“We wish to inform you that Mr. Ashok Vaswani, Managing Director and CEO of the Bank, has informed the Board that, for personal reasons, he does not wish to seek re-appointment upon completion of his current term on December 31, 2026,” the lender said in a stock exchange filing. “The Board has, at its meeting held today, respected his decision and has initiated the process for the appointment of a new Managing Director and CEO. The process will be completed within applicable regulatory timelines.”
Also read: Time for India to focus on business of business, says Uday Kotak
A Turbulent Three Years
Vaswani took charge on January 1, 2024, for a three-year term approved by the Reserve Bank of India in October 2023 — stepping into the shoes of one of India’s most iconic banking founders. Uday Kotak had stepped down from the CEO role on September 1, 2023, with Dipak Gupta serving as interim MD and CEO in the intervening months.
His tenure proved eventful almost from the start. Within months of taking charge, the bank was hit by a significant regulatory action — on April 24, 2024, the RBI barred Kotak Mahindra Bank from onboarding new customers through its online and mobile banking channels and stopped it from issuing fresh credit cards, citing deficiencies in its IT risk and information security framework. The bank also got caught in the broader downcycle in the microfinance sector, forcing a recalibration of its MFI strategy.
The period also saw a string of high-profile senior management exits. Long-serving executive K V S Manian who was also pitted to be MD and CEO departed just four months after Vaswani’s entry. Milind Nagnur, who had been brought in specifically to lead the bank’s technology transformation, also exited sooner than anticipated — raising questions about leadership continuity at a time of significant operational change.Financial Performance
On the financial front, the bank’s performance was mixed. Consolidated profit after tax for FY26 came in at Rs 19,103 crore, down from Rs 22,126 crore in FY25. Customer assets, however, grew healthily to Rs 6.16 lakh crore at the end of FY26 from Rs 5.37 lakh crore a year earlier.
Also read: India needs to be ready for tough times: Uday Kotak
The bank’s market capitalisation stands at approximately Rs 4.06 lakh crore, with shares up 12% since January 1, 2025. Shares closed at Rs 409 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Saturday.
Who is Ashok Vaswani?
A graduate of Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai, Vaswani brings three decades of global banking experience to the role. Immediately before joining Kotak, he served as President of Pagaya Technologies — a US-Israeli AI-driven fintech company. Prior to that, he was Chief Digital Officer at Barclays UK, and before that served as CEO of Barclays Bank UK and subsequently CEO of their global consumer, corporate and payments businesses.
His departure will set off one of the most closely watched CEO succession processes in Indian banking — the second in three years at Kotak Mahindra Bank, and one that will once again test the institution’s ability to find a leader capable of carrying forward the legacy of its formidable founder.