Kotak Mahindra Bank is planning to recruit approximately 400 engineers this year to prioritise the enhancement of its technology infrastructure following regulatory scrutiny over shortcomings.
The bank, supported by Indian tycoon Uday Kotak, has already onboarded over 500 engineers during the past two years, revealed Milind Nagnur, the bank’s chief technology officer. In an interview, Nagnur mentioned that these engineers were sourced from prominent firms such as Google and Amazon, as well as from Paytm and PhonePe, reported the news agency, Bloomberg.
According to him, with the new hires planned for this year, the bank will reach a “critical mass” in talent, and further additions will be gradual after that. Ashok Vaswani, the Chief Executive Officer of Kotak, revealed at a press briefing over the weekend that India’s fourth-largest private lender has increased its technology spending by over 30 per cent to 17 billion rupees ($204 million) in the fiscal year ended March 31. This expenditure represents approximately 10 per cent of the bank’s operating expenses.
The team’s primary objective is to address the ban imposed by the Reserve Bank of India last month, which prohibits adding new customers through its digital channels and the issuance of fresh credit cards. Kotak’s governance and risk management in its technology systems has come under scrutiny, as the regulator specifically identified these areas as contributing factors behind its enforcement action.
“We are going to just double up, put far more efforts, far more resources, far more money into moving this thing as fast as possible,” Vaswani said. He added that spending will likely rise as the bank enhances its technology build-out.
Nagnur, one of Kotak’s prominent technology recruits, joined the company in 2022, along with Bhavnish Lathia, Chief of Customer Experience. Before joining Kotak, Nagnur was associated with the US-based fintech company Early Warning Services LLC, while Lathia accumulated nearly two decades of experience at Amazon.
Also Read: Kotak Mahindra Bank Q4: Net Profit Climbs 18 Per Cent YoY, Lender Announces Dividend For FY24
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