
16th April, 2025
Bank Exams
Banking & Financial Awareness: Everything You Need to Know
Table of Contents
Introduction:
Why banking & financial awareness in bank exams is a game changer?
Banking & financial awareness is a vital part in a major bank exam preparation strategy. When preparing for banking exams like IBPS PO, IBPS clerk, SBI PO, NABARD, and RBI Grade B, banking & financial awareness is one section that makes or breaks your selection in the banking sector.
If you are serious about cracking the bank exam in the first attempt, this blog concludes everything you need to know about banking & financial awareness.
What is Banking & Financial Awareness?
Banking & Financial Awareness is a mix of strategic knowledge and current developments in the financial world.
It includes:
-
Basic banking terms and concepts
-
Government schemes and financial inclusion efforts
-
Monetary tools and economic indicates
-
Current banking news RBI policy updates and mergers
-
Digital banking and fintech trends
Why banking & financial awareness is essential:
This section is:
-
Banking & Financial awareness is high-scoring if applicants prepare well.
-
Banking & Financial awareness section is less time-consuming as compared to the quantitative and reasoning section.
-
Banking & Financial awareness is vital for mains exams, interviews, and real-world financial understanding.
What you should study are key areas and key topics:
Basic banking terms:
Terms |
Meaning |
Repo Rate |
At which RBI lends money to banks |
CRR/SLR |
Cash and liquid reserve banks must maintain |
MCLR |
Minimum leading rate set by banks |
NPA |
Non-performing asset: loan not repaid for 90+ days |
Reverse Repo rate |
Interest RBI gives when banks park their funds with it |
Structure of India’s banking system:
-
Public sector banks (SBI, PNB)
- Private Sector Banks (ICICI, HDFC)
- Regional rural banks (RRBs)
- Payment banks (Paytm, Airtel)
- Small financial banks (AU,Equitas)
Financial Markets Simplified:
Market type |
Description |
Money market |
Short term leading and borrowing (T-bills, CPs) |
Capital market |
Long term investment (Shares and bonds ) |
Stock market terms |
Sensex, Nifty, IPO, Bull/bear |
Important government schemes:
Scheme |
Purpose |
PMJDY |
Bank accounts for all |
MUDRA Yojana |
Loans to small businesses |
Stand up india |
Credit support for SC/ST/women entrepreneurs |
Atmanirbhar Bharat |
Economic self reliance |
Syllabus for financial & banking awareness:
In most of the competitive banking exams, like SBI Clerk, SBI PO, IBPS PO, IBPS Clerk, RBI Grade B, RBI Assistant, and NABARD Grade A, general awareness is a vast and common section. The General Awareness section includes sub- topics like banking & financial awareness, Static GK, GK and Current awareness in various competitive bank exams.
Thus it is essential for applicants to check out the latest syllabus of banking & financial awareness for bank exams.
Topics & Subtopics of banking & financial awareness |
||
(A) Indian banking sector |
(B) Banking & Financial Regulatory Bodies |
(C) Indian & International Banking/Finance System |
|
|
|
Topics & Subtopics of banking & financial awareness |
|
(D) Banking Abbreviations & Concepts |
(E) Important Bank and Economy/Finance Acts |
Banking Terminologies Insurance Abbreviations Banking Ombudsman Bancassurance Unit Link Insurance Plan (ULIP) Consumer Price Index (CPI) GDP Growth Rate of India Inflation Cross-selling and Upselling in Banks Financial Inclusion Unified Payments Interface (UPI) Know Your Customer (KYC) Digital Banking Rupee Depreciation Non-Performing Assets and its Recovery Base Rate Balance of Payment Difference between Mortgage and Charge Differences Between Cash flow and Fund flow Marginal Cost of Fund Based Lending Rate (MCLR) Risk Management in Baking Sector Key Rates used by RBI Ease 2.0 Banking Reforms Index |
Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 Indian Companies Act Cooperative Societies Act New Economics Policy (NEP), 1991 Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) Latest Banking Regulation Act, 1949 Minimum Support Price (MSP) SARFAESI Act, 2002 Kisan Credit Card Scheme (KCC) Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016 |
Weightage of Banking & Financial Awareness in bank exams:
After going through the syllabus of banking & financial awareness in the banking exam, you need to know the weightage of both banking & financial awareness in most of the bank exams.
Bank exam name |
Exam-wise questions weightage of banking & financial awareness |
|
Prelims |
Mains |
|
SBI PO |
- |
22-25 |
IBPS Clerk |
- |
20-22 |
IBPS PO |
- |
18-20 |
RBI Grade B |
30-35 |
100 (Paper III: Finance & Management for General stream) |
RBI Assistant |
- |
18-20 |
SBI Clerk |
- |
20-25 |
NABBARD Grade A |
8-10 |
Books for Banking & Financial awareness for bank exams that applicants need to know
Book name for banking & financial awareness |
Author/Publication |
Banking awareness |
RPH Editorial Board |
Banking Awareness |
Arihant Publications |
Banking & Financial Awareness |
Kiran’s Publication |
Banking Awareness for SBI & IBPS Bank Clerk/ PO/ RRB/ RBI/ LIC exams |
Disha Experts |
Economic Survey |
Government of India Ministry of Finance |
Mock test to practice banking awareness
Top preparation tips for banking & financial awareness which you need to know:
Given below, preparation tips help you to score more in competitive exams.
