SBI PO 2026: what we know
SBI’s careers page says the prelims were held on 1 and 2 August 2026. The prelims result came out on 28 August, and the Main exam was held on 12 September 2026. SBI does not publish difficulty ratings or good-attempt figures. The Mains result is still awaited: it is due in September/October 2026 (tentative) and had not been published as of 12 October.
What this page covers
Section-wise paper
Section names, questions, marks and timings come from the advertisement and the “Acquaint Yourself” booklets, and each section is separately timed. For the prelims, SBI gives only the 100-mark total, not marks for each section. Every section except English Language is bilingual (English & Hindi). SBI names only the tests, so the topic lists below are commonly tested areas, not an official syllabus.
Prelims · English Language
40 Q · 20 min · English only. Commonly tested: reading comprehension, error spotting, fillers and para jumbles.
Prelims · Quantitative Aptitude
30 Q · 20 min · English & Hindi. Commonly tested: simplification, number series, quadratic equations, data interpretation and arithmetic.
Prelims · Reasoning Ability
30 Q · 20 min · English & Hindi. Commonly tested: puzzles and seating arrangement, syllogism, inequalities, blood relations and coding-decoding.
Mains · Reasoning & Computer Aptitude
40 Q · 60 marks · 50 min · bilingual. Commonly tested: puzzles, logical reasoning, data sufficiency and computer fundamentals.
Mains · Data Analysis & Interpretation
30 Q · 60 marks · 45 min · bilingual. An on-screen calculator is allowed in this test. Commonly tested: tables, charts, caselet-based data sets and data sufficiency.
Mains · General Awareness / Economy / Banking Knowledge
60 Q · 60 marks · 45 min · bilingual. Commonly tested: current affairs, banking and the economy.
Mains · English Language
40 Q · 20 marks · 40 min · English only. Commonly tested: reading comprehension, vocabulary and sentence-level questions.
Mains · Descriptive test
3 Q · 30 marks · 30 min · English only, typed on the computer straight after the objective test. It tests communication skills: email writing (1 of 2, 10 marks), situation analysis (1 of 2, 10 marks), and report or précis writing (1 of 2, 10 marks).
What a wrong answer costs
Every objective section deducts one-fourth of a question’s marks for each wrong answer, in both the prelims and the Mains. A question left blank costs nothing. Marks per question differ between Mains tests, so the penalty does too. Here are the figures worked out from the official marks and question counts:
| Section | Marks per question | Penalty per wrong answer |
|---|---|---|
| Prelims · all three sections | Not published per section (100 marks in all) | ¼ of the question’s marks |
| Mains · Reasoning & Computer Aptitude | 1.50 | 0.375 |
| Mains · Data Analysis & Interpretation | 2.00 | 0.50 |
| Mains · General Awareness / Economy / Banking Knowledge | 1.00 | 0.25 |
| Mains · English Language | 0.50 | 0.125 |
These figures assume a test’s marks are spread equally across its questions, because SBI states only test totals. The Mains booklet adds that every question has five options and that a fractional total penalty for a test is rounded off to the nearest integer. The penalty applies only to the objective tests. SBI does not publish good-attempt numbers, so we don’t show any.
Cut-offs & shortlisting
The prelims have no sectional cut-off. SBI draws a category-wise merit list on the total score and shortlists about 10 times the vacancies in each category for the Mains. In the Mains, you need a minimum score in each of Tests I–IV and in the descriptive paper. The Bank sets these sectional cut-offs depending on the vacancies. About 3 times the vacancies in each category are then shortlisted for Phase III, as long as they score the minimum total. SBI publishes results as lists of roll numbers, and you check your own marks by logging in on SBI’s careers page. None of the documents give cut-off marks.
Crack SBI PO with your own daily plan
Daily targets, PYQ practice sets & timed mocks — to the latest pattern.
Turn the paper structure into your next mock
Knowing where the marks and penalties sit only helps if you practise with it in mind. JobSafal turns the SBI PO tests into daily targets and timed practice, so accuracy becomes a habit before the exam.
Section-wise plan
Daily targets across English, Quant/DI, Reasoning and Awareness.
Full CBT mocks
Real-interface mocks with rank comparison.
Sectional drills
Work on the section your mocks flag as weak.
PYQ practice sets
Previous-year questions, solved and tagged by section.
