Kotak Mahindra Bank is one of the leading private banks in India. Milind Nagnur is stepping down from his roles as COO and CTO at Kotak Mahindra Bank. Nagnur filed his resignation on 3rd January 2025, and his last working day will be 15th February. An interim structure is set for smooth functioning, says the company. Nagnur stated that he is stepping down to take care of his family back in the US.
Impact of Nagnur’s Exit
Nagnur joined Kotak in 2021. His role shaped the bank’s digital strategy, where innovative technical initiatives were taken to enhance bank operations and customer experience. During his tenure, he modernized Kotak’s banking system, cybersecurity, and all-over mobile banking.
Nagnur’s departure will impact the bank’s ongoing digital projects, as he played a key dual role of COO and CTO. The bank’s strategic initiatives and digital transformation are ongoing goals that aim to improve operational efficiencies.
RBI’s ban on Kotak Mahindra Bank
In April 2024, the Reserve Bank of India banned Kotak from onboarding new customers from their mobile and online banking channels. This ban also includes issuing credit cards. The reason for the ban is that the RBI noticed some serious deficiencies and non-compliances in the bank’s IT inventory. Furthermore, this led to a rise of concern about the data security and IT department of Kotak.
The ban prevented Kotak from onboarding any new customers online and issuing new credit cards until further notice from the RBI. Over the past few years, Kotak has faced failures in its banking system. This mostly happened due to a lack of risk management and a flawed IT department.
The CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank, Ashok Vaswani, whose appointment was approved by the RBI has stated that they are in regular touch with the RBI. They are working on the issue, and their priority is onboarding new customers after the matter settles down.
Kotak is about to announce the successor soon of who will be the next COO and CTO, amidst the technical crisis. The CEO stated that the bank’s technological transformation is crucial to lift the ban. They have provided all the resources that will make a technical difference. The digital transformation journey remains the key priority.
