Mumbai, India – 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. Saha, currently a whole-time director at the bank, will assume his new role for a three-year term, effective January 1, 2027.
This transition follows incumbent MD and CEO Ashok Vaswani's decision not to seek reappointment for personal reasons, with his current term concluding on December 31, 2026. Vaswani had taken the top position at the private sector lender in January 2024.
Saha's Extensive Banking Career
Anup Kumar Saha brings over 32 years of professional experience to the helm, with 25 years dedicated to the banking and non-banking financial services sectors. He joined Kotak Mahindra Bank in January 2026 and has since March 2026 overseen critical functions including the retail bank, data analytics, and marketing.
Before his tenure at Kotak Bank, Saha held various senior leadership positions at Bajaj Finance from October 2017 to January 2026, including President Consumer Finance, Deputy CEO, Executive Director, Deputy MD, and briefly as MD and CEO between April and July 2025.
His career also includes a significant 14-year period (2003-2017) at ICICI Bank in diverse roles. Saha holds a B. Tech in engineering from IIT Kharagpur and an MBA from IIM – Lucknow. Earlier in his career, he worked with GE Capital and Bharat Heavy Electricals.
Leadership Endorsements and Future Vision
“Anup brings with him extensive experience across banking and financial services and has already been actively engaged with the bank’s businesses in his current role. As the bank continues to build on its strong foundations we look forward to Anup’s leadership in strengthening the franchise and in pursuing sustainable growth,” said CS Rajan, chairman of the board of Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Outgoing CEO Ashok Vaswani also expressed confidence in Saha's capabilities.
“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. 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,” Vaswani stated.
Saha, acknowledging his new responsibility, affirmed his commitment to collaboration.
“I would work with my colleagues to deepen customer relationships, tirelessly execute and build sustainable value for the bank’s shareholders and stakeholders,” Saha commented on his appointment.
Navigating Past Challenges and Future Growth
Kotak Mahindra Bank has faced several regulatory challenges in recent years. In 2024, the RBI imposed an embargo on the bank from issuing new credit cards and onboarding new customers via online and mobile banking channels due to identified issues in its IT systems. This embargo was subsequently lifted in 2025.
The bank was also fined Rs 2 crore in 2019 for promoter stake disclosure issues and Rs 61.95 lakh in December 2025 for non-compliance related to basic savings bank deposit accounts. Vaswani, reflecting on his tenure, noted the bank's efforts in rebuilding its management team, cleaning up various loan books, and strengthening liability engines, positioning it for accelerated growth.