The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of Dipak Gupta as interim managing director and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank. 

This follows the resignation of Uday Kotak as the MD and CEO of the bank effective 1 September, four months ahead of his term.

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.

The RBI is expected to decide on the full-time MD of the bank during the period.

India's banking regulation restricts the tenure of a bank CEO to 15 years. The bank’s board had earlier this year decided to appoint Kotak as a non-executive director.

Kotak, who owns 26% of Kotak Mahindra Bank, is the richest banker in the country. Kotak Mahindra Bank was valued at Rs 3.5 lakh crore as of 1 September.

The 64-year-old founder-promoter has become a non-executive director of the bank after his resignation. He had been the managing director since the bank’s inception in 2004.

Kotak had resigned from the country's fourth-largest bank stating personal reasons.

As per the RBI norms, the bank has sent recommendations for its next full time MD to the central bank and is awaiting approval.

Taking to microblogging site X (formerly Twitter), Kotak had earlier said, "Succession at Kotak Mahindra Bank has been foremost on my mind, since our chairman, myself and Joint MD (Dipak Gupta) are all required to step down by year-end. I am keen to ensure smooth transition by sequencing these departures. I initiate this process now and step down voluntarily as CEO."