Kotak Mahindra Bank appoints Grant Thornton as external auditor post RBI action

Ashok Vaswani, chief executive officer of the bank, in a post results media call said that the bank has appointed Grant Thornton Bharat as the auditor and has put together a comprehensive plan to fix all outstanding issues

Kotak Mahindra Bank has appointed consulting firm Grant Thornton Bharat as its external auditor to enhance its information technology (IT) systems following regulatory restrictions that prohibited the bank from accepting new customers via its website and mobile application.

Ashok Vaswani, chief executive officer of the bank, in a post results media call said that the bank has appointed Grant Thornton Bharat as the auditor and has put together a comprehensive plan to fix all outstanding issues. “In consultation with the RBI, we put together a comprehensive plan to fix all outstanding issues," Vaswani said. “I feel very comfortable and good as to where we are today," he said, adding that the bank is constantly communicating with the regulator.

In April 2024, RBI reported deficiencies and non-compliances in the bank’s management of IT inventory, patch and change management, user access, vendor risk, and data security for the years 2022 and 2023. According to the statement by the central bank, it would reconsider the restrictions once the bank completed a thorough external audit approved by RBI, addressed all identified deficiencies from the audit and RBI inspections, and satisfied the central bank's requirements.

The bank, Vaswani said, has made significant progress in IT systems during the first quarter of 2024-25. And the bank has beefed up resources from companies like Accenture, Infosys, Oracle, and Cisco, he added.

Additionally, the bank assured existing customers there would be no impact on services to them. "Our branches continue to welcome and onboard new customers, providing them with all the bank’s services, apart from issuance of new credit cards,” the bank had earlier said.

Vaswani, had in a letter addressed to the bank’s customers on April 24, said that the bank's operations continue uninterrupted for existing customers across all channels and they can continue to have access to all banking services, bank accounts, credit/ debit cards, ATMs, mobile and net banking facilities.

"Rest assured, we are actively working to address the concerns raised and are in constant communication with the regulator to resolve any issues promptly," said Vaswani in a letter to the bank's customers. Moneycontrol has reviewed a copy of the letter.