Bank Clerk, SO & PO Job Details
A Bank Clerk, also known as the teller, is a financial service professional. He / She serves as the primary point of contact for most bank customers, administering basic banking transactions and answering most questions. This role is an entry-level position.
Almost all the Public and Private Sector Banks recruit aspirants for the clerical vacancies. A huge number of Bank Clerk vacancies created every year.
Duties & Responsibilities of a Bank Clerk
There are various other clerical roles you could become involved in as a bank clerk to help keep the bank in order. Like any other business, banks need help with general tasks, such as data entry, filing, mail handlers, and messengers.
A Bank Clerk accepts deposits and cashes checks, paying money to customers after validating the signatures on the check and fund availability.
- When handling withdrawals, He / She verifies customer signatures and examines their photo identification to ensure their validity.
- He / She records all transactions made by entering notes into the bank’s computer system, accepts loan payments on behalf of her employer’s lending department.
- He / She answers all customer questions and resolves any issues or problems with their accounts, referring the issue to the branch manager if necessary.
- He / She promotes and educates customers on the bank’s products and services, such as credit cards, money market accounts and individual retirement accounts (IRAs).
- He / She also ensures that the balance of her money drawer is accurate.
As a bank clerk, you will be in any of the departments as follow:
Interest Clerk: Recording interest owed to saving accounts customers and interest owed to the bank from loans and other investments.
Loan Clerk: Recording and organizing loan information.
Statement Clerk: Preparing the monthly balance sheets of checking account customers.
Exchange Clerk: Working on international accounts, translating foreign currency into pounds sterling and vice versa.
Security Clerk: Recording, filing and looking after stocks, bonds, and other investment documents.
Book-keeping Clerk: Taking care of records for each customer’s account.
Required studies and skills of a Bank Clerk
Usually, a bank clerk will need not only college but also a superior education level, which can be any faculty related to the economic field (Economics, Finances, Marketing, Management, Accountability, etc).
Educational Requirements of a Bank Clerk
To gain employment as a Bank Clerk, a candidate must own a degree or equal. While not typically required, employers tend to favour those who have a four-year degree, preferably in accounting, finance or a related field of study.
He/ she must be speedy in mathematics and also be able to use the computers and other electronic equipment.
To be a Good Bank Clerk, you must have:
The ability to work neatly and accurately
Good written and verbal communication skills
Good numeracy and calculation skills
Good IT skills and computer literacy
An honest and trustworthy nature
Good attention to detail
Right now, a university degree qualifies one to apply for IBPS exams, if the applicant fulfills the given eligibility conditions.
What about professionals?
Do they have any special consideration on account of their better skills and education?
Well, such a privilege is not available to them in case of regular IBPS exams. However, they get a better standing for IBPS Specialist Officers exam, where they could compete with the equally able candidates. IBPS Specialist recruitment put forwards a very promising opportunity for Engineers, Business Managers, Chartered Accountants, Lawyers, looking forward to a safe, secure and rewarding career in Indian financial institutions.
What are the duties of Specialist Officers in the Bank?
Like any office, a bank requires people for keeping it’s “nuts and bolts” intact. While the Probationary Officers and Clerks run the day-to-day operations and business of a bank, the role of a Specialist Officer (SO) sprawls in the background activities, especially in the following areas.
How duties of a Bank Clerk / PO varies from SO?
Duties of IT Specialist officers:
It would be the responsibility of IT officers to oversee the technological perspectives of banking affairs, both software, and hardware. Nearly all banks contracting in the “IBPS recruitment” have shifted to core-banking for operations, and they use software like FLEXCUBE, Finacle, BanCS, SAP, etc.
An IT officer will undergo training in all these domains; they should be able to service, configure troubleshoot the software, computers, and networks that run the banking business. An IT officer in a senior manager role should be able to the assess the future IT interests of the bank, plan scaling, issue tenders, and report IT vacancies to the HR department. In this age of e-Banking, IT officers play a crucial role in acquiring more customers to the bank: no reason why the IT specialists contribute the maximum number of jobs after management posts.
Duties of Lawyers as Specialist Officers:
Lawyers work on forming the policies of the banks in consultation with senior managers. The instructions and conditions we see in a loan, savings, credit card applications are documented and verified by practicing lawyers.
They appear for the respective banks in Courts, process notices to the defaulting customers, and help a bank in taking over attached properties, etc. They are also responsible for making it sure that the bank functions in compliance with the law of the land.
Role of a Bank specialist as Agriculture Field officer:
The primary responsibility of an Agriculture officer is to promote banking services among farmers and cultivators. They have to evaluate the property and assets of potential customers and suggest a reliable approach for increasing the crop yield and performance, in such way that it would profit the banks.
They should be able to communicate new technologies (Eg: Greenhouse and Hi-Tech farming ) to farmers and explain about related financial products (Eg: Kisan Credit Cards) or loans available to them.
