Is Billionaire Banker Uday Kotak an asset or liability?

livemint.com:

leadership in India — maintains a studied silence. One hypothesis is that the move could have been intended to nudge the regulator to approve an internal candidate as successor even while Kotak stays on the board as a non-executive, non-independent director. That combination, some have argued, goes against the spirit of banking regulation that allows large shareholders a maximum 15-year term as CEO or full-time director, though it says nothing about them continuing in a non-executive role.

The concern being that as a continuing board member Kotak would wield too much influence, especially if the new CEO is an existing bank employee. An outsider may show more independence, goes the argument. It’s not known who the bank has proposed in its list of two candidates for the job.

But by stepping down early, the argument continues, Kotak has sought to create a gap between his leadership and the next and thus assuage any concerns the RBI may have. As if. Four months change nothing from a regulatory perspective except to add to the uncertainty about when the RBI will endorse a successor and whether it will permit an insider as replacement with Kotak on the board.

If it does not, who will have to go? That question has been weighing on the bank’s share price these past few months. At the heart of the drama at Kotak Mahindra Bank lies one important question - is Uday Kotak's continued presence on the board of an enterprise he built into the country's fourth-largest bank, an asset or a liability? Warren Buffett, 93, remains chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway but with an identified successor. At 57, Jeff Bezos handed over the CEO role to Andy Jassy while staying on as executive chairman.