SBI PO vs. IBPS PO: Pick Wisely to Seal a Bright Future for Yourself!

The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection is a nodal agency that works under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. The main purpose behind setting up this agency is to manage the recruitment of 12 public sector banks in India. Therefore, IBPS deals with the recruitment procedure of the Probationary Officers in government banks other than the SBI.

While on the other hand, the State Bank of India conducts its autonomous examinations to recruit its Probationary Officers. However, both the exams have an almost equal standard, salaries, allowances, job profiles, work profile, etc. Read on to know more information

IBPS PO vs SBI PO: Recruitment / Examination Procedure

The selection procedure followed in the IBPS and SBI PO recruitment is almost the same. Both the institutions follow a similar process divided into three or four stages. The very first stage is a Preliminary examination in both IBPS and SBI Probationary Officer recruitment examination.

A preliminary exam is an objective-based standard test that encourages candidates to fill in the correct options in the OMR sheet. This is just a qualifying paper. The marks obtained in this paper are not included in the final cut-off.

However, they are considered for qualifying for the mains examination. There is a negative marking for every wrong answer of up to ¼ of the allotted marks.

Second stage includes the Mains Examination.

1. The mains examination is descriptive in both IBPS and SBI PO recruitment procedures.
2. It includes various subjects, and the syllabus is almost the same in both examinations.
3. The marks gained in this make up a large sum in the overall cut-off.

Last but not the least is Interview or Group discussion in SBI and IBPS PO recruitment process, respectively.

This stage involves the personality test in which the decision-making skills, behavioral skills, cognitions, and individuals’ temperament are tested.

IBPS PO vs SBI PO: Salary & Allowances of  Probationary Officers in SBI and other Banks

Another most important factor after the selection of the candidates or while making the decision in choosing between the SBI PO or the IBPS PO is the salary packages. There lies a qualified difference in the salary and allowances offered in both the banks.

SBI PO Salary

• The salary and other allowances offered by the State Bank of India is comparatively higher than other public sector banks in India.
• The total compensation offered to the Probationary Officer in the State Bank of India is Rs. 7.55 lakhs per annum. The maximum could go up to Rs. 12.93 lakhs per annum. Although, this variation in salary depends upon the level of the posts attained by the candidates based on the cut-offs.
• The facility of four extra increments after joining is also given to the SBI Probationary Officer.
• Therefore, the basic pay of a Probationary Officer in the SBI is approximately Rs. 27620.

IBPS PO Salary

• The overall salary of a Probationary Officer recruited in other banks through IBPS is less by almost Rs. 5000 – 6000 compared to SBI PO salaries.
• As the basic salary in the hand of an IBPS PO is about Rs. 23700.
• Although the gross pay offered to an IBPS PO is near about Rs. 38703, which includes various types of allowances like HRA, DA, Special allowances, etc.
• There might be a subsequent increase or decrease in the above-mentioned amount as per differential levels of posting.

IBPS vs SBI PO: Job Profile of Probationary Officer

The differences in the salary structures of the Probationary Officers in SBI and other banks do not create differences in the job profiles of SBI PO and IBPS PO. The job profiles for both are almost the same consisting of similar job tasks.

• One of the most important duties of any PO is to bring in the business for the banks to open up new DEMAT accounts, insurance policies, fixed deposits, etc.
• Another task involves public relation, or in layperson’s terms, it means customer care services. PO recruited in SBI, or other governmental banks is responsible for directly dealing with the customers’ queries regarding loans, cheque clearance, new accounts, etc.
• Apart from these tasks, PO is also responsible for managing the cash, such as payment clearance, cash disbursal, cash collection from the cashier, etc.
• Maintaining the official data in the report properly and accurately is also one of the tasks of the Probationary Officer. Along with this being a senior PO, one is also responsible for the official correspondence with the other departments in the banks and other branches of the banks.

Various other benefits are made available to Probationary Officers by the Government of India. Such as –

Accommodation facilities

• SBI provides the facility to its POs to lease a residence. The amount for the same varies from Rs. 8000 to Rs. 29500, depending upon the types of the cities.
• While in the case of IBPS, most of the time, the bank quarters are made available to the POs. Their Home Allowances may vary from 7% to 9%.

Health benefits

• SBI allows 100% compensation in case of medical aids to its employees and 75% aid to the families of the PO.
• While through IBPS, the medical aid is fixed to Rs. 8000 per annum.

Other Differences between SBI PO and IBPS PO

• SBI is one of the oldest and largest banks in India, with almost 24000 branches all over. Therefore, it has more probability of rural placements of the recruited PO. While in IBPS, most banks are not very well developed and not very well established across the nation; therefore, it has very few chances of rural posting.
• The promotions in SBI may involve posting in the foreign field for the post of Scale II Manager, Scale III Senior Manager, scale IV Chief Manager and so on. At the same time, IBPS PO is entry-level in the management grade.
• SBI has a wider arena leading to more work pressure because of more customers. This is not the case in other banks which offer recruitment through IBPS.

The recruitment procedures are almost similar in SBI PO and IBPS PO, but the essential factor is the salary difference of about Rs. 6000, marking a considerable variation. The factors mentioned above will also lead to a better understanding of the working environment in SBI as compared to IBPS. In the end, it all depends on the priorities and aspirations of the students. We are sure that the information mentioned above will help out those who are not able to decide which exam to take.