It has been 1.5 years since I started on this 7 part SBI PO Blog Series. At present I have completed over 2.5 years in this organization and hence the wide-eyed exuberance of a young Probationer has given way to a determined indifference of experience. Along the way I have personally interacted with many readers of this blog who have shared their amazing stories with me. Some of these readers have since become my colleagues while others have achieved even higher successes. This blog series began in Part 1 with an introduction to SBI PO, a comprehensive discourse of strategy in Part 2, followed by the Prelims Exam Guide in Part 3, Mains Exam Breakdown in Part 4, the dissection of the Interview Phase in Part 5 & a Post-selection walkthrough upto the date of joining SBI in Part 6. We have finally arrived at the ubiquitous “series finale”, which will serve as an epilogue to the entire series- The future of the SBI PO exam, the intricacies of the job & the rapidly evolving public sector banking landscape.

The controversial changes to the SBI PO exam

There were several changes introduced in 2017’s SBI PO exam some of which I have already discussed in previous posts. Two changes, however, were particularly contentious- the addition of a Bond of Rs. 2,00,000 and the elimination of category wise cut-offs (now only aggregate cut-off is considered ). I will talk about the Bond later on in this post. The cut-off controversy was a consequence of making the paper extremely hard- in fact each year the difficulty of the SBI PO exam is going up and in 2017 it reached a point where numerous candidates who had high total scores actually scored 0 in certain categories like English or Quant. SBI was forced to amend the rules stated in the notification and for the first time in the history of the SBI PO exam the bank selected people who had scored 0 in the mathematical ability part of the test. The decision was immediately challenged in court and after prolonged litigation in December 2017 the court ruled in favour of SBI. Click here to view the Court Judgement PDF.

A twist in 2019

for the first time in the history of the SBI PO exam the bank selected people who had scored 0 in the mathematical ability part of the test.

In 2017, the High Court’s dismissal clearly stated that even though SBI had changed the qualifying criteria after the exam was conducted it was well within its rights to do so. Data gathered from the CGM(HR) of SBI revealed that if they had not made the changes only 138 candidates would have been eligible for the interview against the vacancy of 2313! The Judgement also mentioned that SBI aims to have 3 times the number of vacancies to be called for interview and hence they removed the sectional cut-off and even reduced the aggregate cut-off for each category by 10% to select a pool of 6327 candidates for the final interview phase. The court case was renewed after the plaintiffs appealed against the decision in 2019. This jeopardized the jobs of many young Probationers who were categorically intimated by SBI a few weeks back that their job in the bank was subject to the final verdict of the Court Case. As the matter is sub judice I cannot go into further detail but I can tell you that the 2017 POs that I know are devastated. Just imagine working so hard to get your dream job only to be told that you might be sacked any day if a Judgement goes against you. Cases in India can be prolonged for years so who knows how long their mental agony will last. A constant threat of “Do I even have my job?” is neither healthy nor warranted. Judicial intervention in Govt Exams isn’t new. A scandal in 2017 led to SSC CGL being indefinitely deferred and another one with 2017’s RBI Assistant delayed the results by 2 years (Candidates who cleared the exam in 2017 joined RBI in 2019 due to the fiasco!). Such cases reveal the thought process (or the lack of it) that goes into conducting these critical exams. Lakhs of unemployed people in the country depend on these. Should they be made to pay the price for the lapses on the part of the IBPS or the other bodies involved in organizing the exams? What is their fault in all of this? Why aren’t frivolous cases dispensed with the utmost urgency as so many lives are at stake? Questions like these will forever remain unanswered.

कानून के हाथ लम्बे होते है पर शायद देश के भविष्य के लिए उनकी गतिबृद्धि भी ज़रूरी  है

The changes to the training structure of SBI POs

Due to the growing dissent among the Probationers and their proclivity to resign, the HR finally did a complete overhaul of the training regimen that had remained unchanged for decades. Key changes:

1. Pre joining Learning & Certification Courses

A mandatory course to be completed before joining the bank covering basics of finance & banking.

