SBI PO Phase III structure and marks
The pattern above follows the SBI PO advertisements of 2024 and 2025. The bank has changed the Phase III mix before, so read the current advertisement on the SBI careers site before relying on any number here. What has not changed is that Phase III decides selection among candidates with similar Mains marks.
SBI PO interview dates and result: how they are released and the typical window
SBI announces the Phase III schedule through the Mains result notice and then the Phase III call letter, both on the careers page of sbi.bank.in (earlier sbi.co.in/careers) under Current Openings. You download the call letter with your registration number and password; it carries the centre, the date and reporting time for the psychometric test and for the group exercise and interview, and the document list. The Central Recruitment and Promotion Department runs the interviews at circle headquarters and local head offices, typically over two to four weeks.
From past cycles: the SBI PO advertisement usually appears between June and August, Prelims in August or September, Mains in September or October, the Mains result within about three weeks, and Phase III in October to December; the 2025 cycle's schedule placed Phase III in November 2025. The final result, with combined scores and category-wise cut-offs, follows within a few weeks of the last interview. For the current cycle no date is final until the call letter appears; check the SBI careers page rather than coaching sites, and remember that some cycles have slipped by a month or two.
- The result is a PDF of selected roll numbers plus a marks link showing your Mains, GE, interview and total.
- A waitlist is released in order as selected candidates decline, usually for about a year from the result.
Documents for the SBI PO Phase III
- Phase III call letter and the Prelims and Mains call letters; the online application printout; the fee receipt.
- Photo ID in original and copy, in the same name as the application.
- Class 10 and 12 marksheets and certificates for date of birth, in original and copy.
- Graduation marksheets, degree or provisional certificate, and a CGPA-to-percentage certificate if applicable.
- Category certificates in the Central Government format: SC, ST, OBC-NCL dated as the advertisement requires, EWS for the current financial year, PwBD, ex-serviceman papers.
- Experience certificates and a no-objection certificate if you serve in a government or PSU organisation.
- Two or three passport photographs matching the application photo, a pen, and a folder of self-attested copies.
Verification comes first
Verification happens before the psychometric test or the group exercise. An OBC certificate without the non-creamy-layer line or an EWS certificate for the wrong year makes your candidature provisional and can cost you the reservation at allotment. Sort certificates in October.
The group exercise and the psychometric test
The group exercise is not the old group discussion. A group of eight to twelve candidates is given a case, for example a branch that must choose three of six customer-service changes within a budget, and asked to reach a common decision in fifteen to twenty minutes. Two or three observers mark content, how you build on others' points, whether you listen, and whether the group concludes with your help. Interrupting and speaking loudest cost marks; summarising at the halfway mark and proposing a decision rule earn them. Practise with case-based GDs in our GD for bank, MBA and campus selection course and the case-based and abstract GD course.
The psychometric test is a set of statements about how you work and behave, answered on a scale, with no right answers and no marks. The board uses it to check consistency: if the profile says you avoid conflict and your answers claim you confront every problem, a member may ask about it. Answer honestly and quickly; do not try to guess the ideal banker.
The SBI interview board and the 15 to 25 minutes
The board is four or five senior SBI officers, mostly of DGM and AGM rank, with an HR member. SBI boards switch between English and Hindi freely and expect the same from you; in the circles they may try a line in the local language. The HR member opens with your biodata, hometown, education and any gaps; the banking members test the repo rate and the latest RBI policy, products a PO sells (deposits, KCC, Mudra, home and gold loans, insurance and mutual funds), NPA and SMA basics, and one question from your own degree; then a branch situation; and the chair closes on why SBI and readiness for a posting anywhere in India. The same five families are on the SBI PO mock interview page.
SBI PO interview questions with model answers
Tell us about yourself and your hometown.
Good morning, sir, ma'am. I am Arjun Nair from Thrissur, Kerala. I did my BTech in electronics from Government Engineering College, Thrissur, in 2024, and worked for sixteen months at a Kochi IT firm as a test engineer. My mother is a nurse at the district hospital and my father runs a small rubber holding in Wadakkanchery. Thrissur is also a banking town: South Indian Bank, CSB and Dhanlaxmi Bank all started there, which is partly why banking never felt foreign to me.
