The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of Anup Kumar Saha as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Kotak Mahindra Bank for a three-year term beginning January 1, 2027.
Saha will succeed Ashok Vaswani, whose tenure as the bank’s MD & CEO concludes on December 31, 2026. The appointment is subject to further formalities, including approval from the bank’s members.
Saha currently serves as a Whole-time Director at Kotak Mahindra Bank. He joined the lender in January 2026 and has been overseeing functions including retail banking, data analytics and marketing.
Saha Brings Over Three Decades of Experience
Saha has more than 32 years of professional experience, including around 25 years across banking and non-banking financial services, with experience spanning retail and consumer finance, credit, collections, data-driven decision-making and large-scale customer businesses.
He holds a B.Tech degree from IIT Kharagpur and an MBA from IIM Lucknow.
Before joining Kotak Mahindra Bank, Saha held senior roles at ICICI Bank and Bajaj Finance. His career at ICICI Bank included exposure to retail secured assets, credit cards, rural collections and structured finance.
At Bajaj Finance, Saha held leadership responsibilities and served as its Managing Director and CEO before moving to Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Responsibilities at Kotak Mahindra Bank
Since joining Kotak Mahindra Bank, Saha has been involved with the lender’s retail banking, data analytics, marketing and government business functions.
His upcoming term as MD & CEO will place him at the helm of the bank as it continues to operate across retail, commercial and corporate banking and other financial services businesses.
Kotak Mahindra Bank’s broader financial services ecosystem includes businesses spanning banking, securities, mutual funds, insurance and investment banking.
Leadership Transition
Ashok Vaswani was appointed Kotak Mahindra Bank’s MD & CEO for a three-year term, which ends on December 31, 2026. Saha is scheduled to assume the position from the following day, subject to completion of the required corporate approvals.
The RBI approval provides clarity on the bank’s leadership transition ahead of Vaswani’s term ending.
Saha said he looks forward to working with Kotak Mahindra Bank’s teams to deepen customer relationships and focus on sustainable value creation for stakeholders, according to comments reported following the appointment.