2. Only 2 joining dates & Option to join the next year

Earlier POs joined the bank on a rolling basis as per their date of qualifying. Now, they are made to join on one of only 2 dates in a fiscal year. Another novel initiative of a ‘one year joining holiday’ is provided to all new SBI POs: Cannot join due to some reason? Defer it by 1 year, no strings attached. It was specifically mentioned that this is being done for those who are exploring other career options for which they may require frequent leaves/service breaks. I personally know a few SBI POs who have deferred their joining to study for UPSC, RBI etc. & it’s quite popular among young Probationers who do not need the job immediately.

3. Less number of branches during Probation

The SBI PO training schedule used to be jam-packed with lots of branches in the 1st year. I moved through 10 branches all over Karnataka in just over 1 year of service. This was changed to 2 branches in the 1st year and that too only in Metro/Urban areas. The guidelines also state that the PO is to be preferably allotted to the same city for the 1st year. For the 2nd year the SBI PO is posted to a single branch as the Passing Officer as it used to be earlier in our case, except for the fact that this posting is now mandatorily in a Rural/Semi-Urban centre.

4. Scrapping of the “Confirmation Exam”

This was by far the most significant change. All SBI POs were subjected to a Confirmation Exam at the end of their 2 year training period which they had to pass to become confirmed officers. This was replaced with the Continuous Assessment Program- a 1000 point system constituting multiple parameters that an SBI PO is now ranked on. If you get > 750 points (75%) you are confirmed in Scale 2 and if you get below 500 points (50%) by the end of 2 years you get terminated from the job. No exceptions. (Note that in the era of the confirmation exam you needed only 60% in the exam to become Scale 2 & a PO was given a maximum of 2 attempts to pass the exam)

5. Mandatory Certifications

SBI POs were incentivized to give various certification exams like CIF/ACE/SP by rewarding them with free marks in the confirmation exam (3 marks for each completed certification) but now these have been made compulsory. You need to pass these exams before being eligible to sell SBI Life Insurance, Mutual Funds or General insurance. So the message is clear- cross selling is a necessity for new bankers and no longer a choice. New SBI POs are pushed to hone their Marketing & Sales abilities. Credit Management & BM certifications were also made compulsory.

6. Reduction of notice period

Cut down from the current 3 months to just 1 month.

Distribution of the 1000 points in the new system spread over 2 years of an SBI PO’s training

Sweet Honeymoon but Rocky Marriage

So the message is clear- cross selling is a necessity for new bankers and no longer a choice… SBI POs are pushed to hone their Marketing & Sales abilities.

If the PO life of a Bank Officer can be termed as the “honeymoon”, then post-confirmation life is the marriage. Earlier SBI PO life could be unequivocally termed as a sweet honeymoon but with the above changes the senior management has adopted a no-nonsense policy. SBI POs can still get away with lesser workload but there is no such respite for confirmed Officers. Due to staff shortages in every Region the Officers are constantly deputed to different branches. You might be sent to a branch over 100 km away without any notice and you cannot protest. There is a famous saying that is often repeated to new POs : “There are no timings for Officers”- while the clerical cadre usually leave work by 6 PM, the Officers in almost every branch regularly work atleast upto 8:30 PM. Some Branch Heads stay till 10 PM in the branch and during audits it gets worse. I have personally been in a branch till 1:30 AM during a particularly difficult RFIA audit. There is no incentive to finish work on time and leave so even efficient employees delay work just to make their superiors happy. Leaves are hard to come by and even weekends are spent in the branch because those are the only days you can do “pending work” without customer interruptions.

Insurance Agent role playing as Bank Officer?

