Guest bio
- Managing Director and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank since January 2024, with more than 35 years in banking.
- Was CEO of Citigroup Asia Pacific and of Barclays UK, and president of the US-Israeli AI fintech Pagaya Technologies.
- Believes money is more emotional than rational, and aims to place Kotak among India's top three private lenders.
Ashok Vaswani is Managing Director and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank, which he has led since January 2024, and a banking veteran of more than 35 years at some of the world's largest financial institutions. At Citibank he rose to CEO of Citigroup Asia Pacific; at Barclays he was CEO of Barclays UK and later CEO of its global consumer, private, corporate and payments businesses. Before Kotak he was president of Pagaya Technologies, a US-Israeli AI fintech. He is transforming Kotak for scale, with the aim of placing it among India's top three private lenders, and believes money is more emotional than rational. A commerce graduate of Sydenham College in Mumbai, he is a chartered accountant and company secretary, and supports philanthropic organisations including Pratham and Lend-A-Hand India.
Show notes
In this episode, Ashok Vaswani, international banking veteran and CEO & MD of Kotak Mahindra Bank, explains why he believes money is more emotional than rational, how Indian banking is racing ahead and how his bank is transforming for scale to claim a space among the top 3 private lenders in India.
What is the new “finternet”? Why is the Indian technology stack being exported overseas? Where do Indian bankers get their new confidence from? Is it the end of the road for multinational retail banks? And what is the next new wow for Indian banking customers?
Vaswani and Sarkar discuss the growth of financial inclusion, the decline of foreign bank market shares and the challenge of breaking silos in banking organizations.
Vaswani also talks about his transition to the Indian work ethic, his leadership style, his passion for education and his mother’s influence on his life.
Listen to Sama and Sarkar debate all these topics and more in this unmissable episode of Money Majlis.
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