Kotak Mahindra Bank net up 18% in Q4

"My priority is to get back to business as usual and get ready to come back roaring," he said in his first media interaction since taking charge on January 1, and within a fortnight of the RBI imposing a ban on onboarding new customers online or through the mobile app as well as issuing new cards.

Kotak811, the digital product launched to attract customers, helped onboard 72% new customers in the last financial year.

"What is evident is that our efforts have fallen short of what the regulator expects. My commitment is to further accelerate our efforts and investments. Winning back the trust and reputation with our customers and regulators is number one priority for me and management," Vaswani said after a board meeting to discuss March quarter earnings.He added the focus will now shift from acquisition to cross-selling products to existing customers.

"The restrictions will not have any material impact on the existing businesses."

"But it will have an impact on the reputation and the franchise. I am more worried about the reputation impact than the financial impact," Vaswani said when asked about the impact of the RBI's action.

Declining to give a timeframe by when the regulator is expected to lift the ban, Vaswani said, "We are continuously engaging with the RBI to seek guidance and update them on progress."

Net interest margin (NIM) declined to 5.28% in Q4FY24 from 5.75% a year ago, the bank said. Net interest income grew 13% to Rs 6,909 crore in the March quarter, while income from fees and services rose 28% to Rs 2,467 crore.

For the full year ended March 31, standalone net profit rose 26% to Rs 13,782 crore. Consolidated net profit-which includes insurance, asset management, securities, and finance companies-increased 22% to Rs 18,213 crore.

Operating costs rose 21% to Rs 16,679 crore in FY24 from ₹13,787 crore in FY23. Tech expenses comprised a tenth of total operating costs last fiscal. The bank had 50 million customers as of March-end. Total advances increased 20% to ₹3.91 lakh crore in FY24. The share of unsecured retail advances-including retail microfinance-in net advances rose to 11.8% as of March 31 from 10% a year ago. Net advances stood at Rs 3.76 lakh crore.