Kotak Mahindra Bank has recommended two senior executives, Anup Saha and Paritosh Kashyap, to the Reserve Bank of India for the position of Managing Director and CEO, according to two people familiar with the matter. It was not immediately clear whether the bank had recommended any external candidate for the role.
The recommendation is part of the succession process at the private-sector lender, with current MD and CEO Ashok Vaswani set to complete his term on December 31, 2026. The RBI will now evaluate the two candidates and can approve one of the names or seek additional candidates from the bank, sources said. CNBC-TV18 had reached out to Kotak Mahindra Bank on this query as recently as August 27, but received no response.
Anup Saha currently heads Kotak Mahindra Bank’s retail banking business and is a Whole-time Director on the bank’s board. Saha joined Kotak Mahindra Bank in January 2026 after a long stint at Bajaj Finance, where he was Managing Director and Deputy Managing Director. He brings extensive experience across consumer finance, retail lending and digital businesses. Before Bajaj Finance, Saha spent several years at ICICI Bank.
Paritosh Kashyap is also a Whole-time Director at Kotak Mahindra Bank and has led the bank’s wholesale banking business. Kashyap is a Kotak Group veteran with around 31 years of experience with the group. His experience spans corporate banking, structured finance, infrastructure financing, capital structuring and securitisation.
The two candidates therefore bring different profiles to the succession race. Saha has relatively recent experience outside the Kotak Group and a strong retail and consumer finance background, while Kashyap brings deep institutional knowledge and more than three decades of experience within the Kotak franchise.
CNBC-TV18 had first reported in June that Anup Saha and Paritosh Kashyap would be the frontrunners for the Kotak CEO role.
At the time, sources had indicated that the bank was evaluating internal candidates as part of its succession process, with the names expected to be sent to the RBI. The board’s recommendation of the two executives now moves the process to the regulatory stage.
The succession process was triggered after Ashok Vaswani informed the board that he would not seek reappointment when his current term ends on December 31, 2026. Vaswani took charge as Kotak Mahindra Bank’s MD and CEO on January 1, 2024, succeeding founder Uday Kotak.
Uday Kotak stepped down as CEO in September 2023 after more than two decades at the helm. Vaswani’s appointment marked a significant transition for the bank, with Kotak choosing an internationally experienced professional banker to lead the institution.
Vaswani had previously held senior positions at Barclays and Citigroup and has more than three decades of experience in banking and financial services. His exit means Kotak Mahindra Bank is preparing for its second CEO transition in three years.
The next CEO will take charge at an important stage for Kotak Mahindra Bank as it seeks to accelerate growth across its retail and wholesale franchises. Under Vaswani, Kotak has delivered healthy loan growth and maintained strong balance-sheet metrics, but the bank still has a clear growth and capital-deployment challenge. In Q1 FY27, net advances grew 15% YoY and deposits 12%, while NIM stood at 4.53%, net NPA at 0.27% and CET-1 at 22.6%.
Also Read: Kotak Mahindra Bank Q1 Results: Slippages see minor increase, Margin compression in-line
At the same time, Kotak’s high capital cushion has weighed on returns, with Vaswani saying the bank has significant surplus capital to deploy and is looking at both organic and inorganic growth. The bank has also been investing heavily in technology and AI after the RBI’s technology-related restrictions were lifted in February 2025.
The next CEO’s challenge will be to sustain asset quality and profitability while putting Kotak’s surplus capital to work and accelerating growth and market-share gains.
The choice between Saha and Kashyap could also determine the balance between continuity and a fresh approach at the bank.
Kashyap brings extensive institutional knowledge of the Kotak franchise and deep experience in wholesale banking. Saha, meanwhile, brings significant experience from outside the group, particularly in consumer finance and retail banking.
Both executives are already Whole-time Directors, which could help facilitate a smoother leadership transition if either is appointed.
The RBI will now decide whether to approve one of the two candidates or seek additional names from Kotak Mahindra Bank.
The regulator’s approval is required for the appointment of the MD and CEO of private-sector banks. The bank has several months to complete the transition before Vaswani’s term ends on December 31, 2026.
The Kotak succession process also comes at a time when CEO transitions at India’s large private-sector banks are drawing increased investor attention. HDFC Bank is separately working on succession planning for MD and CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan, whose term ends in October 2026.
Also Read: HDFC Bank CEO choice: Internal or external candidate? Macquarie, ex-RBI official weigh in
For Kotak Mahindra Bank, the board has now put forward two names: Anup Saha and Paritosh Kashyap. The next decision rests with the RBI.
