My fiduciary role in the transition is over: Uday Kotak

livemint.com:

MUMBAI : Billionaire Uday Kotak, who stepped down as the chief executive of Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd on 1 September, believes he has fulfilled his fiduciary duty in ensuring leadership transition in the bank he founded. The onus to approve the name of a CEO for the bank now lies with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) after Kotak, 64, surprised everyone by stepping down from the role of managing director and CEO four months before his term was to end on 31 December. Joint managing director Dipak Gupta will take charge as interim managing director and CEO until 31 December, subject to the approval of RBI.

Kotak will, however, continue his association with the bank as a non-executive director. In an interview, Kotak said Indian institutions must prioritize value creation for local investors, emphasizing the importance of having banks that are majority-owned by domestic investors. While Kotak discussed several topics, he remained tight-lipped about his future plans and questions related to the banking regulator.

Edited excerpts: Why did you decide to step down well ahead of your term? It was the right thing to do. It was a voluntary decision taken by me to step down. If you go back, we were all in transition.

Transition meant three people stepping down at the same time. This is just sequencing out. The board has appointed Dipak Gupta as the interim managing director and CEO, which is permitted for a period of four months under the Banking Regulation Act.

Then there is this new CEO and chairman’s application we made well in time. All the work from the bank’s side, we have completed. My fiduciary responsibilities for transition and sequencing are done.

I didn’t want to hang around till the last day. I spent 38 years. A few months