The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given its approval to the appointment of Dipak Gupta as interim managing director and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank following the resignation of Uday Kotak.

The RBI through its letter dated September 7 approved Gupta’s appointment for two months with effect from September 2, Kotak Mahindra Bank said in a BSE filing.

It is expected that the RBI will decide on the full-time MD of the bank during the period.

Uday Kotak stepped down as MD and CEO of the bank effective September 1, nearly four months ahead of his term. As an interim arrangement, MD Gupta will take charge for two months as specified by the RBI.

According to the regulatory mandate restricting an MD’s term to 15 years, the bank’s board had earlier this year decided to appoint Uday Kotak as a non-executive director.

Kotak, whose holding in the bank is 26 per cent, has become a non-executive director after his resignation as MD and CEO. He had been the managing director since the bank’s inception in 2004.

Kotak, the 64-year-old founder-promoter of the bank, is the richest banker in the country as he owns 26 per cent of the bank, which was valued at over Rs 3.5 lakh crore as of September 1.

The bank, during Kotak’s tenure, achieved many milestones, including the acquisition of ING Vysya Bank in an all-share deal. The transaction was the biggest in the private sector banking space at that time. The merger did not face any regulatory roadblocks and the integration was smooth.

Taking to microblogging site X, formerly Twitter, Kotak had said, “Succession at Kotak Mahindra Bank has been foremost on my mind, since our chairman, myself and joint MD are all required to step down by year-end.

“I am keen to ensure a smooth transition by sequencing these departures. I initiate this process now and step down voluntarily as CEO.”