Career Path of a Bank PO or Probationary Officer

A Probationary Officer or PO is basically a Scale I Assistant Manager in a bank. He/she is a Junior Manager of scale I and hence called Scale I Officer. After being selected as a Probationary officer the candidate has to go through an intensive training program at the Institute of Banking Management where they are trained. The probation period of a PO may be up to 2 years. This again changes from bank to bank. In this article, we shall discuss the Career Path of a Bank PO or Probationary Officer.

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Role of a Bank Probationary Officer

As the aspirants selected for this post are new officers who have freshly graduated, they have a great zest within themselves. They are enthusiastic and have the zeal to learn and hence they are imparted with some really important responsibilities by the bank.

A Probationary Officer is trained on multiple aspects of banking such as finance, billing, investment, accounting, etc. during his/ her probation stage in order to accustom them with various working measures of the bank. This is mainly done by providing them with responsibilities and jobs in the categories mentioned above.

The main aim of the bank is to provide maximum service to its customers. A Probationary Officer has to ensure that the business of the bank keeps on increasing by attending to the bank’s customers correctly by handling complaints the customer, addressing various customer related issues such as a discrepancy in accounts, rectifying undue charges, etc.

When they get used to the bank’s norms they are given higher responsibilities such as planning, investment, management budgeting, loan processing, etc.

Bank Probationary Officer Salary

The banks pay their probationary officers quite well. The basic pay of an SBI Probationary Officer is Rs 23,700. Along with this basic pay, the officers are also given Dearness Allowance (DA), special allowance, House Rent Allowance (HRA), CCA, etc. The total salary amounts up to Rs 40,239 per month.

The salary is almost similar for Probationary Officers of almost all the banks. You might encounter a slight negligible variation from bank to bank.

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Career Path of a Bank PO of Probationary Officer

Career Path of a Bank PO is determined purely based on merit. The career path is given below.

Level I: Probationary Officer: This stage lasts for a year or two when the candidate gets familiar with various departments.

Level II: Assistant Officer: Same as Probationary Officer but confirmed rather than probation.

Level III: Branch Manager: Heads the branch of a bank.

Level IV: Chief Manager: Takes care of a bigger branch, generally the main branch of a city.

Level V: The AGM (Assistant General Manager): Takes care of a cluster of branches or a region.

Level VI: The DGM (Deputy General Manager): Manages a zone, covering several regions in a state.

Level VII: The CGM (Chief General Manager): Heads a circle like Karnataka/Maharashtra.

Level VIII: The GM (General Manager): Sits out of country Head Quarters, part of senior management and takes multiple profiles and roles.

The career growth is fast for a Probationary Officer. One can get a promotion every 3–5 years depending upon the vacancies in the bank. The promotion grades are given above from level I to level VIII. After level VIII Executive Director and CMD (Chairman and Managing Director) are appointed by the Government of India. Almost all EDs and CMDs of banks started their career as Probationary Officer. A few lucky ones also get a chance to become Deputy Governor (DG) in RBI. Therefore, joining as Bank Probationary Officer is the best break for making a career in the banking industry.

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