Kotak Mahindra Bank to increase number of branches by 20% after RBI curbs

Kotak Mahindra Bank is preparing to add 200 branches in FY25 which is about 20% higher than the branches added in FY24, reported Financial Express. In 2023-24, the bank added only 168 branches. This comes amidst RBI's regulatory curbs prohibiting Kotak Mahindra Bank's online and mobile banking channels from adding new customers.

More Kotak branches

As per Financial Express, the bank is also planning to increase front-end staff at every branch to source new customers. As on March 31, the total branch count stood at 1,948. Around 45% of branches are located in metros.

“We have focused on improving productivity of our frontline branch staff through data analytics, providing better quality leads to our ground team and enhancing quality of new customers being acquired,” Virat Diwanji, group president and head of consumer banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank, said.

Diwanji also told Financial Express that it might not be possible to cover the gap purely on the number of customers acquired digitally. But the bank is looking to considerably bridge the value gap by driving higher numbers through physical sales force at branches, focusing on customers with higher potential value and deepening the relationship value of existing customers. The report also added that the bank will actively use ‘One-Kotak’ for inter-group synergies and cross-sell opportunities.

RBI curbs on Kotak Mahindra Bank

The Reserve Bank of India on April 24 restricted Kotak Mahindra Bank from onboarding new customers through its online and mobile banking channels and issuing fresh credit cards. However, the bank can continue to provide services to existing customers.

This comes, as RBI found serious deficiencies and non-compliances in the areas of information technology inventory management, patch and change management, user access management, vendor risk management, data security and data leak prevention strategy, business continuity and disaster recovery rigor and drill.

“The RBI has clearly defined what we need to achieve to go back to business as usual. We are fully committed to meeting these requirements and are working steadfastly to fulfilling it as quickly as possible,” Diwanji told Financial Express.

Earlier, the bank said it was planning to expand the technology workforce by hiring around 400 engineers in the current fiscal.

Also watch: RBI bars Kotak Mahindra Bank from issuing new credit cards, onboarding customers online