Duties of Chartered accountants as Specialist Officers:
CA or Chartered accountants do auditing and are the heads of all accounting in a bank. Chartered Accountants hold top offices as financial planners, tax gurus and advisers to the General Managers. They are responsible for formatting and checking the accuracy of profit/loss statements and other documents for the investor community. They should be able to provide suggestions for the profitable operation of the bank based on RBI policies and other factors.
Role of a Marketing Specialist Officer:
The duty of an officer in this category is to improve the profits and market presence of the bank through various campaigns and promotions. They should have a precise perception of the financial products of the bank, and they may have to devise plans to sell it to the high net-worth individuals and others. In a sum, lead-generation and follow-up are the fundamental roles of marketing officers.
Duties of Specialist Officers in HR Cadre:
A Human Resources professional plays a critical role in any institution. Junior HR officers in a Bank usually handle the training and induction of new employees, circulating appraisal forms, forming leave schedules, creation of salary accounts, etc. Senior HR managers conduct interviews, take classes, deal with labor laws, promotion and other serious matters. In fact, it is HR specialist officers who report the open vacancies in a Bank to recruiting agencies like IBPS.
Rajbhasha Adhikari:
The Specialist Officer in an Indian Bank who deals with the National language is a Rajbhasha Adhikari. The individual applying for the post of Rajbhasha Adhikari should be able to create error-free Hindi documents and translate smoothly between Hindi, English and other regional* languages.
Salary & Benefits of a Bank Specialist Officer
Specialist Officers enjoy a plethora of perks in Indian banks, usually equivalent to the Probationary Officers (PO) in the same rank. As of 2019, the starting salary of an IBPS Specialist Officer comes between 35000 to 60000. You can calculate the in-hand salary by adding the Basic Pay with the latest DA component given Indian Banking Association’s website, HRA and the City Compensatory Allowance if any.
The range of benefits provided to a Specialist Officer vary with the financial institution: many of them provide newspaper/laundry allowances, medical coverage, TA and rented accommodation…
Specialist Officers will get adequate training in respective departments before their appointment to the JMG (Junior Management) Scale I position.
They will be promoted to JMG Scale II to and MMG (Middle Management) Scales in the upcoming years based on performance in tests/interviews, and service rules. Experienced hands may directly join the JMG Scale II post by clearing the relevant IBPS Specialist Exam.
Selection Procedure of Bank SO Recruitment
The standard hiring process in any PSU banks in India involves a combination of entrance exam and interview. IBPS recruitment facility suite the requirement of the banks, and now more than 25 PSU banks prefer their platform for joint recruitment of officers. State Bank of India after the merger with associated banks release consolidated Recruitment of Specialist Officer & other vacancies.
IBPS & SBI are the major players in recruiting for Specialist Officer vacancies for every year. The Specialist Officer Recruitment Notification comes to light every year between December & February.
Candidates wishing to compete for these Specialist Officer vacancies have to apply for the same through the Official website of the Bank / Organization.
A Bank Probationary Officer (PO) in the bank is the starting level appointment for bank officers and the promotional prospects are quite healthy with the work.
All About Bank PO Job
A Bank Probationary Officer (PO) in the bank is the starting level appointment for bank officers and the promotional prospects are quite healthy with the work as it defining the limit for the candidate’s success.
Since candidates join the bank at a junior level, they are being called Probationary Officer (PO) during the probation period (need to work as an entry-level job inside the bank for two years) and later they will be promoted as an assistant manager.
Bank PO Job Profile
The bank assistant manager works closely with the bank manager to ensure that all the processes and services a bank offers run smoothly. He assists in directing and managing the tellers’ and loan officers’ jobs. He makes daily schedules and duties as well as trains the newly hired employees with the using of the machines and the like.
A bank assistant manager is just as responsible as the bank manager for the overall success or failure a bank faces.
He is responsible for assisting the bank manager in training all the bank employees to do their job well. They help in the budgeting of the bank’s expenses and help create a fool-proof daily routine that the employees can follow. Bank assistant managers help the bank manager in a lot of his duties and tasks.
Roles and Responsibilities of a Bank PO
While on the job, here are some of the important responsibilities of probationary officer (or Assistant Manager) in banks.
- The primary duty is to assist and support the bank manager in operating the bank functions.
- He or she has to oversee the functions of the bank that if they are running smoothly and manage the trivial things without bothering manager.
- He or she has the duty to take care of hiring new employees when needed and arranging their training for their development.
- He or she also has to take care of the customers so has to help and solve customer concerns and queries
- He or she has also to look into the matter of marketing of the policies of the bank.
- He or she has to prepare the reports about the performance of the bank for showing to the manager.
- He or she will be responsible for all the duties and functions of the absence of the manager.
- It will be the duty to motivate the employees after evaluating their performance
- He or she has to take part actively in the meetings regarding sanctioning of loans and other financial decisions of the bank.
