Aniket Pujari
“We’ve been in continuous touch with the RBI, sometimes even every week, getting their guidance and ensuring we’re on the right path,” said Vaswani. He explained that the bank has taken the opportunity presented by the RBI’s restrictions to leap ahead in technology: “Like in every crisis, there’s an opportunity. We’ve taken this as a chance to leapfrog and make our systems resilient and relevant for the future.”
The RBI had earlier imposed restrictions on the bank, halting the onboarding of new digital and mobile customers and placing limits on its credit card business due to deficiencies in Kotak’s IT infrastructure.
Vaswani acknowledged the challenges but reassured that Kotak has taken decisive action by ramping up investments, doubling resources, and enlisting external consultants. He shared that the bank is now spending approximately 11% of its operational expenditure on technology, up from 10%, and expects an annual cost of ₹450 crore to implement the changes required by the RBI.
“We’ve made tremendous progress. Downtime has decreased significantly, and customer experience has improved quite a bit,” he stated, adding that the improvements would lead to stronger systems when the bank is allowed to resume normal operations.
When pressed about a timeline for lifting the RBI restrictions, Vaswani noted, “That’s not entirely within my control, but every single day we’re getting a little better. The more time we have, the better the product and service when we come out of the gate.”
Highlighting the larger context, Vaswani praised India’s digital infrastructure, stating, “India has the best digital public infrastructure in the world. I’ve worked everywhere else, and I’ve never seen anything like this.” However, he admitted that the rapid demand for digital services has made it essential for banks to keep pace.