We have a popular saying in the bank, “SBI Life is taking the Life out of SBI”. However, it is not an issue restricted only to SBI. Every bank is peddling their insurance products & there is a severe pressure to cross-sell the bank’s MFs and Life & General Insurance Policies. Life Insurance is the focal point because it provides the highest financial incentives which go to the very top. If you sell a Policy everyone gets a piece of commission out of it- you, your manager, manager’s manager and so on. Naturally, there is a huge impetus on selling these policies from those seated at the top of the food chain. Some Officers get calls late into the night from high ranking officials if they fail to meet their monthly sales quotas. A friend rightly pointed out that it’s making SBI the State Bank of Insurance. The HR policies leave a lot to be desired and majority of the staff feels left out. Those serving in far away states are not given ICT (Inter Circle Transfers) on time. The pay grade is also quite low for the quantum of risk taken on a daily basis by the officers- compared to pure government servants the pay scale is much lower. The Regional Business Offices (RBOs) think that the branches do not do adequate work so the Officers are interrupted at multiple times of the day by RBO phone calls to do various kinds of works, make reports etc. most of which are redundant and should have been handled by the RBO itself. DGMs and GMs insist on very fast TATs (Turn Around Times) and the obedient employee gets pushed around while the arrogant or sycophantic employee escapes from the same.

Promise of a spectacular future but what about the Present?

Every SBI PO is referred to as a “Future Chairman” and it always seems like there is something far off in the distance, something shiny that everyone is racing toward.

An ironical aspect of the job is that even when you are struggling with heavy workload or other intractable issues in your day-to-day work, the prospect of a golden future is continuously reinforced. Every SBI PO is referred to as a “Future Chairman” and it always seems like there is something far off in the distance, something shiny that everyone is racing toward. But in the pursuit of that shimmering future, the present lies in shambles. “If you get promoted directly to Scale 2 after 2 years you have a bright future”, “If you finish your rural posting all will be amazing”, “If you crack JIBO you will work in a foreign country”, “If you get to Scale V fast then life will be smooth sailing”… and many, many more hypothetical Ifs dominate the discussions. Sure, almost every Chairman of SBI began as an SBI PO, but the converse is not true. How many POs retired at the AGM level? What sacrifices were made to climb up the ladder beyond it? In pursuit of the future is it worth to sacrifice every moment of the present? Questions that every young PO should ask before heading down that path because once you begin, there is no turning back. A short summary follows on what I believe are the primary positives and negatives about the SBI PO job profile.

Ever wondered what happens after you are confirmed and your SBI PO life ends? Well, let me tell you a story.

A Day in the Life of Anand Gupta

Anand had been a star performer at the Yanepe Branch in Bangalore. The recipient of multiple awards, he had fostered customer relationships which had led to mobilisation of deposits & exceptional credit delivery. He had recently been promoted to a Scale 2 Officer & everything had been looking good till yesterday. Today, however, he was in a dilapidated bus on a road surrounded on both sides by thick foliage heading to a remote village. As he trundled along the potholed road and the lush greenery around him zoomed by he closed his eyes and his mind drifted to the previous day when he was called into the Branch Manager’s cabin.

*****

“Anand, come in! You have been posted as the Branch Manager of Keriwadgaon. Congratulations!”

The BM’s enthusiastic overtures were in stark contrast to the look on Anand’s face. He had heard about this notorious rural branch with heavy NPAs and remote location near the border. He was unsettled but tried to maintain his composure.

“Thank you sir, but I had requested a posting to Agarbulg which is much closer to my hometown”

The BM’s face changed colour for only a brief moment and then with a wide smile he looked into Anand’s eyes. 

“Don’t worry my son! The bank needs a young and dynamic Officer like you. You are an SBI PO, a future Chairman of the bank. This challenging assignment will eventually make you a better banker & leader!”

Anand called the HR manager to convey his apprehensions but the HR Manager continued in the same vein as the BM.

“Why are you worried Anand? You are young and not yet married. Without a family weighing you down you can finish off your mandatory rural assignment and become eligible for the best promotional exams. Your next posting will definitely be at the head office! Good Luck!”