The hometown detail is not decoration; SBI boards ask about your district's economy next.
Say this answer out loudWhy is an electronics engineer leaving an IT job for a bank?
Ma'am, two reasons. The IT job was testing other people's software for clients I never met; I wanted work where I see the person I am helping. And banking in Kerala is changing fast: remittances, gold loans, and NRI deposits are the branch's daily life, and SBI is the biggest player in all three. The engineering is not wasted; I read a loan appraisal the way I read a test case, looking for the failure point.
No complaint about the employer, a real pull towards banking, and the degree reframed as useful.
Say this answer out loudWhy SBI and not any other bank?
Sir, three honest reasons. SBI has the largest branch network, so the work I get in the first five years is wider: a rural branch, a currency chest, a forex desk. Second, SBI's promotion track from PO to Chief Manager is faster than in most public-sector banks. Third, I have had an SBI account since my first scholarship in 2017 and have seen the Ollur branch move from token queues to YONO; I would like to work on that side.
Every candidate says SBI is the largest bank; add two things only an informed applicant would say.
Say this answer out loudWhat was the last RBI monetary policy decision, and what did it mean for a branch?
Ma'am, I would state the repo figure with the date of the last policy rather than from memory, because it may have moved since I prepared. What I follow is the effect: when the RBI cuts, floating-rate home and MSME loans linked to the repo reprice within a quarter, so the branch sees more balance-transfer requests and lower rates on new FDs. When it raises, customers come to ask why their EMI tenor has stretched.
Give the latest figure with its date if you have it; what matters to the board is the effect at the counter.
Say this answer out loudExplain SMA-0, SMA-1 and SMA-2 and what the branch should do at each stage.
Sir, these are the RBI's special mention account stages before a loan becomes an NPA. SMA-0 is overdue up to thirty days, SMA-1 from thirty-one to sixty, SMA-2 from sixty-one to ninety; on day ninety-one it is an NPA. At SMA-0 the branch should call the borrower and find out why; at SMA-1 visit and consider restructuring if the problem is temporary; at SMA-2 escalate to the controlling office and document everything, because after that provisioning hits the branch and the borrower's credit record.
SBI boards like process knowledge; this answer shows you know the branch's job is before day ninety.
Say this answer out loudA customer wants to break a five-year fixed deposit of ten lakh after one year to buy gold. What do you advise?
Ma'am, I would first tell her the cost: a premature penalty and interest at the one-year rate rather than the five-year rate. Then I would offer an overdraft against the FD, usually up to ninety percent of the value at about one percent over the FD rate, so the deposit keeps earning and she gets the money today. If she still wants gold, I would mention a gold ETF as an alternative to physical gold, but I would not push; it is her money.
Product knowledge in the customer's interest; the FD overdraft is the answer SBI wants.
Say this answer out loudWhat is the Mudra scheme and who in your district would use it?
Sir, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana gives collateral-free loans to micro enterprises: Shishu up to fifty thousand, Kishore up to five lakh, Tarun up to ten lakh, and a Tarun Plus slab up to twenty lakh for borrowers who have repaid a Tarun loan. In Thrissur the typical borrower is a tailoring unit in Kuttanellur, a cashew household in Chalakudy, or a small eatery near the Pooram ground. The risk is that the loan is taken for consumption; the branch must see the business.
Scheme slabs plus three real borrower types; verify the current slabs before your date.
Say this answer out loudYour psychometric profile suggests you avoid conflict. How will you handle a borrower who refuses to repay?
Ma'am, I think the profile is fair; I do not enjoy confrontation. But recovery is not a fight, it is a process: I would meet the borrower with the account statement, understand the reason, offer the restructuring or settlement options the bank allows, and give dates in writing. If he still refuses, the bank's process takes over: notices, SARFAESI on a secured loan, Lok Adalat on a small one. I can be firm on a process without being aggressive with a person.
