The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved Anup Kumar Saha as the new managing director and chief executive officer (MD & CEO) of Kotak Mahindra Bank for a three-year term beginning 1 January 2027, the bank confirmed in a press release.
Saha’s Background and Leadership Path
Saha has over 32 years of professional experience, including 25 years in financial services across banking and non-banking financial institutions, brings extensive experience from roles at Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, and GE Capital. Prior to his tenure at Kotak, he served in several high-ranking leadership capacities at Bajaj Finance Limited, ultimately becoming Managing Director & CEO from April 2025 until his resignation in July 2025, during which time he directed its standalone operations. At ICICI Bank, he led functions including retail secured assets, credit cards, and business intelligence over 14 years. His academic credentials include a B.Tech from IIT Kharagpur and an MBA from IIM Lucknow.
RBI approves Anup Kumar Saha as Kotak Mahindra Bank
Vaswani, who will transition out of his role, praised Saha’s deep experience across businesses, customer segments, and operating functions, noting his clear understanding of the opportunities ahead. Saha, in turn, expressed gratitude to the board for the trust placed in him and emphasized his commitment to deepening customer relationships and building sustainable value for shareholders.
Market Reaction and Institutional Transition
Anup Kumar Saha Approved as MD & CEO of
In Mumbai trading, Kotak Mahindra Bank’s shares commenced the session in positive territory, advancing 1.6% to trade at Rs 424.45 per share, whereas the broader BSE Sensex registered a 0.2% decline as of 9:20 am.
The bank’s board will now formalize Saha’s appointment and seek shareholders’ approval. The transition marks a critical juncture for the bank as it aims to maintain its growth trajectory under new leadership. Vaswani, who has led the institution since 2024, will continue to support the handover, with Saha set to assume full responsibility on 1 January 2027.
Kotak Mahindra Bank appoints Anup Kumar Saha as new
From 2017 to January 2026, Saha’s professional journey at Bajaj Finance Limited involved advancing through multiple executive positions: initially joining as President–Consumer Finance, subsequently taking on the roles of Deputy CEO–Consumer, MSME, Marketing, Operations & Service and Digital platform, then serving as Executive Director and Deputy Managing Director, and finally holding the post of Managing Director & CEO from April 2025 until his resignation in July 2025. During his executive directorship roles at BFL, Saha was responsible for the entire standalone business of BFL.
Having served as a whole-time director at the bank since March 2026, Saha currently manages its retail banking, data analytics, and marketing operations. According to a regulatory filing, the institution’s board will now proceed with the necessary measures to formalize his appointment and obtain shareholder consent.
Saha’s experience includes 25 years in the financial services sector across banking and non-banking financial institutions. Early in his professional path, he worked in production engineering with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited before moving on to GE Capital, where his responsibilities spanned sales, credit cards, and analytics.
On Thursday, the private sector lender announced that the RBI has cleared Anup Kumar Saha to take over as MD & CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank for a three-year term starting January 1, 2027. Saha, currently a whole-time director at the bank, has been overseeing its retail banking, data analytics and marketing functions since March 2026. He joined Kotak Mahindra Bank in January this year.