IBPS PO interview: date and call letter, the 100-mark board, documents, and 25 questions with answers

Introduce yourself.

Good morning, sir, ma'am. I am Pooja Rathore from Udaipur, Rajasthan. I completed my BCom from Mohanlal Sukhadia University in 2024 with 72 percent, and I have been working as an accounts assistant at a CA firm in Udaipur for the last fourteen months, handling GST filings for about thirty small traders. My father runs a marble polishing unit and my mother is a homemaker. I have applied to the PO cadre because I want to work with the same small traders from the lending side.

Name, place, degree, work, family, reason, in under a minute. The board picks its next question from here.

Why do you want to join a public-sector bank and not continue at the CA firm?

Sir, at the firm I see thirty traders' books, and almost every one of them has a working-capital problem that a bank could solve with a small cash credit limit. I can only file their returns. A PO at a public-sector branch can actually sanction the Mudra or MSME loan, and the bank will train me for it. The salary is also better than the firm's, and I will say that honestly.

A reason that comes from your own experience, plus honesty about the practical side.

What is the current repo rate and why does the RBI change it?

Sir, I checked the last monetary policy statement before coming; I would rather state the figure with the date than quote a number from memory that may be a quarter old. The repo rate is the rate at which the RBI lends to banks against government securities. When inflation is above the four percent target the RBI raises it, which makes bank lending costlier and slows demand; when growth needs support it cuts.

If you have the latest number, say it with the policy date. If not, this honest framing beats a stale figure.

Explain CRR and SLR to a customer who asks why banks cannot lend all their deposits.

Ma'am, I would tell the customer: out of every hundred rupees you deposit, the bank must keep a small portion in cash with the RBI, that is the cash reserve ratio, and a further portion in government bonds or gold, that is the statutory liquidity ratio. Together they make sure that if many customers come for their money on the same day, the bank can pay. The rest the bank lends.

Plain words, a hundred-rupee example, no decimals unless you know the current ones.

What is an NPA and what does a bank do when a loan becomes one?

Sir, a loan becomes a non-performing asset when interest or principal is overdue for more than ninety days. Before that it is flagged as SMA-0, 1 or 2 at thirty, sixty and ninety days, which is when the branch should be calling the borrower. Once it is an NPA the bank must provision against it, stops recognising interest, and recovers through restructuring, settlement, SARFAESI action on secured loans, or the Lok Adalat and DRT routes.

The SMA stages show you know the branch's job is to act before day ninety.

You are a commerce graduate. What is the difference between a balance sheet and a profit and loss account, and which would you look at for a loan?

Ma'am, the profit and loss account shows income and expenses over a period, so it tells me whether the business earns enough to pay the EMI. The balance sheet is a snapshot of assets and liabilities on a date, so it tells me what security exists and how much the owner has already borrowed. For a working-capital loan I would read both, but I would start with the P&L for repayment capacity and the current ratio from the balance sheet.

Your own degree is asked at the level of one practical application.

What is priority sector lending and why does it exist?

Sir, the RBI requires banks to lend forty percent of their adjusted net bank credit to priority sectors: agriculture, micro and small enterprises, education, housing within limits, export credit, renewable energy and weaker sections, with sub-targets of eighteen percent for agriculture and some for small and marginal farmers. It exists because these borrowers would otherwise be crowded out by large corporates, and because the bank's social licence in a public-sector bank is part of the job.

Know the headline percentage and two sub-targets; the board rarely goes deeper.

A customer is shouting at the counter because his pension has not been credited for two months. What will you do?

Ma'am, first I would take him to a chair away from the queue and listen without interrupting, because a pensioner in that situation is frightened, not rude. I would check the account for the life certificate status and the PPO number; two months of non-credit usually means the Jeevan Pramaan was not submitted in November. If that is the cause I would help him submit it on the spot and give him a written date for the arrears. If it is a bank error I would escalate to the branch manager the same day and call him when it is fixed.

