Kotak Bank gets RBI approval to appoint Anup Kumar Saha as MD & CEO

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of Anup Kumar Saha as managing director and chief executive officer (MD & CEO) of Kotak Mahindra Bank for a three-year term beginning January 1, 2027, the private sector lender said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.

The bank said the RBI approval was received on September 30. The appointment is subject to further formalities, including approval from the bank’s members.

“Based on an application made by the Bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, vide its letter dated September 30, 2026 … accorded its approval under Section 35B of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 for the appointment of Mr. Anup Kumar Saha as the new Managing Director & CEO of the Bank, for a period of three years, with effect from January 1, 2027,” Kotak Mahindra Bank said in its filing to the stock exchanges.

Saha is currently a whole-time director (executive director) at Kotak Mahindra Bank. He joined the bank in January 2026 and, since March, has been overseeing retail banking, government business, data analytics and marketing.

He will succeed Ashok Vaswani as MD & CEO from January 2027.

Saha has more than 32 years of professional experience, including 25 years in financial services across banking and non-banking financial institutions.

Before joining Kotak, he was associated with Bajaj Finance from October 2017 to January 2026, where he held several senior positions and served as managing director and CEO from April 2025 until his resignation in July 2025.

Prior to Bajaj Finance, Saha spent 14 years at ICICI Bank, where he held senior roles across retail secured assets, business intelligence, retail and rural collections, credit cards and retail structured finance.

Earlier, he worked with GE Capital and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.

Saha holds a B Tech degree in engineering from IIT Kharagpur and an MBA from IIM Lucknow.

In a statement, Kotak Mahindra Bank chairman C S Rajan said Saha brings experience across banking and financial services and has already been engaged with the bank’s businesses in his current role.

“We look forward to Anup’s leadership in strengthening the franchise and in pursuing sustainable growth,” Rajan said.

Vaswani said Saha has experience across businesses, customer segments and operating functions and has developed an understanding of the opportunities ahead since joining Kotak.

Saha said he was “delighted to have the opportunity to lead Kotak Mahindra Bank” and would focus on deepening customer relationships and building sustainable value for shareholders and other stakeholders.

The appointment comes after Saha’s elevation to the bank’s executive director role earlier this year. The board will now initiate the steps required to formalise his appointment and seek members’ approval.