SBI CBO (Circle Based Officer)
General Overview & Eligibility
- Conducting Body: State Bank of India (SBI)
- Cadre: Public Sector Bank Officer (Middle Management Grade Scale-I / Junior Management Grade Scale-I Generalist Officer)
- Age Limit: 21 to 30 Years (Category relaxations apply)
- Educational Qualification: Graduation in any discipline from a recognized University.
- Experience Mandatory: Minimum 2 years of experience as an Officer in any Scheduled Commercial Bank or Regional Rural Bank (RRB).
- Posting Scope: Circle-wise posting (Candidates are assigned to the applied SBI Circle/State and remain in that Circle).
- Selection Process: 4 Phases (Online Written Examination + Screening of Experience Profile + Interview + Local Language Proficiency Test).
Exam Pattern & Syllabus
1. Online Written Examination (Merit Deciding for Interview Shortlisting)
- Format: Online Computer Based Test (Objective + Descriptive)
- Total Marks: 170 Marks (120 Objective + 50 Descriptive)
- Total Duration: 150 Minutes (2 Hours Objective + 30 Mins Descriptive)
- Negative Marking: NO negative marking for wrong answers in Objective Test.
- Sectional Cut-Off: NO Sectional Cut-off (Candidates are shortlisted based on overall aggregate score).
- English Language: 30 Questions , 30 Marks , 30 Minutes
- Banking Knowledge: 40 Questions ,40 Marks , 40 Minutes
- General Awareness / Economy: 30 Questions , 30 Marks ,30 Minutes
- Computer Aptitude: 20 Questions , 20 Marks , 20 Minutes
- Objective Total: 120 Questions , 120 Marks , 120 Minutes (2 Hours
- Letter Writing & Essay: 2 Questions (1 Letter + 1 Essay) ,50 Marks , 30 Minutes
2. Screening & Interview Phase
- Screening: Profile evaluation of candidates who qualify the Online Written Exam to verify 2-year Officer experience compliance with SBI Scale-I job roles.
- Phase-III Interview: 50 Marks (Minimum qualifying marks are decided by the Bank, typically 20/50 for General).
- Final Merit Weightage: Combined score of Online Examination and Interview normalized to an 80:20 weightage ratio.
Last 3 Years SBI CBO Cut-Off
1. Written Exam Cut-Off (Circle-Wise / Out of 170 Marks)
Note: SBI CBO cut-offs are declared Circle-wise (State-wise) rather than on a single All-India figure. Below are representative circle cut-offs for General/UR category.
Year |
Bhopal Circle |
Hyderabad Circle |
Jaipur Circle |
Kolkata Circle |
Mumbai / Maharashtra |
| 2022–23 | 67.00 | 60.00 | 68.00 | 60.00 | 60.00 |
| 2023–24 | 68.50 | 61.25 | 69.50 | 62.00 | 61.50 |
| 2024–25 | 71.00 | 64.00 | 72.25 | 65.50 | 63.00 |
2. Interview Qualifying Cut-Off (Out of 50 Marks)
Category |
2022–23 |
2023–24 |
2024–25 |
| UR (General) | 20.00 | 20.00 | 20.00 |
| OBC / EWS / SC / ST | 17.50 | 17.50 | 17.50 |
3. Final Allotment Cut-Off (Normalized Score Out of 100)
(Weighted 80% Online Exam + 20% Interview Score)
Circle / State |
General (UR) |
EWS |
OBC (NCL) |
SC |
ST |
| Bhopal Circle | 55.97 | 44.85 | 51.50 | 47.29 | 39.44 |
| Hyderabad Circle | 54.41 | 39.85 | 52.29 | 51.29 | 51.29 |
| Jaipur Circle | 57.94 | 42.21 | 52.62 | 49.32 | 50.81 |
| Kolkata Circle | 49.44 | 38.00 | 38.59 | 44.85 | 49.44 |
| Mumbai Circle | 51.03 | 41.47 | 47.57 | 37.25 | 47.71 |
Key Syllabus Topic
- Reasoning Ability (General Aptitude): Puzzles & Seating Arrangement (Circular, Linear, Box-based), Syllogism, Inequalities, Blood Relations, Input-Output, Coding-Decoding.
- Quantitative Aptitude (General Aptitude): Data Interpretation (Bar, Pie, Line, Tables), Number Series, Quadratic Equations, Data Sufficiency, Arithmetic (Profit & Loss, Time & Work, SI-CI, Speed & Distance).
- English Language (General Aptitude): Reading Comprehension, Cloze Test, Error Spotting, Sentence Improvement, Para Jumbles, Vocabulary.
Descriptive Test
- Letter Writing: Letters to Branch Managers, RBI Ombudsman, Customer Grievances, Loan Inquiry Responses.
- Essay Writing: Digital Banking Trends, Indian Economy & Banking Innovations, Financial Inclusion, NPA Challenges.