Calm the person, find the real cause, fix or escalate, and close the loop. The pension detail shows banking sense.

You notice that a newly opened savings account is receiving many small UPI credits from different people and then withdrawing the money within hours. What do you do?

Sir, that pattern looks like a mule account used for fraud proceeds. I would not confront the customer or freeze the account on my own. I would note the transactions, inform the branch manager, and raise it with the bank's AML cell through the suspicious transaction route so that a proper STR can be filed with FIU-India if warranted. If a victim complaint comes through the 1930 helpline, the bank's process for a lien on the amount applies. My job is to flag it fast and keep the record clean.

The board checks that you know the process and do not play detective.

Are you willing to be posted in a rural branch anywhere in the bank's area?

Yes, sir. I grew up in Udaipur and my father's unit is in Rishabhdev, a tehsil town, so a rural posting is not a shock to me. I also know that the first posting is usually a rural or semi-urban branch and that the two years there count for promotion. I would prefer Rajasthan in the preference list, but I will go where the bank sends me.

Yes, with a reason the board can believe, and an honest preference stated without conditions.

What does a probationary officer actually do in the first year?

Ma'am, from a cousin who joined Bank of Baroda in 2023, the first year is a rotation through the branch: cash and clearing for a few weeks, then account opening and KYC, then loans, where you learn appraisal under the branch manager, and some recovery visits. Alongside there is induction training and the JAIIB exam. By the end of probation you are expected to handle a counter independently and prepare a small loan proposal.

Knowing the job stops the board from treating you as someone chasing a government post.

What is the difference between a public-sector bank, a private bank and a small finance bank?

Sir, a public-sector bank is majority-owned by the Government of India, like SBI or Punjab National Bank. A private bank is owned by private shareholders, like HDFC Bank. A small finance bank is a newer category licensed by the RBI since 2015 to serve small borrowers, with seventy-five percent of its lending required to be priority sector and half of its loans under twenty-five lakh, like AU Small Finance Bank in Rajasthan.

A local example from your state shows awareness beyond notes.

Tell us about one recent decision of the RBI or the Government that affects banks.

Ma'am, the one I follow is the RBI's push on digital fraud: the requirement that banks use the .bank.in domain for their websites, and the move to make a risk-based system for checking UPI and card transactions. For a branch it means more customer awareness work and faster reporting to the 1930 helpline. I chose this because at the CA firm two of my clients lost money to a fake KYC-update call this year.

Pick one theme you can connect to a branch and to your own life, and know it well.

What is the difference between a savings account and a current account, and whom would you offer each?

Sir, a savings account earns interest, has a limited number of free transactions and is for individuals: salary earners, pensioners, students. A current account earns no interest, allows unlimited transactions and overdraft facilities and is for businesses: a trader, a firm, a company. To a marble polisher like my father I would open a current account for the business and a savings account for the household, and keep the two separate for his own tax clarity.

Products are asked as if you were selling them; use a real person.

Why should we select you when you have no banking experience?

Ma'am, nobody at this level has banking experience; that is what probation is for. What I bring is fourteen months of reading small traders' books, which is the hardest part of MSME appraisal, comfort with GST and Tally, Hindi and Mewari for a Rajasthan counter, and the habit of sitting with an angry client until the return is filed. I will learn the bank's systems faster than someone who has never seen a ledger.

Three concrete things the branch can use, not adjectives.

What is the Kisan Credit Card and how does it work?

Sir, KCC is a revolving credit limit for farmers based on the crop area and the scale of finance fixed by the district committee, used for seeds, fertiliser and other inputs, with a sub-limit for household needs. Interest is seven percent with a three percent subvention for prompt repayment, so an on-time farmer pays four percent on loans up to three lakh. It has been extended to animal husbandry and fisheries. The card is also the account into which PM-Kisan money often lands.

Scheme questions want the mechanism and one number. Verify the latest subvention terms before your date.

