Private sector bank Kotak Mahindra Bank on Saturday said it has received the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval for the appointment of veteran banker Ashok Vaswani as the Managing Director (MD) and CEO of the bank. The appointment of Vaswani is for a period of three years, with effect from the date of taking charge, which will not be later than January 1, 2024, the bank said in a press release. Currently, Vaswani is President of Pagaya Technologies Ltd - a US-Israeli AI Fintech. He was Chief Executive Officer of Barclays Bank, UK and subsequently CEO of their Global Consumer, Private, Corporate and Payments businesses and Member of the Group Executive Committee. Earlier, he was CEO Citigroup Asia Pacific and Member of the Citigroup Global Operating & Management Committees. “I am delighted that the RBI has approved our recommendation, Ashok Vaswani, as the next MD & CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank,” said Uday Kotak, Founder and Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank. In September, Kotak stepped down as the MD & CEO of the bank. He resigned four months ahead of the end of his current tenure, which is December 31, 2023. The bank’s board had appointed Dipak Gupta, the Joint Managing Director, as the MD & CEO until December 31, 2023. “I thank the Board for entrusting me with the responsibility of leading Kotak Mahindra Bank’s journey to the next phase of growth. I am excited and honoured to carry forward the legacy of Uday who has built this world-class institution. With our proven leadership team, we will take the Bank to new heights,” Vaswani said. “We will ensure that Kotak Mahindra Bank plays a meaningful role in India’s journey to being one of the top 3 economies in the world in the next 5 years, delivering shareholder value. At a personal level, l am delighted to come back home,” he said. In the quarter ended September, the bank’s net profit grew 24 per cent to Rs 3,191 crore from Rs 2,581 crore in the same quarter of FY2023. Net interest income (NII) increased by 23 per cent to Rs 6,297 crore from Rs 5,099 crore. Net interest margin (NIM) stood at 5.22 per cent. Gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) declined to 1.72 per cent from 2.08 per cent. Net NPAs eased to 0.37 per cent from 0.55 per cent. The provision coverage ratio stood at 79.1 per cent. Advances increased 21 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3,57,012 crore as at September 30, 2023 from Rs 2,96,117 crore as at September 30, 2022. Unsecured retail advances (including retail micro finance) as a percentage of net advances stood at 11 per cent as 8.7 per cent as at September 30, 2022. CASA ratio as at September 30, 2023 stood at 48.3 per cent.