Boards may use the psychometric result; accept it, then show how you work with it.
Say this answer out loudWhat is the difference between a bank and an NBFC?
Sir, a bank holds a banking licence under the Banking Regulation Act, can accept demand deposits, is part of the payment system, and must hold CRR and SLR. An NBFC lends and in some cases takes term deposits, but cannot offer savings or current accounts or issue cheques, and is regulated under the RBI Act with lighter liquidity rules. Bajaj Finance is an NBFC; HDFC Bank is a bank. Gold loan NBFCs like Muthoot are the competition I would see at a Thrissur branch.
Definition, two differences, two examples, one local connection.
Say this answer out loudYou are posted at a branch where a local politician asks you to open accounts for two hundred people without complete KYC before a scheme deadline. What do you do?
Ma'am, I would not open accounts without KYC, because every one of them is a compliance breach in my name. I would tell him politely that the bank wants the accounts too, and offer a camp at the panchayat office the next day with a Bank Mitra, where Aadhaar-based e-KYC can open a basic savings account in minutes. I would inform my branch manager before the meeting, not after, so that any pressure goes up the line and not onto me.
No on the rule, yes on the goal, with the manager informed first.
Say this answer out loudWhat are the main products a PO is expected to sell, and which is the hardest to sell?
Sir, deposits, home and car loans, gold loans, Kisan Credit Cards and Mudra loans, and the third-party products: SBI Life and SBI General insurance, SBI Mutual Fund, and credit cards. The hardest to sell honestly is term insurance, because the customer gets nothing back if nothing happens; the easiest to mis-sell is a ULIP to someone who wanted a fixed deposit. I would rather sell less and keep the customer.
Boards test whether you know what you will sell and whether you will mis-sell under pressure.
Say this answer out loudWhat do you know about Kerala's remittance economy, and how does it matter to SBI?
Ma'am, Kerala receives a large share of India's inward remittances, mostly from the Gulf, and NRI deposits are a big part of every Kerala bank's book. For SBI it means NRE and NRO accounts, FCNR deposits, and exchange-house tie-ups in the Gulf, plus the risk that a Gulf downturn shows up as stressed housing loans in Thrissur. I would verify the latest figures before quoting them.
Your home state's economy is asked; know the mechanism and say which numbers you would check.
Say this answer out loudWould you accept a posting in the North East or in a rural branch in Rajasthan?
Yes, sir. SBI's advertisement says a PO can be posted anywhere in India, and I applied knowing that. I have lived in a hostel since Class 11 and worked away from home in Kochi. I would learn enough Hindi for the counter in the first three months; I already have basic Hindi from school. A rural posting in the first years is also where a PO learns the most.
SBI asks this of every candidate; yes with evidence that you can actually do it.
Say this answer out loudWhat is the difference between NEFT, RTGS, IMPS and UPI?
Ma'am, NEFT settles in half-hourly batches, any amount, 24x7. RTGS is real-time, for two lakh and above. IMPS is instant, up to five lakh, through bank apps. UPI is instant, up to one lakh for most uses and higher for specific categories, through a virtual payment address or QR code, run by NPCI. For a small trader I would recommend UPI for collections and NEFT for supplier payments above the UPI limit.
Limits change; state them as of the date you checked and show when a customer would use each.
Say this answer out loudHow would you handle a customer who claims money was debited from her account without her knowledge?
Sir, I would take the complaint in writing at once, note the transaction details, and tell her to call 1930 the same day, because the recovery chance depends on hours. I would block the card or UPI, raise the dispute in the bank's system, and explain the RBI's limited-liability rule: if she reports within three working days and the bank or a third party is at fault, her liability is zero. I would give her a ticket number and a callback date.
Speed, process, the RBI rule, and closing the loop with the customer.
Say this answer out loudWhat is the CASA ratio and why do branches chase it?
Ma'am, CASA is the share of current and savings account deposits in a bank's total deposits. These deposits cost the bank little: current accounts pay nothing and savings accounts pay a low rate. A higher CASA ratio lowers the bank's cost of funds and widens its net interest margin, so branches are given CASA targets. The honest way to meet them is salary accounts, SHG accounts and shopkeepers' current accounts, not splitting one customer's FD into savings.