Your branch manager asks you to meet a deposit target this month by moving customers' fixed deposits into insurance policies. What will you do?

Ma'am, I would meet the deposit target by selling deposits, not by mis-selling insurance; the RBI and IRDAI both treat forced bundling as mis-selling and the complaint would come back to the branch. I would tell the manager that I will offer insurance only where it fits, for example term cover to a home-loan borrower, and I would show him the deposit leads I am working on so he sees effort, not refusal.

Integrity with a practical alternative, and without insulting the manager.

What is inflation, and how does it affect a bank's customers?

Sir, inflation is the rate at which the general price level rises; India measures it mainly through the consumer price index and the RBI targets four percent with a two percent band. For a depositor, inflation above the deposit rate means the real value of savings falls, which is why pensioners feel it most. For a borrower it raises the EMI when the RBI responds by raising the repo rate, since most floating loans are linked to it.

Define, give the measure, then connect to two customers.

Have you applied for other exams, and what if you get SBI or RBI after joining us?

Ma'am, yes, I have applied for SBI PO and I appeared for the SSC CGL, which I will not pursue. If I get SBI after joining here I will take the decision at that time, honestly, on posting and role, not just the name. I would not leave in the first year because the probation and the JAIIB are the same work in any bank, and I would be starting again.

Boards know everyone applies everywhere; honesty with a reasonable commitment is what they mark.

What is a mutual fund, and should a bank sell them?

Sir, a mutual fund pools money from many investors and invests it in shares or bonds under a professional manager, regulated by SEBI. Banks sell them as distributors and earn a commission. They should, because a customer with a lakh idle in savings is better off in a liquid or index fund, but the bank must match the product to the person: no equity funds to a seventy-year-old who needs the money next year.

Know what the bank earns and where the risk lies.

What do you know about the bank you have listed as your first preference?

Ma'am, I have put Bank of Baroda first. It is headquartered in Vadodara, has a large network in Gujarat and Rajasthan, which fits my language and home, and after the 2019 merger of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank it became the second-largest public-sector bank. Its digital app is bob World. I would check the latest business figures before stating them, but it is among the top three on advances.

Three facts you are sure of beat ten you are not; say what you would verify.

A farmer comes to the counter with a notice that his loan has been declared NPA, but he says he paid last month. What do you do?

Sir, I would first look at his account to see if the payment was credited to the right loan; sometimes a payment lands in the savings account and does not get appropriated. If it was credited and the ninety-day count is wrong, I would correct the classification through the manager and give him a letter the same day. If he is genuinely overdue, I would explain the SMA stages, offer the restructuring or one-time settlement options the bank has, and set a date for him to come back with his son.

Check the facts before promising, then act within the process.

What is financial inclusion and name two schemes that deliver it.

Ma'am, financial inclusion means bringing people outside the banking system into it with a basic account, credit, insurance and pension. The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana opened basic accounts with a RuPay card and an overdraft; the Jan Suraksha schemes, PMJJBY and PMSBY, give life and accident cover for a small annual premium; and Atal Pension Yojana gives a pension to unorganised workers. The business correspondent, the Bank Mitra, is the person who makes these reach a village.

Name the scheme and what it gives; the BC detail shows field awareness.

What is your biggest weakness?

Sir, I take too long to say no. At the CA firm I accepted a client's request to file a return on the last day twice, worked past midnight, and once made an error that cost a late fee. I now give clients a cut-off date in writing and hold it. In a bank, I know that saying no to a loan or to a shortcut is part of the job, and I am working on saying it earlier.

Real incident, cost, change. Avoid I work too hard.

What will you do if you are not selected this year?

Ma'am, I will continue at the firm, complete the JAIIB as an outside candidate if the rules allow, and take the next IBPS and SBI cycles. I have three more years of age, and I will use the time to learn one more skill: I have started a certificate in credit appraisal from the IIBF.

Realistic fallback with continued preparation; no desperation.