and daily hours.

Frequently asked questions

How many bank exams are there in India?

This list covers nine recurring recruitments from four bodies: IBPS (PO, Clerk, SO, RRB), SBI (PO, Junior Associate), RBI (Grade B, Assistant) and NABARD (Grade A). Individual banks also advertise their own posts from time to time, so check the bank's careers page for those.

Which bank exams have no interview?

IBPS Clerk (CSA), SBI Junior Associate, IBPS RRB Office Assistant and RBI Assistant have no interview. Selection is on the mains marks, followed by a local language test where the notification requires one. PO, SO, RRB officer, RBI Grade B and NABARD Grade A posts have interviews.

Is SBI part of IBPS?

No. SBI advertises and recruits on its own, and you apply on SBI's careers site. IBPS conducts recruitment for the other public sector banks and for Regional Rural Banks.

Can I write bank exams in Tamil?

For some. The IBPS Clerk and SBI Junior Associate 2026 notifications offer papers in English, Hindi and Tamil for Tamil Nadu, except the English language section. IBPS RRB Office Assistant and Scale I papers also carry the state language. IBPS PO papers are in English and Hindi, with the English section in English only, so check the medium column of each notification.

When is the next IBPS exam?

IBPS announces its calendar in advance and may revise it. The tentative 2026-27 calendar is dated 16 January 2026. Look at the latest calendar on ibps.in rather than a date from a blog.

Official sources

• IBPS: CRP notifications, tentative calendar and corrigenda.
• SBI careers: PO and Junior Associate advertisements.
• RBI Opportunities: Grade B and Assistant advertisements and results.
• NABARD careers: Grade A advertisements.

Dates, vacancies and fees change with every cycle. Confirm them in the latest notification, and see the Bank Exams guide for the full set of preparation pages.

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