In a letter to shareholders on Saturday, Kotak, 64, said the alignment of stock owners, board and management will help navigate the country’s fourth most-valued bank – after HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India – through unprecedented transformation that has already put New Delhi at the top of the list of major economies driving growth through financial inclusion.
“Going forward, I see my role as a non-executive board governance member and a strategic shareholder with a long-term perspective of nurturing a world-class institution,” Uday Kotak told shareholders of the Kotak Mahindra Bank, which began its journey in 1985 as a non-bank lender. “It is unusual in today’s world of banking anywhere to have an individual with nearly 26% skin in the game with disproportionate family assets in one stock, emotionally attached to living his dream of making India proud.”
Kotak’s tenure as chief of Kotak Mahindra Bank would end in December 2023, after the central bank capped the tenure of private bank CEOs.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has limited the tenure of bank chief executives to 15 years – and 12 years in case of promoter CEOs. This rule makes Kotak ineligible for another term.
He was reappointed by the central bank for three years starting January 2021. Typically, executives are allowed to remain in the top job by RBI until the age of 70, provided they have not exceeded the term limits.
The current corporate banking head at the lender, KVS Manian, is considered the frontrunner to succeed Kotak, while its retail banking head, Shanti Ekambaram, is also in the race. Kotak Mahindra Bank has engaged consulting firm Egon Zehnder to lead a global search for a chief executive officer to replace its billionaire founder.
Kotak said the bank will attract the best talent as his successor.