Private Bank CEOs See 4-12% Hike In FY25 Salaries; Kotak Mahindra Bank CEO Draws Highest Pay
Salaries of private sector bank CEOs rose between 4% and 12% year-on-year in the financial year 2024-25, with Kotak Mahindra Bank's new chief executive, Ashok Vaswani, emerging as the highest-paid among them with a total remuneration of Rs 12.95 crore, according to a report by Moneycontrol.
Vaswani, who officially took charge on January 1, 2024, drew Rs 1.62 crore for the three-month period in FY24. His predecessor and bank promoter, Uday Kotak, had opted for a token Re 1 salary in FY23.
Among private sector peers, HDFC Bank's CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan saw the steepest annual hike of 11.96%, with a total pay of Rs 12.08 crore in FY25, excluding employee stock options. Jagdishan was also granted 2,12,052 ESOPs in the previous fiscal. Notably, he received Rs 2.63 crore in January FY25 as part of the 50% cash variable pay for FY24, out of an RBI-approved total of Rs 5.25 crore, the bank's annual report showed.
Axis Bank's CEO Amitabh Chaudhry earned Rs 9.11 crore in FY25, a marginal 0.2% increase from the previous year. He was granted 2,59,429 stock options, lower than 3,13,300 in FY24.
At IDFC First Bank, CEO V Vaidyanathan took home Rs 5.55 crore, up 4.53% from Rs 5.30 crore a year earlier. He received 24,20,626 stock options in FY25, compared to 30,59,514 in FY24.
According to the Moneycontrol report, these figures exclude full-year variable payouts, which often face delays due to regulatory approval processes. Overall, the average CEO salary hike among private banks stood at 6% in FY25, slightly lower than the 8% increase recorded in FY24.
The annual reports for ICICI Bank and Yes Bank were not yet available at the time of publishing the story.
Widening Salary Gap with PSU Banks
The disparity in compensation between private and public sector bank chiefs remained stark in FY25. As per Moneycontrol, Jagdishan's salary alone was more than double the combined salaries of the top 10 public sector bank heads.
The collective remuneration of CEOs at major PSU banks — including SBI, BoB, Canara Bank, PNB, and others — stood at Rs 5.13 crore in FY25, up from Rs 4.46 crore in FY24. PSU bank chiefs earned between Rs 42 lakh and Rs 81 lakh, significantly lower than their private sector counterparts.
Bank of Baroda MD & CEO Debadatta Chand was the highest-paid among PSU chiefs, with a salary of Rs 74 lakh, up from Rs 58.70 lakh in FY24. He was followed by Indian Overseas Bank's Ajay Kumar Srivastava at Rs 64.40 lakh, and SBI Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty at Rs 63.87 lakh.
CEOs of smaller PSBs like Bank of Maharashtra and Canara Bank earned even less — Rs 37.81 lakh and Rs 42.41 lakh, respectively, in FY25.
view comments
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
14 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Rupee holds its own amid Trump tariff hike, traders say ‘had factored it in'
The Indian rupee was moving within a narrow range and went up by marginally, by 5 paise, to 87.67 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday. This was even after US President Donald Trump slapped an additional 25 per cent tariffs, taking the total to 50 per cent, on India over its imports of Russian oil. "The rupee's measured response to the new tariffs likely reflects the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) resolve to prevent a breach of the all-time low of 87.95," says a trader.(Reuters) The 25 per cent announced earlier has now come into effect, while the 'penalty' 25 per cent kicks in later this month. But currency traders had already said the rupee won't be hit badly for now as Trump's move was largely expected and factored in, Reuters reported. On Wednesday, the prediction was that the rupee will open in the 87.70-87.75 range, largely unchanged from Wednesday's close of 87.73. "We knew more tariffs were coming after all those hints by Trump," a currency trader at a private sector banks told Reuters. The rupee's measured response to the new tariffs likely reflects the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) resolve to prevent a breach of the all-time low of 87.95, the trader was further quoted as saying.
India.com
14 minutes ago
- India.com
Will UPI transactions soon carry a charge too? Here's what RBI Governor says, ‘Important for us…., know what it means for Paytm, Google Pay, PhonePe users
New UPI rules from August 1: Cap on checking bank balance on UPI, Auto payments during fixed hours | Full list of key changes Will UPI remain free? Reserve Bank of India(RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra stated that it cannot. UPI has made digital payments easy and mostly free for people, but running such a big system costs a lot of money. Earlier on Wednesday, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra stated that UPI might not be free forever. Eventually, someone is going to have to cover the cost of employing the digital payments system. While speaking at the post-Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) press conference, Malhotra stated, 'I never said that UPI can stay free forever. What I said was there are costs (associated with UPI transactions), and they need to be paid for by someone,' reported Economics Times. 'Who pays is important but not so important than someone footing the bill. So, it is important for us for the sustainability of the model, that whether collectively or individually someone pays,' said Malhotra. His comments have led to worries that the free UPI services people are using today won't be free for long. There is now speculation that either banks or the government could charge a fee for UPI transactions to help fund the costs of the service. India has emerged as the global leader in fast payments, according to a recent note by the International Monetary Fund titled Growing Retail Digital Payments: The Value of Interoperability. At the heart of this transformation is the Unified Payments Interface, better known as UPI. UPI is responsible for close to 85% of all digital transactions in India. The UPI handles over 60% of digital transactions worldwide. In June 2025, UPI logged 18.39 billion transactions at the value of Rs 24 lakh crores, which is a 32% increase from last year. Launched in 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India, UPI has changed how people send and receive money in the country. It brings all your bank accounts together in one mobile app. One can transfer money instantly, pay merchants, or send funds to friends with just a few taps. Its appeal lies in its speed and ease of use. In June alone, it handled over Rs 24.03 lakh crore in payments. This was spread across 18.39 billion transactions. Compared to the same month last year, when there were 13.88 billion transactions, the growth is clear. There is an increase of about 32 per cent in just one year. The UPI system now serves 491 million individuals and 65 million merchants. It connects 675 banks on a single platform, allowing people to make payments easily without worrying about which bank they use. Today, UPI accounts for 85 per cent of all digital transactions in India. Its impact goes beyond national borders, powering nearly 50 per cent of global real-time digital payments.' As stated in a report by ET Wealth Online, ICICI Bank has reportedly become the first bank to formally establish processing fees regarding the Payment Aggregators (PAs) which deal with UPI payment transactions. Starting August 1, 2025, all UPI transactions will incur a charge.
Hans India
14 minutes ago
- Hans India
Gold rates in Vijayawada today surges, check the rates on 07 August, 2025
The gold rates today surged in Vijayawada on 07 August, 2025. Going by the rates today, the price of 10 grams of 22-carat gold is Rs. 94,000 with a hike of Rs 200 while the rate of 10 grams of 24-carat gold is at Rs 1,02,550 with a hike of Rs. 220. While the Silver rate is at Rs. 1,27,000 per kilogram. The gold rates in the international market have been fluctuating. Over the past few weeks gold rates have experienced a fall during the wedding season, fluctuating around Rs. 90,000 for 10 grams of 24-carat gold and approximately Rs. 1,00,000 for 10 grams of 22-carat gold. The gold prices mentioned here are due at 8am, the prices could alter at every moment and hence the gold buyers need to track the live prices at a given time. The mentioned prices here are closing prices of yesterday while today's price would begin either with a decrease or increase.