Define, explain why it matters, and show the honest route to the target.
Say this answer out loudWhat did you do in the group exercise this morning, and were you satisfied with the group's decision?
Sir, our case was a branch choosing three of six service changes within a budget. I proposed we score the six on cost and customer impact in the first five minutes, which gave the group a method, and I summarised at the halfway point. We chose the queue token system, the doorstep banking for pensioners and the extended Saturday hours. I was satisfied with two; I thought the Saturday hours would cost more than the case allowed, and I said so but did not insist.
Boards ask about the GE the same day; honest reflection with a specific disagreement scores.
Say this answer out loudWhat is the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and why does a bank care?
Ma'am, the IBC of 2016 gives a time-bound process, 180 days extendable to 330, for resolving a defaulting company under the NCLT, with a committee of creditors deciding the resolution plan. Before it, banks waited years in courts; now the threat of losing the company makes promoters pay. For a branch it matters less than SARFAESI, but for SBI as the largest corporate lender, IBC recoveries have been a big part of the NPA cleanup.
Headline mechanism plus why it matters for the bank you are joining.
Say this answer out loudDescribe one situation at work where you took a decision your manager disagreed with.
Sir, in 2025 our team was asked to pass a release with three known defects to meet a client date. I wrote to my manager that I would sign the test report only with the defects listed as open, not hidden in a note. He was annoyed, but the report went out with the defects listed, the client accepted the release with a fix date, and nothing came back on us. I learnt that disagreement in writing, politely, protects both sides.
The board is testing integrity and how you disagree upward, which matters in a bank hierarchy.
Say this answer out loudWhat is a credit score, and what would you tell a first-time borrower who has none?
Ma'am, a credit score is a three-digit number from a bureau such as CIBIL, usually 300 to 900, based on the repayment history and credit use of a borrower; above 750 is considered good. A first-time borrower with no history is not a bad risk, just an unknown one. I would suggest a small secured product first, a credit card against an FD or a small gold loan, repaid on time for six months, which builds the history, and I would check the bank's own criteria for new-to-credit customers.
Explain to a customer, then show you know the new-to-credit route.
Say this answer out loudIf SBI gives you a choice between the retail branch, the agriculture desk and the forex desk after probation, which would you choose and why?
Sir, the agriculture desk, in Kerala. My father's rubber holding has lived through two price crashes, and I know what a KCC, a crop loan rescheduling and a warehouse receipt loan mean to a small grower. It is also where SBI's priority-sector numbers are made or missed in the state. Forex would be my second choice because of the NRI business in Thrissur.
A preference with a personal reason and a bank reason, plus a sensible second.
Say this answer out loudHave you applied for IBPS PO as well? What if you get both?
Ma'am, yes, I have. If I get both, I would join SBI, for the reasons I gave: network, promotion track and the kind of work in the first five years. I am saying that because it is true, not because I am in front of an SBI board; if I had got IBPS first and SBI later, I would still have moved.
A reasoned preference, stated plainly, is fine.
Say this answer out loudWhat is your biggest weakness?
Sir, I over-prepare and under-decide. At the IT firm I once spent two days writing test cases for a feature that was dropped on day three, because I did not ask the product owner whether it was final. I now ask one question before I start anything that will take more than a day. In a branch, I know a customer at the counter needs an answer in a minute, not a perfect one tomorrow.
Real incident, cost, correction, and the link to the job.
Say this answer out loudWhat do you understand by the term bank mitra or business correspondent?
Ma'am, a business correspondent is an agent engaged by the bank, often a kirana shop owner, an SHG member or a CSC operator, who offers basic banking in villages without a branch: account opening, cash deposit and withdrawal through Aadhaar-enabled payments, DBT disbursal and loan collections, using a micro-ATM. The issues a PO handles are the BC's cash limits, complaints about failed AePS transactions, and the BC's commission.
Definition plus what actually goes wrong; the complaints line shows field sense.
