If you look at the history of large financial institutions, most of them have succeeded because of a deep presence in their home market. – Uday Kotak
What we have to be careful is that if we drop interest rates where the rate of interest is lower than inflation, then savers will not put money in financial savings and move it to gold and real estate, which is bad for India. – Uday Kotak
A lot of our fiscal deficit went to fund consumption and really did not get used to build investment and infrastructure. The trouble is, you can get a spurt in GDP growth, which may not be sustainable. I would much rather build the gradient of a long-term marathon. – Uday Kotak
I was not very keen on joining the family business… there were 14 family members working together, and it worried me that I would not have enough individuality. – Uday Kotak
As long as there is cash, and the economy is running, all is well. But as a bank, we’ll have to test, experiment, try a hundred different things. A few may work, a few may fail, but we have to experiment and try. – Uday Kotak
My view is that the bitcoin is in its very early days, and it is an artificial currency. But whether it is creating new money, whether it is sustainable, whether it would survive – I have many questions about it. – Uday Kotak
Growth should take care of the fear of job losses. People will be challenged to do different things. For people who are not up to it, purely based on objective assessment, that’s a different issue, which, you do it anyway. – Uday Kotak
My view is make Indian manufacturing competitive, and if it is competitive, it can serve customers or consumers anywhere. – Uday Kotak
The trouble with opportunity is, it never announces when it comes. It’s only after it’s gone, you’d realize that you missed it. – Uday Kotak
When a lion doesn’t get its prey, it remains hungry. When the prey saves himself, he has not won, but has saved his life. – Uday Kotak
Historically, in India, the strange fact was that the equity owner was not taking as much hit as the lender. Therefore, if we restore the first principle of economics, that first the equity owner needs to take the hit and then the lender, we will get a good solution. – Uday Kotak
My view is that, as management, the focus has to be on having a strategy and executing it. As you do the strategy and execution, it is important to communicate it consistently. – Uday Kotak
I am big believer that increase the size of the cake is as at least as important as distribution of the cake. To increase the size of the cake, you need to focus on progress. – Uday Kotak
For me, the real thing is make, serve and list in India. Which means we need manufacturing, we need services, and we need financial markets. – Uday Kotak
I keep wondering at night, ‘Will I have a bank the next morning, or will some technology company be doing banking without needing a bank?’ – Uday Kotak
If you ask me, over time, I am a believer in the Indian financial saving story getting stronger; a lot more savers are moving money away from gold and real estate into banks, mutual funds, insurance and equities. – Uday Kotak
A lot of family members worked in the joint commodities family business. It was a classic case of capitalism at work and socialism at home. – Uday Kotak
It is possible that the digital world may change the need for physical branches. We will continue to add branches incrementally, but we will reach a point – whether it is 1,500, 1,800 or 2,000 branches – where we will say enough is enough. – Uday Kotak
If companies are able to raise equity from the market, then their problems for financing incomplete projects will come to end. Investment cycle in the capital market can kick-start with the money of savers and investors. – Uday Kotak