Service Customers
All banks rely on customers for their business. So servicing the customer is the foremost necessity for an officer by giving them the information they asked.
You, as a “PO” will be asked to look into customers coming for opening new accounts, ATM cards, deposits, receipts, loans, chequebooks etc.,
Bring New Business
Handle Cash
Payment Clearances
Report Verification
Official Communication
Just like in any MNC or IT company, all employees receive numerous emails which could be related to new rules or schemes or products. A probationary officer may be asked to keep a track of these latest developments to improve their product knowledge as they will be interacting with customers more.
The manager could also ask you to send official replies or letters to other departments for want of information or provide them with required info. So PO’s are required to be well versed in all the branch activities because on promotion, they will be elevated to the cadre of ‘Branch Manager’.
Educational Qualification
The education and qualifications of a bank financial manager are:
- The basic degree required for the job is a bachelor’s degree in finance, economics, and accounting
- An MBA degree is necessary for quick growth in the banking sector
- The candidate will get distinct advantage of the past working experience in different levels of the banking sector.
Skills and Specifications of a Bank PO
The skills and specifications required to be a bank assistant manager are as follows:
- The candidate should have thorough and deep knowledge in the finance, accounting, and economics
- He or she should be aware of all financial rules and regulations of the government
- He or she should be able to manage the employees so should have exceptional leadership and motivational skills
- He or she should be able to resolve the quires and customer concerns, in short, should have extraordinary customer service skills
- He or she should be able to maintain the confidentiality so must be honest regarding the financial dealings of the bank
- He or she should be a good communicator both verbally and written so should have excellent communication skills with the negotiation skills as well.
- He or she should have team working skills so will be able to work as a part of a team.
What is the Salary of a Bank PO?
While the pay scale for PO (scale I) ranges between Rs. 35,000 – 50,700, the actual salary could be approx. Rs. 50,000 – 60,000 per month (including allowances) depending on your location.
IBPS Regional Rural Banks
Regional Rural Banks are local level banking organizations operating in the different States of India. They have been created with a view to serving primarily the rural areas of India with basic banking and financial services. However, RRB’s may have branches set up for urban operations and their area of operation may include urban areas too.
The area of operation of RRBs is limited to the area as notified by Government of India covering one or more districts in the State. RRB’s also perform a variety of different functions.
List of Regional Rural Banks
- Allahabad UP Gramin Bank
- Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank
- Andhra Pragathi Grameena Bank
- Arunachal Pradesh Rural Bank
- Assam Gramin Vikash Bank
- Bangiya Gramin Vikash Bank
- Baroda Gujarat Gramin Bank
- Baroda Rajasthan Kshetriya Gramin Bank
- Baroda UP Gramin Bank
- Bihar Gramin Bank
- Central Madhya Pradesh Gramin Bank
- Chaitanya Godavari Grameena Bank
- Chhattisgarh Rajya Gramin Bank
- Dena Gujarat Gramin Bank
- Ellaquai Dehati Bank
- Gramin Bank of Aryavart
- Himachal Pradesh Gramin Bank
- J & K Grameen Bank
- Jharkhand Gramin Bank
- Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank
- Kashi Gomti Samyut Gramin Bank
- Kaveri Grameena Bank
- Kerala Gramin Bank
- Langpi Dehangi Rural Bank
- Madhya Bihar Gramin Bank
- Madhyanchal Gramin Bank
- Maharashtra Gramin Bank
- Malwa Gramin Bank
- Manipur Rural Bank
- Meghalaya Rural Bank
- Mizoram Rural Bank
- Nagaland Rural Bank
- Narmada Jhabua Gramin Bank
- Odisha Gramya Bank
- Pallavan Grama Bank
- Pandyan Grama Bank
- Paschim Banga Gramin Bank
- Pragathi Krishna Gramin Bank
- Prathama Bank
- Puduvai Bharthiar Grama Bank
- Punjab Gramin Bank
- Purvanchal Bank
- Rajasthan Marudhara Gramin Bank
- Saptagiri Grameena Bank
- Sarva Haryana Gramin Bank
- Sarva UP Gramin Bank
- Saurashtra Gramin Bank
- Sutlej Gramin Bank
- Telangana Grameena Bank
- Tripura Gramin Bank
- Utkal Grameen Bank
- Uttar Bihar Gramin Bank
- Uttarakhand Gramin Bank
- Uttarbanga Kshetriya Gramin Bank
- Vananchal Gramin Bank
- Vidharbha Konkan Gramin Bank
The Organizational Structure for RRB’s varies from branch to branch and depends upon the nature and size of business done by the branch. The Head Office of an RRB normally had three to seven departments.
The following is the decision-making hierarchy of officials in a Regional Rural Bank.
- Board of Directors
- Chairman & Managing Director
- General Manager
- Chief Manager/Regional Managers
- Senior Manager
- Manager
- Officer / Assistant Manager
- Office Assistant (Multipurpose)
