A Bank To Bank On: How Kotak Climbed Up With Knock-Out Returns of 86,109%

If you had invested ₹1 lakh 20 years ago in Kotak Mahindra Bank, then you would have had ₹8.62 crores today! This multibagger performed exceptionally well, with a sizable dividend of ₹18,65,663. Let’s take a quick peek at Kotak Bank and its strategies.

🏦 Stock Name: Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.

🏦 NSE: $KOTAKBANK

🌱 About the Company

Providing a comprehensive variety of banking and financial services, Kotak Mahindra Bank is a financially diversified company that offers retail banking, corporate banking, investment banking, stock trading, auto financing, advisory services, asset management, life insurance and general insurance. There are over 2.3 crore active users in the bank’s client base. Currently, the bank runs 2,600 ATMs and 1,600 branches across India.

🏆 Customer Comes First

The bank’s strategy for expansion may seem to be overly cautious, yet it is built to last. Over the years, customer acquisition has been their main objective, so once they onboard a deposit customer, they know it would practically be a lifelong relationship. Today, any customer of Kotak has access to the best of their facilities through their app. Hence, being the biggest is not necessarily a perk; strategy and a roadmap to success matter.

🔮 Looking Ahead

Digital banking has been a priority for Kotak Mahindra. From 80 lakh customers to 3.07 crore after the introduction of 811 (the bank’s ambitious digital bank account), the bank added 2.27 crore customers in a span of just five years. They opened 70% of their new accounts through digital channels. 73% of credit cards were also obtained digitally through the bank, as were almost all recurring deposits (RDs) and 84% of FDs.

🎞️ Behind the Scenes

One of the key differentiators between Kotak Bank and other banks is that Kotak Bank’s shareholder is effectively the owner of all other group businesses as the subsidiaries are 100% owned. The real shift, though, won’t occur until 2024, when the CEO will be replaced after a 17-year tenure by a new leader. On August 10, 2001, the shares of the company were trading at ₹2.15, while they were priced at ₹1,853.5 as of August 11, 2022.