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Center-Center-DelhiThe Reserve Bank of India has approved the appointment of Anup Kumar Saha as managing director and chief executive of Kotak Mahindra Bank for a three-year term beginning January 1, 2027, the fourth-largest private sector lender said on Thursday.
Saha’s appointment comes after incumbent Ashok Vaswani decided not to seek reappointment after his current term ends on December 31.
Vaswani took charge on January 1, 2024, after founder Uday Kotak stepped down as managing director and CEO in October 2023, three months ahead of the end of his term, citing family commitments.
Saha joined Kotak Mahindra Bank in January 2026 from Bajaj Finance and has been overseeing retail banking, data analytics and marketing functions since March.
In a statement, the bank said its board would formalise the appointment and seek shareholder approval.
Vaswani, who backed Saha’s appointment, said: “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.”
Saha brings over 32 years of experience, including 25 years in the financial services sector across banking and non-banking financial institutions. Before joining Kotak, he held several senior leadership positions at Bajaj Finance, culminating in his appointment as chief executive.
Earlier, he spent 14 years at ICICI Bank, where he held leadership roles across retail secured assets, business intelligence, retail and rural collections, credit cards and retail structured finance.
Saha began his career with GE Capital, where he worked across credit cards, sales and analytics, and later joined Bharat Heavy Electricals in production engineering.
He holds a BTech in engineering from IIT Kharagpur and an MBA from IIM Lucknow.