Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB IN) – Event Update – RBI approves Mr. Anup Saha as MD&CEO for 3 years – BUY
Published on 01 Oct 2026
Mr. Anup Saha receives RBI approval to be appointed as MD & CEO for 3-years, w.e.f. 1st Jan’27. Having joined KMB in Jan’26, he is an Executive Director (since Mar’26) overseeing retail banking, data analytics and marketing. Mr. Saha’s work experience spans over 32 years with 25 years in retail/MSME lending. Prior to joining KMB, he spent over 8 years at BAF before which he worked in ICICIBC for 14 years. He is a B.Tech from IIT Kharagpur & MBA from IIM Lucknow. Given his strong retail lending experience, we view Mr. Saha’s appointment as positive since it would suggest continuity as he has spent 9 months with KMB. Following issues would need consideration (1) use of surplus capital (~22% CET-1) that is driving sub-optimal RoE (~11%) despite superior RoA (~1.9%) (2) strategy on gold loans as market share is not meaningful (3) declining share of unsecured loans. We keep multiple at 2.0x but increase TP to INR500 from INR480 as we roll forward to Sep’28 core ABV. Retain ‘BUY’.
