RBI approves Anup Kumar Saha as Kotak Mahindra Bank MD & CEO for 3 years

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of Anup Kumar Saha as the new managing director and chief executive officer of Kotak Mahindra Bank for a period of three years starting 1 January, the private sector bank said in a press release on Thursday.

Saha joined Kotak Mahindra Bank in January 2026 and, since March, has been overseeing the retail bank, data analytics and marketing functions. The bank said its board of directors will take further steps to formalize Saha’s appointment and seek shareholders’ approval.

Leadership change

Saha, currently a whole-time director at the bank, will succeed Ashok Vaswani, who has been serving as the bank’s chief since January 2024. Vaswani was appointed to the position for a three-year term beginning 1 January 2024. Earlier this year, Vaswani had decided not to seek reappointment for personal reasons.

Vaswani, who will make way for Saha at the end of his current term, has backed the incoming chief executive.

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“Anup is a seasoned financial services leader with deep experience across businesses, customer segments and operating functions. Since joining Kotak, he has worked closely with our teams and demonstrated a clear understanding of the opportunities ahead,” Vaswani was quoted saying in the press release.

“I am confident that Anup will build on Kotak’s strong foundations, deepen its customer relationships and lead the bank forward with purpose and discipline. I wish him every success,” he added.

Saha’s experience

Saha, who brings more than 32 years of professional experience, including 25 years in financial services across banking and non-banking financial institutions, said he was grateful to the board for the opportunity to lead the bank.

“I am grateful to the board for the trust placed in me and delighted to have the opportunity to lead Kotak Mahindra Bank,” he said.

“I look forward to working with my colleagues to deepen customer relationships, tirelessly execute and build sustainable value for shareholders and all our stakeholders. We will remain firmly focused on doing the right thing and getting it right by the customer,” Saha added.

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Before joining Kotak Mahindra Bank, Saha held several senior leadership positions at Bajaj Finance, culminating in his appointment as MD and CEO. Earlier, he spent 14 years at ICICI Bank, where he led businesses and functions including retail secured assets, business intelligence, retail and rural collections, credit cards and retail structured finance.

He began his career with GE Capital, where he worked across credit cards, sales and analytics, and later worked with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) in production engineering.

Saha holds a B.Tech degree in Engineering from IIT Kharagpur and an MBA from IIM Lucknow.

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For the quarter ended June, the bank’s customer assets grew 16% year-on-year to ₹5.71 trillion. Kotak Mahindra Bank reported a 26% year-on-year rise in standalone net profit to ₹4,123 crore in the first quarter of FY27, while net interest income (NII) increased 9% on year to ₹7,259 crore.

Asset quality strengthened, with the gross non-performing assets ratio declining to 1.18% from 1.48% a year earlier and net NPA easing to 0.27% from 0.34%.