India’s Kotak Mahindra Bank has gained approval from the country’s central bank to appoint veteran banker Ashok Vaswani as the bank’s Managing Director and Chief Executive, according to an exchange filing from the private lender.
Subject to shareholder approval, Vaswani’s appointment will be for a three-year term, starting no later than January 1, 2024. Vaswani, who has over three and a half decades of international banking experience, previously served as the CEO of Citigroup Asia Pacific and, more recently, the CEO of Barclays.
This appointment follows the surprise resignation of billionaire Uday Kotak, the bank’s founder, as Managing Director and CEO last month, citing personal reasons. Kotak’s term was set to end in December, and India’s banking regulations limit the tenure of chief executives to 12 years if they are also significant shareholders.
However, Kotak will continue to serve on the bank’s board as a non-executive director. Dipak Gupta, the bank’s current Managing Director and CEO, will perform the CEO’s duties until December 31.