Say this answer out loudDo you have any question for us?
Only one, sir, if I may: for a PO joining in the next batch, is the first posting usually in the home circle or outside it? I ask because I would like to use the months before joining to improve my Hindi if the answer is outside. Thank you for the time, ma'am, sirs.
One short, practical question is fine; never ask about your marks or the result date.
Say this answer out loudHow SBI PO differs from IBPS PO at the interview stage
The question families are the same, so the preparation transfers; the SBI extras are the group exercise and the psychometric consistency check. The IBPS side is in our IBPS PO interview guide; the bank interview questions guide covers clerk and assistant-manager boards.
What the ExamPilot SBI PO mock simulates
Our mock simulates the interview part of Phase III in fifteen minutes: a three-voice SBI board (a DGM chair, an HR member and a banking member) runs biodata, banking and finance with the latest policy, two branch situations, and the mobility close, switching between English and Hindi the way SBI boards do. The group exercise and the psychometric test are not simulated; use the case-based GD courses above for the GE. The report scores banking awareness, product knowledge, situation handling and honesty, flags figures stated without a date, and tells you which of the five families to redo.
Practise out loud
Face a 15-minute AI SBI board
A DGM chair, an HR member and a banker run biodata, the latest RBI policy, two branch situations and the mobility close, in English and Hindi, and score you on what SBI marks.
SBI PO · Probationary Officer (JMGS-I)
Frequently asked questions
- What are the SBI PO interview dates for this cycle?
- SBI announces Phase III through the Mains result notice and the Phase III call letter on its careers page, not in advance of the result. From past cycles, Phase III runs between October and December, within a few weeks of the Mains result; the 2025 cycle's Phase III was scheduled in November 2025. No date for the current cycle is final until your call letter appears, so check the SBI careers site and your registered email rather than coaching forums.
- How many marks is the SBI PO interview, and what is the weightage?
- Phase III carries 50 marks: 20 for the group exercise and 30 for the interview, with the psychometric test qualifying only, as per the 2024 and 2025 advertisements. In the final merit, Mains marks are scaled to 75 and Phase III to 25, so Phase III is a quarter of your final score, the highest interview-stage weight in Indian bank recruitment. The bank fixes a minimum qualifying score in Phase III every year; check the current advertisement.
- When does the SBI PO interview result come, and what does it show?
- The final result usually comes within a few weeks of the last Phase III date, as a PDF of selected roll numbers with a separate marks link and category-wise cut-offs. The marks sheet shows your Mains, group exercise, interview and combined score. A waitlist is published and released in order as selected candidates decline, typically for about a year.
- What is the SBI PO psychometric test and does it have marks?
- It is an online questionnaire of personality and work-style statements answered on a scale, taken a day before or on the morning of Phase III. It has no marks and no pass mark, but the profile is shared with the interview board, which may ask you about it. Answer honestly and quickly; a profile that contradicts your interview answers invites a harder question than an honest one does.
- What is the SBI PO group exercise and how is it marked?
- A group of eight to twelve candidates gets a case, for example choosing three service changes for a branch within a budget, and must reach a common decision in fifteen to twenty minutes under observers. It carries 20 marks and is marked on content, building on others' points, listening, and helping the group conclude. Interrupting and dominating cost marks; summarising and proposing a decision rule earn them.
- What questions are asked in the SBI PO interview?
- Biodata, hometown and your state's economy; why banking and why SBI; the latest RBI policy and its effect at the counter; products a PO sells; NPA and SMA basics; one question from your degree; a branch situation (fraud, a difficult customer, a political request); mobility; and sometimes a question drawn from your psychometric profile or the morning's group exercise. The 25 model answers above cover each family.
- What is the dress code for the SBI PO interview?
- Men: a plain light shirt, dark trousers, formal shoes, tie optional, neat hair and a clean shave or trimmed beard. Women: a saree, a formal salwar kameez, or a shirt and trousers in sober colours, with closed shoes and minimal jewellery. The group exercise and interview are on the same day, so wear something you can sit in for hours.