Words matter. These are the best Uday Kotak Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
I have got nothing against family companies, but there must be real equity, that is all I say. It cannot be based on influence or political friendships. It has to be based on real equity backing their dreams.
The single biggest resource India has is people and skill.
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.
Our approach to banking is very different from the traditional banks or even some of the new banks. We do not necessarily go out and write single-cheque, large-ticket loans.
It’s true that I have always been very comfortable with numbers.
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.
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.
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.
In equities, you price the risk. As far as debt is concerned, if the markets get more sophisticated where, for the levels of risks that you take, you get the debt returns, we will certainly look at it. It’s back to a philosophy of risk-adjusted returns.
If India grows steadily and does the structural things right and carefully unties knots, builds an institutional process which sort of cleans up the corruption and the baggage in the system, I see it as a wonderful marathon.
Foreign investors are looking for a consistent and stable policy in India.
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.
We encounter very healthy boardroom debates and pretty diverse views, so we have always had the benefit of diversity of opinion and expression before we take some important calls.
If you look at 2009, why did the recovery happen? Recovery happened because somebody in the world’s largest economy opened the tap: the U.S., followed by Europe and now Japan.
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.
Our entire approach to the banking and financial services business is risk-adjusted returns. We believe that in most parts of the world, and including pockets in India, banking tends to mis-price risk.
There’s no harm being a copycat. If someone else is doing a good job, copy. It’s free.
I would have loved to have been a cricketer.
The ability to scale up is hard. So the best model for us is concentrated India, diversified financial services, and through this, we can get significant scale on an Indian platform.
I do believe that banks are special – they are very leveraged institutions by nature; therefore, it’s even more critical to ensure that the governance and the process of running a banking company are well-organised, managed and regulated.
When I wear the hat of management, it is important that our management behaves and conducts as management accountable to the board.
I am a believer in the journey and enjoying the journey.
My view is the core engine supporting India’s growth aspiration will be the financial sector, which will have to get more efficient.
I am a great believer in Indian entrepreneurship. There is a whole set of people doing so many exciting things.
Culture is about the mindset of people, and we are very happy to have a strong combined mindset of people.
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.
My view is that at a certain age – and we can debate whether that age is 70-72 or 75 – members need to step off boards. As per the banking guidelines, that age for the director on a board today is 70.
Technology is an enabler; you have to be at the cutting edge of technology – there is no choice.
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.
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.