*****

Anand wondered whether only a married man had a “family” and his mind drifted to his mother and father and how long it had been since he had last seen them… His ruminations came to an abrupt end as the bus screeched to a halt in the middle of the jungle. He alighted at a small makeshift bus stop and walked a narrow lane to reach an old one-storeyed building that proudly displayed the blue SBI logo. There were less than 10 buildings in the vicinity but inside the branch it was crowded. Anand would later find out that this was the sole branch servicing customers from over 100 villages in the area. The Accountant was the only other officer in the branch along with 3 clerical staff, one of whom was on leave. The BM did not have his own cabin but a separate desk on the corner. Anand took his seat and the peon informed him that his accommodation could be arranged in a nearby town 10 km away where all the other staff stayed as well. Due to fear of wild animals at night it was prudent, said the peon, to close the branch & head back to this town while there was still daylight. No female staff was posted to this branch as it did not have a toilet. One had to relieve himself out in the bushes. Swachh Bharat had yet to reach this rural hamlet.

No sooner had Anand assumed charge than he was bombarded by phone calls. The Regional Office had high expectations from Anand despite the fact that deposits & advances had seen negative growth in the last 3 fiscals. On the one hand customers with long pending issues came straight to him for resolution and unlike city dwellers it was not possible to reason with these rural folks. On the other the spate of phone calls continued unabated. The Regional Manager himself called and stated that today it was a “Maha Login Day” for SBI Life Insurance. 2 Policies had to be sold today by his branch at any cost. The Credit Manager called him to intimate that NPA notices were pending since the last month & unless done by day end Anand would be held accountable. The Alternate Channels manager called and stated that 5 registrations had to be done for the SBI YONO app. When Anand pointed out that villagers in his branch didn’t possess a smartphone he was curtly told to go to the nearby town and complete the task. And on and on went the unending barrage. At the end of the evening, totally spent & fatigued Anand slouched back in his chair. He had only one thought in his head: “How am I going to survive here for 3 years?”

Is Rural Banking a punishment posting?

While many bankers might tend to disagree, the definitive answer to this question is a resounding “NO”. Let me substantiate the reason. As per the Report on Trend & Progress of Banking in India 2017-18 by the RBI (available here), the distribution of India’s banking network is as follows (click on the Pie Charts for additional info).

As you see from the above data 70,000 or about 58.5% of bank branches in India belong to rural or semi-urban population centres. Out of this 70k branches 54,598 branches belong to PSBs while Private Banks (PVBs) constitute only 15,402 branches. So PSBs account for almost 78% of banks in rural areas. PSBs almost single-handedly execute all financial inclusion programs launched by the government. Their efforts have enabled schemes such as the PMJDY, PMJJBY, PMSBY, PMFBY, PMAY, MUDRA etc. to become record successes adding multiple feathers to the cap of the incumbent governments. Even so, the heavy lifting done by these PSBs goes unacknowledged. Instead, they are routinely demonized by the mainstream media for their lack of service and perceived “Sarkari Daftar wala” attitude. Let’s run these same numbers for SBI to see if SBI is a microcosm of the prevalent ecosystem.

The picture within SBI is reflective of the same pattern that we see within all PSBs as a whole. A total of 10,958 branches or about 60% of the 18,307 total branches of SBI are located within rural and semi-urban areas. Popularly referred to as the “RUSU” branches within the bank, most of these branches are short-staffed and overburdened by the vast populations that they serve. Of course no one willingly chooses to be posted to such branches so the HR department has a rule that every officer needs to serve a minimum of 2 years in RUSU branches (recently reduced from the earlier 3 year minimum) to qualify for various promotions & internal examinations. Due to lack of staff most officers end up spending much more than 2 years in RUSU postings. Many of those postings are in such remote areas that they might go without hygienic food, water or even a house to stay in (so you end up staying in the branch itself). Even though officers feel it’s a punishment posting, the numbers show very clearly why it is not so, it is simply the law of averages at work. There are far too many branches in rural areas and far too less officers to man them. So when you join the bank as an SBI PO you should readily assume that sooner or later you will be posted in some extremely rural branch, especially if you are a single male office.

The Reality of Banking with a Social Motive

Of course no one willingly chooses to be posted to such branches so the HR department has a rule that every officer needs to serve a minimum of 2 years in RUSU branches.

