Kotak Mahindra Bank To Apply For Extension Of Dipak Gupta’s Term

Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. will apply to the Reserve Bank of India for extending the term of interim managing director and chief executive officer, Dipak Gupta.

The bank's management announced this in the post Q2 earnings analyst call on Saturday.

Gupta's term ends on Nov.1, according to the last appointment notice. While the new CEO Ashok Vaswani is expected to take some time to join, Gupta is expected to continue in the role.

"The current CEO's term expires on Nov. 1. So, we had a board meeting today and we will be applying to the RBI for extension of the current CEO. We will have to wait for RBI's approval to see what the extension is like," said Gupta.

On Saturday, the RBI approved the appointment of Vaswani, an external candidate, as the next MD and CEO of the bank, according to an exchange filing.

The approval is for a period of three years from the date of him taking charge. The appointment will need to happen before Jan. 1, 2024, as per the rules, the bank said in the filing.

Over the next eight weeks, the bank would have a clearer idea on the joining timeline of Vaswani, Gupta told analysts in the call.

However, the new CEO is expected to move to India and join by December, said Gupta in the post earnings media conference call.

The appointment comes after Uday Kotak, founder MD and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank, announced his resignation from the position on Sept. 2. After this, Gupta, whose term is also set to end on Dec. 31, was appointed as the interim CEO till a new chief was brought in.