Kotak Mahindra Bank appoints Anup Kumar Saha as MD and CEO effective January 1, 2027

Anup Kumar Saha was appointed managing director and chief executive officer of Kotak Mahindra Bank effective January 1, 2027, succeeding Ashok Vaswani, the bank said. Saha joined the lender in January 2026 and is currently executive director overseeing retail banking, data analytics and marketing. Business Today reported the appointment.

Saha's Priorities Across Affluent Banking And Payments

Saha said the bank will keep its focus on affluent customers and the core mass-market consumer base, digital channels including Kotak 811, and payments. "The bank is a very strong brand, very strongly associated with India's story. We called out our strategy pillars, the affluent and the private banking as our pillar number one. We called out core and digital India, which is the 811 variants. We continue to remain very invested," he said while interacting with reporters.

Saha said the bank has a market share of over 3.8% in payments, and more than 13% of its digital assets are used by customers to make payments. He said the merchant discount rate is set to be levied on the Unified Payments Interface, which could make the segment another growth driver. Kotak Mahindra Bank has brought its agriculture, business and SME operations under a single vertical, which Saha said would help build stronger customer relationships.

Kotak Mahindra Bank reported a 29% year-on-year increase in standalone net profit for the July-September quarter to Rs 4,212 crore. ET NOW put the rise at 29.48% and said total income rose 17.88% to Rs 19,141 crore. The Tribune reported consolidated profit after tax rose 26% to Rs 5,645 crore. Net interest income rose 16% to Rs 8,459 crore, while net interest margin moderated to 4.31% from 4.54%, weighed down by FCNR (B) deposit mobilisation. TradingView reported provisions declined 15% to Rs 803 crore. Gross NPAs stood at 1.04% as of September 30, 2026, down from 1.39% a year ago, and net NPAs fell to 0.24% from 0.32%.

Earlier Signals On The Leadership Transition

In October 2026, Financial Express reported that Anup Saha's appointment as managing director and CEO removed a leadership succession overhang, with analysts citing his experience and an expected focus on retail lending and deposit growth. On October 23, 2026, NDTV Profit reported that Kotak Mahindra Bank was expected to post a 26.9% year-on-year rise in standalone net profit to Rs 4,128 crore for the September quarter. On October 22, 2026, The Times of India reported that brokerages expected second-quarter profit after tax to rise 27% to 31.9% year on year.

Vaswani's Comments On Risk And Asset Quality

Ashok Vaswani, managing director and CEO, said the bank has completely revamped its risk underwriting models and collections capabilities over the past 24 months. He said these efforts had paid "rich dividends", with both credit costs and asset quality improving. Bank officials said they had not seen signs of stress in the agriculture sector and broader rural economy after a weak monsoon, but remained watchful.