Although economists categorize India as a “mixed” economy, the free market determines the direction of almost every company in the country. That is the reason why Air India failed after the emergence of private players and BSNL is on the brink of bankruptcy. Although they get funding support from the Centre, the customers are free to choose any product offered in the market. Private players with their better market positioning have seized the advantage in almost every major industry. Banking is the next frontier. When banks were nationalized for the first time 50 years ago in 1969, the economy was still following Nehruvian socialism. It made sense to bring the banks under government control to facilitate last mile delivery of banking services. However, after the LPG Reforms post the 1991 BOP Crisis banking, like other sectors, was deregulated. As the decades passed the free market dictated the trajectory of Indian banking and private players that entered the market in the 90s flourished. Today PSBs & PVBs compete in the same market but the inherent asymmetry has exacerbated. While PSBs are still responsible for propagating the “social” schemes of the government and must serve everyone, PVBs are free to pick and choose customers. Both are held to the same standards by the RBI but as Governor Urjit Patel mentioned in this speech before he resigned, the government has too much regulatory control over PSBs. As all banks move toward driving more shareholder value and into profitable activities, who will serve the common man? Every armchair intellectual today is calling for Privatisation but if that happens will a poor customer be able to walk into a bank to open an account? Or will those poor people just become ‘leads’ for the private entity to convert and make more profit? Time will tell.

The spike in attrition and HR’s attempt to “bond” with employees

Remember the second important change about the SBI PO Exam that I mentioned earlier? Yes, let’s talk about the Bond. The attrition rate of SBI POs is quite high, even though the salary and perks are the best across the industry. I am not at liberty to reveal the figure as it is confidential bank information but I can tell you that quite a few leave the bank after completing their Probation and sometimes even before that. Many of my own colleagues have resigned, sometimes without jobs in hand to fall back upon. Some are even leaving SBI to head to RRBs! Using remuneration to retain employees was a good strategy in the 70s but isn’t useful any longer. So the HR had to act. Across the world HR policies are rectifying such issues using the carrot and not the stick but SBI did the opposite. Instead of enacting reforms to incentivize employees to stay they chose a financial disincentive. If you leave SBI before completing 3 years you have to pay Rs. 2,00,000. Such a Bond was commonplace in other banks but unheard of in SBI. Not only is it regressive in today’s day and age but it also pushes real issues to the back burner like lack of concerns for real problems of employees, arbitrary postings, lack of man power at branches, forcing employees to work on holidays etc. Forcing people to stay instead of fixing deep seated issues lies at the heart of the problem.

Who should become an SBI PO?

By now you should have a well defined idea about the SBI PO job, what happens after PO life ends and the future in the bank. I believe every job has pros and cons and if the pros outweigh the cons in your personal case then it can always work out for you. SBI PO is a job exclusively meant for Type-A personalities. Your desire to succeed and rise up the ranks should have no equal. Family life shouldn’t take priority over the job and you should be willing to build your life around your work and not vice versa. You need to be passionate about sales and marketing (if you feel salesmen are a bane to society then stay away). Targets should not bog you down. As you achieve more targets the likelihood of promotion goes up. You also need to be remorseless & cut-throat to sell your products & convince the customer regardless of your personal convictions about the product. “Closing” the sale is the focus here & not customer-centricity so the prospective customer’s needs are not a priority. You should have no qualms about working on the weekends or sitting late at the office. You need to have a high attention span & not be prone to minor lapses- the job entails dealing with crores of the bank’s money and as an officer you are accountable for every single penny. You also need to work all over India so transfers out of state should not faze you. Promotions are merit based and not guaranteed. Almost every PO reaches AGM level but above that it is based not only on how much work you do but how much work your boss thinks you do. Connections are vital so networking skills are essential. If you check all the boxes and think you have what it takes then go for it. No other job can allow you to start at the very bottom and climb to the very top. If you are hard working and lucky you can work in different countries and in exciting fields as SBI is at the forefront of banking. But remember, nothing comes without a price.

Do you still think you have what it takes?

