Banking Exam Fundamentals
Banking Awareness — Core Concepts
Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
•Established: 1 April 1935 (nationalized 1 January 1949)
•Headquarters: Mumbai
•Governor: Appointed by Government of India
•Functions: Currency issuance, banker to government, banker to banks, monetary policy, foreign exchange management, regulator
Key RBI Rates (check current values before exam)
•Repo Rate: Rate at which RBI lends to commercial banks overnight
•Reverse Repo Rate: Rate at which RBI borrows from banks
•CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio): % of NDTL banks keep as cash with RBI
•SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio): % of NDTL kept as liquid assets (G-Sec, gold, cash)
•Bank Rate: Long-term lending rate (= MSF rate)
•MSF (Marginal Standing Facility): Emergency overnight borrowing = Repo + 25 bps
Types of Banks in India
| Type | Examples |
|---|
|------|---------|
| Public Sector Banks (PSBs) | SBI, PNB, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Union Bank |
|---|---|
| Private Sector Banks | HDFC, ICICI, Axis, Kotak, YES Bank, IndusInd |
| Foreign Banks | Citibank, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank |
| Small Finance Banks | AU SF Bank, Equitas, ESAF, Ujjivan |
| Payments Banks | Paytm, Airtel, IPPB (India Post) |
| Regional Rural Banks | Co-sponsored by Centre, State, and Sponsor bank |
Important Financial Institutions
•NABARD: National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development — refinance for rural credit
•SIDBI: Small Industries Development Bank — MSME financing
•NHB: National Housing Bank — housing finance
•EXIM Bank: Export-Import Bank — foreign trade financing
•SEBI: Securities and Exchange Board of India — capital markets regulator
•IRDAI: Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority — insurance regulator
•PFRDA: Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority — pension regulator
Quantitative Aptitude — Formula Sheet
Percentage
•% change = (New - Old)/Old × 100
•Successive discounts of a% and b%: Net = a + b - ab/100
Simple Interest (SI) vs Compound Interest (CI)
•SI = PRT/100
•CI = P(1 + R/100)^T - P
•For 2 years: Difference = P(R/100)²
Profit & Loss
•Profit% = (Profit/CP) × 100
•SP = CP × (100 + Profit%)/100
•If marked price has d% discount: SP = MP × (100-d)/100
Time & Work
•If A does work in 'a' days, per day work = 1/a
•LCM method: assume total work = LCM of all days
Time, Speed, Distance
•Speed = Distance/Time
•Relative speed (same direction) = |S1 - S2|
•Relative speed (opposite) = S1 + S2
•Train crossing pole: Time = Length/Speed
•Train crossing platform: Time = (Train length + Platform length)/Speed
Ratio & Proportion
•a:b::c:d → ad = bc (product of means = product of extremes)
•Compounded ratio of a:b and c:d = ac:bd
Reasoning — Key Pattern Types
Puzzles (Highest Weightage — 15–20 questions in Mains)
Types: Linear arrangement, Circular arrangement, Floor-based, Parallel rows, Box/Category
Strategy: Read all clues, start with definite clues (absolute positions), use elimination
Syllogism
•All A are B + All B are C → All A are C (valid)
•Some A are B + All B are C → Some A are C (valid)
•No A are B + All B are C → No A is C (valid, all C are not A — check carefully)
Input-Output
Track the shifting/arrangement pattern in each step — usually word + number alternating based on ascending/descending order.
Coding-Decoding
•Letter coding: find shift pattern (+2, -3, mirror, etc.)
•Number coding: observe which property is coded (position, sum, product, reverse)