MC Exclusive | Uday Kotak is my greatest strategic asset, says Ashok Vaswani, MD, Kotak Mahindra Bank

Ashok Vaswani, MD & CEO, Kotak Mahindra Bank

"People spend millions of dollars on coaches and consultants. I'm getting it for free," said Ashok Vaswani, the managing director and chief executive of Kotak Mahindra Bank, describing his relationship with Uday Kotak, the founder and largest shareholder of the bank.

Speaking to Moneycontrol, Vaswani said he told Kotak before assuming the corner office at 27, Bandra Kurla Complex, Kotak Mahindra Bank's headquarters, that whenever he needed anything, he would seek help from Kotak.

Vaswani was also very appreciative of Kotak's contribution to the bank. "It's not easy (for Kotak) to walk away from something you've built over a long period of time. You must give him huge credit for being able to do that. He doesn't sit in the building, and he's just like any other director, though obviously, he is far more informed".

"He is my greatest strategic asset," Vaswani said, referring to Kotak's encyclopaedic knowledge of the organization he founded in 1985 and his knowledge of the sector. Kotak Mahindra Bank received a banking licence in 2004.

Speaking about the induction process, Vaswani said he did not know Kotak. "I did not know Uday before. Therefore, I told him that when I need something, from the firm's point of view, I'm going to knock on your door," he said.

While Kotak and Vaswani are alumni of Mumbai's renowned Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics, they got to know each other when the bank zeroed in on Vaswani sometime in 2023 to succeed Kotak as the MD & CEO.

"He was a year or two senior to me (in college) but I did not know him at all. I met him during the (recruitment)process. I used to be in New York. We met physically some three or four times, but virtually, every Sunday, we spent a lot of time talking about the bank. We spoke about what we could do and where we would take things. It was quite a fascinating process".

Interestingly, Vaswani explained that when he joined, he had a set of hypotheses about Kotak Bank and would constantly refer back and check on it. "Now that has become like the Bible for us at Kotak. When we get to the next level of granularity, you see it all come to life," he said with confidence.

That brought us to the next question: Does Vaswani operate the bank with a fair degree of freedom? This question is in the minds of many people who have been closely watching the bank. Vaswani was quick to reply that there is only one neck to choke, and it is his. "Why would he get me here if he didn't give me the freedom? We obviously have structured meetings, and hopefully, I've kind of built that relationship that I can pick up the phone and talk to him and say, this is what I'm thinking about it".

In September 2023, Uday Kotak ended his 18-year-long association with the bank as its MD and CEO and assumed the role of a non-executive, non-independent board member. Over a month later, the Reserve Bank of India approved the appointment of Vaswani to take over from Kotak. While Vaswani's banking career spans 35 years, between Citibank and Barclays, Kotak Mahindra Bank is his first stint with an Indian bank.

When asked if his assessment of the bank before he took the job turned out right, "I would say for the most part of it, the assessment was spot on", he added while adding that on technology-related aspects, it has turned out to be a little tougher than he expected.