SBI is an emotional rollercoaster

My journey in SBI is difficult to depict monolithically. I have experienced dizzying highs and monumental lows. I’ve met many young PSB bankers along the way and realized that almost all of us are going through a similar mental state. Staying thousands of kilometers away from our families in a demanding job without much of a social life can take its toll. Lots of my colleagues have resigned and moved to Central Govt jobs, others are pursuing their MBAs and some have moved back to the private sector. Not everyone can make the sacrifices the job entails maybe because you never know if it’s going to work out for you. Not everyone can become an Arundhati Bhattacharya or Rajnish Kumar- people who joined as SBI POs and worked their way to the very top to lead the entire bank. Since many decades SBI POs from the humblest of beginnings have risen to the title of Chairman of SBI. It is expected that SBI POs will continue to rise up the ranks and lead SBI in the decades to come. That has, after all, been the tradition. I have a different opinion on this however. The world around us is changing faster than we can ever imagine. We are about to enter the age of self driving cars and interplanetary rockets. AI is about to make millions of jobs irrelevant. Is it wise to trust tradition or do we need to adopt new principles?

The New 1 Job until retirement formula

The days of getting a secure government job to ‘be set for life’ are over. Wake up and take action.

I am a big believer in skills. I firmly believe that if you are entering the workforce in 2019 then you have to forget about the 1 job until retirement formula that worked for your parents and grandparents. They used to enter a company and work there for 30-40 years until retirement. The problem with this approach in today’s world is that the world is no longer that simple. The paradigm shift in the pace of technology has necessitated a new 1 job until retirement formula. So what is this 1 job? Your job, in whatever role or organization you work in, is to imbibe skills and learn about the business. Ask yourself- What is the skill set most in demand? Who are the top players in this industry? What product/service do customers in your marketplace pay the most for? Search for the best skills instead of the best job. And then become proficient in those skills. Real skills will never go out of fashion and are immune to job losses. The days of getting a secure government job to ‘be set for life’ are over. Wake up and take action.     

The world is changing faster than ever before

The pursuit of The Perfect Job

The most common question that people ask me is “What’s the best job to go for?” and almost all of us obsesses over it, carefully studying industry trends, employee reviews and opinions of friends and family to land that perfect job. But does that actually exist? Over the years I’ve found that the answer to that question can only be found internally. Doing any job means you’re pursuing what is referred to as “Active Income” and are trading money for time. The inherent nature of that transaction involves compromise. Now the quality & quantity of that compromise depends on where you live and which industry you work in. It also depends on governmental regulations- the labour laws of India naturally allow the employees to be exploited much more than those of developed countries. However, India also allows you much more leeway so if you’re street smart & can apply ‘jugaad’ you might be able to broker better deals and suffer much less in any job. You do not control what happens to you in a job but you do control your outlook. If you focus on skill acquisition then you become valuable to many companies. Only you know what your priorities are in life. No matter how much data we collect, human beings are inherently emotion-driven creatures. Proximity to family, work-life balance, quality of work and challenges in the workplace all should provide you with fulfillment in your life. Keep searching. There is no perfect job for everyone. But there is one just for you. Find it.

Find Your Path

The End

To those of you who have read this blog series from the beginning to the end- THANK YOU. I might not have been able to provide an Avengers Endgame sort of culmination but I certainly hope it was a better finale than the one Game of Thrones had. It has not been easy to pen down all of the minutiae that I dealt with throughout my journey but it has certainly been worthwhile. I have been flooded with messages and emails from many of you and it has been an honour to get to know you and interact with you. My motive, since the very beginning, was to share my personal journey and to offer an alternative to the expensively priced “study materials” in the market. I am not a teacher and neither an expert. I’m just a guy who wanted to share his own story with the world. Hopefully, it will help someone out there who needs it. If you are still without a job I can assure you that your devotion and hard work will not be wasted. It never is. You completed this blog series didn’t you? Just make lists of things to do and complete them one by one. Try it. Measure the results. Re-calibrate. Re-iterate. It really is that simple. And if you keep on completing things and stay locked onto your goal there’s nothing you can’t achieve. As for Banking exams I would suggest you plan for a horizon of 3 years. If it’s meant for you, you’ll crack something in 3 years. If not, then you are made for bigger things. I wish you great health and lots of success. May the force be with you.