Archive · 31 Aug 2026
Kotak Bank Recommends Two Internal Candidates for CEO Succession
Kotak Mahindra Bank is choosing a new chief executive.
The bank has suggested two people, Anup Saha and Paritosh Kashyap, to the Reserve Bank of India.
The RBI must decide whether to approve one of them or request other choices.
Current CEO Ashok Vaswani will finish his term on December 31, 2026, and does not plan to ask for another term.
Saha runs the bank’s retail business and previously led Bajaj Finance.
Kashyap runs wholesale banking and has worked with the Kotak Group for about 31 years.
Saha brings more experience from outside Kotak, while Kashyap knows the bank very well.
The next CEO will be expected to help Kotak grow while using its surplus capital carefully.
Kotak Mahindra Bank has recommended executive directors Anup Saha and Paritosh Kashyap to the RBI for its next CEO.
The succession process follows Ashok Vaswani’s decision not to seek reappointment when his term ends on December 31, 2026.
Saha heads retail banking after joining Kotak in January 2026 from Bajaj Finance.
Kashyap leads wholesale banking and has about 31 years of experience with the Kotak Group.
The RBI can approve one candidate or ask the bank to submit additional names.
- Who
- Kotak Mahindra Bank, executive directors Anup Saha and Paritosh Kashyap, CEO Ashok Vaswani, and the Reserve Bank of India.
- What
- The bank has recommended Saha and Kashyap as candidates to succeed Vaswani as Managing Director and CEO.
- When
- The recommendation was reported during the succession process; Vaswani’s term ends on December 31, 2026.
- Where
- The candidates’ names were submitted to the Reserve Bank of India in India.
- Why
- Vaswani will not seek reappointment, and Kotak is preparing for a leadership transition focused on continued growth.
Continuity
Fresh approach
Leadership profile
Continuity
Paritosh Kashyap offers deep institutional knowledge, with about 31 years at the Kotak Group and extensive wholesale-banking experience.
Fresh approach
Anup Saha brings experience from outside Kotak, including leadership of Bajaj Finance and a background in retail, consumer finance, and digital businesses.
Growth direction
Continuity
A Kotak veteran could continue existing strategies across the bank’s wholesale franchise and preserve organizational continuity.
Fresh approach
An executive with recent outside experience could bring a different approach to retail growth, technology, and consumer finance.
- Recommended candidates
- Anup Saha and Paritosh Kashyap
- Current CEO
- Ashok Vaswani
- Vaswani’s term end
- December 31, 2026
- Regulatory authority
- Reserve Bank of India
- Saha’s current role
- Head of retail banking and Whole-time Director
- Kashyap’s current role
- Head of wholesale banking and Whole-time Director
- Kotak family stake
- 26%, making the family the bank’s largest shareholder
- Reported Q1 FY27 metrics
- Net advances grew 15% year over year, deposits grew 12%, NIM was 4.53%, net NPA was 0.27%, and CET-1 was 22.6%
