Mumbai, Oct. 2 -- For Anup Saha, the ambition to run a bank has finally fructified. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) late on Wednesday approved his candidature for the top role at Kotak Mahindra Bank, a lender he joined nine months ago. The central bank, which has the final say in picking candidates for India's private sector banks, gave 56-year-old Saha a three-year term starting January 1, 2027, Kotak Mahindra Bank said in a statement on Thursday. Saha joined Kotak Mahindra Bank in January 2026 and, since March, has been overseeing the retail bank, data analytics and marketing functions. The bank said its board of directors will take further steps to formalise Saha's appointment and seek shareholders' approval. In June 2025, Saha, then the managing director of consumer financier Bajaj Finance, stepped down three months after taking over the role, taking many by surprise. He had joined Bajaj in 2017 after spending 14 years at ICICI Bank and was reported to be among the three contenders for the top job at private lender IndusInd Bank. That role did not go to him, instead the regulator chose veteran banker Rajiv Anand from Axis Bank. This time, the outcome is in his favour, with the market backing RBI's decision as well. Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank rose over 4% to Rs.435.6 a piece following the announcement, before settling at Rs.418.35 on closing. Analysts are not displeased either. "We view the appointment positively given Saha's strong retail banking background," analysts at Jefferies said in a note on Thursday. "...Saha has extensive experience leading retail segments at Bajaj Finance and ICICI Bank; timely team reorganisation, if any, will help." It said that the appointment was largely anticipated by investors, with the stock up around 10% over the last two months, as against a 4% decline for Nifty Bank index. Many believe that it is his retail experience that went in his favour....