SBI PO Salary: Basic Pay, Allowances, Perks and Promotion

The JMGS-I pay scale has been:

₹48,480 - 2,000 (7) - 62,480 - 2,340 (2) - 67,160 - 2,680 (7) - 85,920

• New SBI POs get four advance increments of ₹2,000 each, so the starting basic is about ₹56,480.
• After that, basic pay rises by yearly increments as per the scale.

This is the main reason the SBI PO starting pay is higher than many other bank PO posts.

• Dearness Allowance (DA) - linked to the consumer price index and revised regularly, so it changes with inflation.
• Special Allowance - a fixed percentage of basic pay.
• House Rent Allowance (HRA) - depends on the city of posting, or SBI provides leased accommodation for officers instead.
• City Compensatory Allowance (CCA) - in larger cities.
• Medical aid, Leave Fare Concession (LFC) and other bank-specific allowances.

Bank salaries are not set by the Pay Commission. They follow bipartite settlements between banks and employee unions, so they change when a new settlement is signed.

• Leased house for officers, as per the bank's policy and the city of posting.
• Concessional loans for home, vehicle and personal needs.
• Medical benefits for the officer and family.
• Pension under the National Pension System, with the bank contributing 14% of basic pay plus DA.
• Leave Fare Concession and other leave benefits.

New POs serve a probation of about two years, with training at SBI's institutes and in branches. During probation, POs may need to pass internal tests.

SBI has asked new POs to sign a service bond or indemnity bond for a set period of service, with an amount to be paid if they leave early. Read the bond terms in the current notice.

• Handling customer service, accounts and branch operations.
• Processing loans - checking proposals, documents and recovery.
• Selling products such as insurance, mutual funds and cards.
• Supervising staff and, in time, managing a branch.

SBI has a very large network, so POs can be posted in metro, urban, semi-urban or rural branches across India.

Promotions depend on service, performance and internal tests or interviews. Top posts like Chairman and Managing Director are filled through a separate process.

See our IBPS PO salary page for details of other public sector banks.

1. Prelims - English, quantitative aptitude and reasoning.
2. Mains - objective tests on reasoning, data analysis, General, Economy and Banking Awareness and English, plus a descriptive English test.
3. Phase III - psychometric test, group exercise and interview.

Candidates need a graduation degree; the age limit has been 21 to 30 years. See our SBI PO exam guide for the full pattern.

1. Prelims - build speed in quant and reasoning, and accuracy in English.
2. Mains - practise high-level puzzles and data interpretation, and read banking and economy news daily.
3. Descriptive - write one letter and one essay every week.
4. Phase III - practise group discussions and know SBI's history, products and role.

New SBI POs go through induction training at SBI's learning centres, followed by on-the-job training in branches. Topics include credit, operations, foreign exchange, digital banking and customer service. SBI also encourages officers to pass the JAIIB and CAIIB exams of the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance, which can bring extra increments.

• POs can be transferred across India, often to rural or semi-urban branches in the early years.
• Within a few years, a PO may be made branch manager of a small branch.
• Workload can be heavy around month-end, year-end and target periods.
• The job offers respect, steady growth and strong perks, along with responsibility for public money.

• Bank staff who joined after the pension cut-off date are covered by the National Pension System (NPS) - the employee pays 10% of basic pay plus DA and the bank adds 14%.
• Employees also get gratuity at retirement as per the rules, based on years of service and last pay.
• Leave encashment and other retirement benefits are given as per the bank's policy.

• Class 10 certificate for date of birth.
• Graduation marksheets and degree.
• Caste, EWS, non-creamy layer or disability certificate in the format given in the notice, where relevant.
• Photo identity proof, photographs and signature, as asked at document verification.

Make sure your name and date of birth match across all documents.

1. Ignoring the bond terms before joining.
2. Judging the job only by basic pay - DA, special allowance and leased house add a lot.
3. Not preparing for Phase III, which affects final merit.
4. Using old salary figures from before the latest settlement.

For other bank pay guides, see the IBPS PO salary and IBPS Clerk salary pages.