Must follow reliable sources to study to ace banking & financial awareness:
-
To score more in banking & financial awareness, stay updated with:
-
Newspapers: Read newspapers like The Hindu (Business), Business Standards, and Economic Times to get knowledge about banking & financial awareness.
-
Apps and YouTube channels: Applicants have to follow various apps and YouTube channels, which helps them to score more banking & financial in bank exams.
-
Websites: RBI.org.in, SEBI.gov.in, PBI. gov. in
-
Make it a habit to read at least 20-30 daily banking & financial awareness news.
-
Practice quizzes and MCQs for the banking & financial awareness section:
-
Attempt daily current affairs quizzes of banking & financial awareness.
-
Solving banking & financial MCQs
-
Take a sectional test on GA to stimulate final exam pressure.
-
Focus on last 6 month current affairs:
Most of the competitive bank exams focus on last 6 months of current affairs, especially on topics like:
-
RBI monetary policy
-
Mergers & acquisitions in banking
-
Appointments & resignations in financial institutions
-
Financial reforms
-
Budget highlights
-
Economic survey
Tip: Create a proper revision timetable to cover each month’s key news regarding banking & financial awareness, which applicants need to know about.
To Practice Banking awareness click here
-
Make short notes for banking & financial awareness:
-
Maintain a notebook that includes key topics with the use of highlighters or digital flashcards for banking & financial awareness key terms.
-
Maintains a separate notebook for both banking & financial awareness key terms, which you need to know about.
-
Revise weekly:
Candidates have to set a weekly revision schedule. Don’t wait for last month’s revision of banking & financial awareness.
-
Revise important events/news from Monday to Saturday.
-
Take a full GA quiz on Sunday.
-
Review highlights points or flashcards.
-
Consistent revision helps in long-term retention.
-
Don’t neglect the interview angle:
During the interview for bank exams, many interviewers asked about banking & financial awareness questions such as:
-
Latest RBI policy
-
Banking reforms
-
Impact of inflation, cryptocurrency, etc.
-
Role of fintech
Being confident with everything you need to know in banking & financial awareness gives you an edge in interviews too.
In final words:
Mastering banking & financial awareness: Everything you need to know is essential to crack banking exams in the first attempt. With Stay Updated, practice consistent, focused preparation, and let success in the competitive banking exams become inevitable.
FAQs: Banking & Financial Awareness: Everything You Need to Know
Q1. What is banking awareness?
Ans. Banking awareness refers to knowledge of banking concepts, terms, financial systems, and recent developments in the banking sector. Banking & financial awareness is an important topic in most of the competitive banking exams, like IBPS PO, IBPS Clerk, SBI PO, NABARD, RBI Grade B, and other bank recruitment exams.
Q2. Why is financial awareness important for banking exams?
Ans. Financial awareness helps candidates understand the economy, government policies, financial institutions, and banking regulations. In exams like IBPS PO, IBPS Clerk, SBI PO, NABARD, and RBI Grade B questions on current financial affairs are often the deciding factor of the cutoff.
Q3. What topics do I need to know under banking & financial awareness?
Ans. Important topics under banking & financial awareness are:
-
RBI Policies & Functions
-
Banking Abbreviations
-
Basel norms
-
Monetary and fiscal policy
-
Digital banking
-
Indian financial system etc.
Q4. How can I improve my Banking and Financial Awareness for Bank exams?
Ans. Improving your Banking and Financial Awareness requires consistent reading of current affairs, understanding key financial terms, and practicing questions regularly. You can also explore some well-structured practice resources that provide topic-wise mock tests and explanations to strengthen your preparation.
Q5. How can I stay updated with banking & financial awareness?
Ans. The best way to stay updated with banking & financial awareness is:
-
Visit daily current affairs websites.
-
Follow RBI & SEBI notifications.
-
Read the daily newspaper.
-
By monthly banking & financial awareness capsules.
Q6. Can banking & financial awareness help during an interview?
Ans. Definitely yes, most of the time interviewers often ask topics from banking & financial awareness about recent RBI policies, global financial trends, and budget highlights. Strong preparation of banking & financial awareness boosts confidence and the chance of selection in banking exams.
Also check
- The Role of General Awareness in Bank Exams: How to Excel
- 8 Important Subjects to Focus on for Bank Exams
- How Do Bank Exams Differ from Other Competitive Exams?
- Time Management Tips for Bank Exam Aspirants Using Mock Test Series
- Computer Awareness for Bank Exams with Preparation Tips and Tricks
- Top Bank Exams and Their Eligibility Requirements: What You Need to Know Before Applying
- How to avoid negative marking in competitive exams?